Good Growth supports business events and workshops in the county

“It’s such a refreshing way to learn and to network.” – Emma Bryant, Fundraising Consultant, at Innovation in the Wild event.

The Good Growth Programme has invested £15m into business support for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
This funding includes supporting a range of events and workshops designed to enhance business productivity and covered a range of themes including innovation, sustainability, marketing, finance and business growth. The events were powered by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Hub – find out more about this project here.

Entrepreneurial Futures event: Circular Futures on the Isles of Scilly was a two-day event at the end of September 2024. It provided a space for people with businesses in the county to network and find out more about circular economy tools.

Dr Ruth Cherrington, Senior Lecturer Sustainable Futures University of Exeter, said the event was to encourage collaboration, create connections and share knowledge. “The circular economy is all about circulating materials and resources at their highest value for as long as possible,” she said. “In the business school, we’re specifically looking at how we can work with businesses to implement strategies and models.”

Dan Dicker, Founder and CEO of Circular & Co, said: “There’s huge value in coming together – like-minded businesses that are all trying to be circular – just in conversation, you’ve got so many different ideas, lots of great contacts.”

Jake Arney, Recycling and Impact Manager at Waterhaul, said: “I think events like these are really important.
“There’s a lot we can take as a business that are already operating in quite a circular way, we can still learn from others just by meeting some of the different local businesses, both from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, we’ve been able to already come up with some new ideas in a really short space of time.”

Innovation in the Wild, was a two-day event at Two Bridges in Dartmoor during September 2024.

Organised by University of Exeter, it was an overnight stay designed for businesses to get inspired by innovative ideas and innovation theory and learn about the circular economy. It allowed people to network with like-minded entrepreneurs whilst getting close to nature.

Professor Allen Alexander, Sustainable Futures University of Exeter, said: “We can teach students in the classroom, we can teach executives in the boardroom, but with the pace of modern life, it’s just about learning differently. So, we bring business owners, managing directors, senior staff and we teach contemporary innovation management practices.
“I think the moorland environment switches your brain into a different learning mode.”

Emma Bryant, Fundraising Consultant, was at the event and said: “It’s been really thought provoking.
“I came with a very open mind. I wasn’t really quite sure what to expect.
“It’s such a refreshing way to learn and to network.”

Net Zero Conference with University of Exeter and Green Futures was aimed at businesses in the county looking at how to achieve net zero.

Professor Steffen Boeham said: “We believe every company, every consumer, every citizen has a responsibility to engage with climate change. So Green Future Solutions is there to help SMEs here in the region to bring about tangible, positive change.”

Zoe Deadman, Managing Director Root Sustainable Labels, said: “The Net Zero conference has given us the opportunity to learn a lot and to cherry-pick bits we can take away to do business better.
“I definitely recommend any businesses that feel like they’ve got something to add to come along to events.”