From fudge producers to fruit farms. Over 30 sectors. Two 60-minute workshops. Each business leaves with a plan.
The Business and Environment Network (SBEN), run by Staffordshire County Council, provides services and events for businesses across the county to help them improve their environmental performance.
The situation: With over 1000 member organisations and huge diversity in sectors and size, SBEN wanted a low cost, scalable approach open to all local businesses to enable them to build their own company energy efficiency and sustainability plan. One of the key challenges for local businesses is time and resources, so SBEN needed to offer them a high quality, time efficient approach, which delivered on their needs quickly. Evidencing impact and demonstrating value is also critical for reporting, as part of funding requirements.
What happened:
SBEN ran two workshops which brought local businesses together across multiple sectors. No preparation required. Businesses arrived, followed a guided process using Giki Actions, and left 60 minutes later with a completed sustainability plan ready to implement, drawing on global best practice from hundreds of companies. Workshops were over-subscribed, showing the need for this kind of support.
Key Outcomes
Over 30 organisations attended and using Giki Actions, built their own company plans, ready to implement. They completed in one hour what often takes weeks. Companies spanned 30 sectors from fruit farms to real estate, chemicals to luxury spas; schools to civil engineering and fudge producers to holiday rentals. 100% stated their intention to implement their plans, and 100% recommend the workshop to their peers.
Testimonials
"Our first workshop with Giki Actions was over-subscribed in a few days. Local businesses from defence, to manufacturing, to fruit farms, rail maintenance and luxury spas joined to build their own climate action plans. The reporting outputs have helped us hit our targets."
— Diane Roberts, Environmental Support Manager, Staffordshire County Council
Businesses described the experience as straightforward, efficient, free from the filler that often pads out many workshops:
"Really quick, clear and straight to the point. Many online sessions I attend are 50% fluff. Much appreciated."
The platform drew consistent praise for its clarity — the dashboard, automatic action plan, and structured process all landed well:
"The process was systemised, easy to follow and produced a plan automatically."
For businesses new to sustainability, it felt genuinely accessible. As one participant, Amber Danks, owner of Danks Artisan Fudge said:
"I left the workshop with a clear action plan — tailored to my business goals and ready to implement. The platform is intuitive and easy to use, making tracking environmental sustainability genuinely straightforward. I'd highly recommend it to any business starting their sustainability journey."