Britain’s Top 5 Cities for Green Businesses

If you’re an eco-conscious entrepreneur looking to open a business and you’re flexible about location, you might want to base yourself in a city with good green credentials.

Britain’s Real Green and Pleasant Land is a project that ranks cities according to criteria including recycling levels, carbon footprint and green space.

So let’s take a look at Britain’s top five cities for green businesses.

1. Bristol

Bristol boasts a 44 per cent recycling record and over 400 garden and parks.

So it could be an excellent environment to launch your enterprise.

It was voted Britain’s best place to live in 2017 thanks to its entrepreneurial attitude, multicultural food and stunning scenery.

The Bohemian Stokes Croft neighbourhood is a hotbed of independent shops — so a vegan bakery or vintage clothes shop would slot in snugly.

2. Edinburgh

With its dramatic castle backdrop, stunning gardens and elegant Georgian architecture, Scottish capital Edinburgh is one of Britain’s most beautiful cities.

Its recycling rate is an impressive 42 per cent and it features 30 parks with the Green Flag mark of excellence.

Its International Festival attracts millions of global visitors each year and it was recently voted the top cultural and creative city of its size by the European Commission.

So if you fancy opening a trendy bookshop or design agency, this might be the place to be.

3. Glasgow

Glasgow has 32 per cent green space and a 26 per cent recycling record.

It’s new recycling and renewable energy centre is also set to save the city 90 000 tons of CO2 every year.

The vibrant city has lots of bustling bars and restaurants — but if you can offer an unusual cuisine you might capture footfall by differentiating yourself form the competition.

But it’s also got a great club scene — another area where you might make your entrepreneurial mark.

4. Greater London

London’s a great global city that currently recycles an impressive 31 per cent of its waste and has a green space rating of 23 per cent — which might come as a pleasant surprise to some readers.

A new yellow bin initiative aims to collect five million coffee cups per annum and past projects have promoted cycling and limited car use in order to reduce pollution.

Finding shops to let here can be expensive and competition is high — but you might find the right location in an outer borough like Bromley or Richmond.

5. Sheffield

Sheffield is close to the Peak District National Park and the city has a brilliant 29 per cent recycling rate and 22 per cent green space.

It has 80 parks and eco-friendly spaces, including the excellent botanical gardens.

The Sheffield Antiques Quarter is to the south of the city — so if you’ve got a good stock of interesting items and an eye for a great deal you could successfully ply your trade here.

If you want to set up shop somewhere green and serene, these five brilliant British cities are a superb choice.

What’s your favourite British green city? Share your thoughts in the comments section.