Meet the Exhibitor: Nell Smirthwaite from Sustainable Growth Consultancy
With the Cornwall Business Show bringing together businesses from across the region, we’re getting to know some of the brilliant people you’ll be able to meet on the day.
This week, Hannah Buck, Marketing Manager at Four Front Events, sat down with Nell Smirthwaite from Sustainable Growth Consultancy to talk about the opportunities sustainability can create, the small changes every business can make and why nobody should feel they have to do everything perfectly.
From renewable energy and resilient supply chains to local procurement, staff wellbeing and even toilet paper, they covered quite a lot!
So, over to Hannah and Nell…
Hannah: Nell, let’s start with the big picture. What does Sustainable Growth Consultancy do, and which businesses do you work with?
Nell: I work with businesses across most sectors in Cornwall, including hospitality and tourism, healthcare, marine and renewables, data and space, construction and manufacturing, and creative and digital technology.
Agriculture, agrifood and critical minerals tend to require more specialist expertise, so I’ll generally refer those clients to the right provider. But I would always consider supporting them if the project suited my technical skills.
For me, the priority is making sure the client gets the best support—even if that means recommending somebody else.
Hannah: Sustainability must look very different from one sector to another?
Nell: Absolutely.
Some changes are relevant to almost every business. Installing solar panels on a business property is a good example.
But then you have much more sector-specific challenges. The embodied carbon in concrete is particularly relevant to construction, while patient travel to hospitals and clinics is an important issue for healthcare.
Every sector has its own challenges. Some already have proven solutions, some are exploring early-stage innovations and others are dealing with issues that haven’t yet been fully tackled.
That’s why conversations between businesses are so important. When organisations facing the same challenges come together, it can create some really exciting opportunities for collaboration and leadership.
Hannah: What made you decide to start Sustainable Growth Consultancy?
Nell: I wanted to show businesses that tackling climate change is a massive opportunity to improve both their bottom line and people’s lives.
I’ve always believed two things to be true.
First, businesses have the power to significantly reduce our global carbon footprint by changing how they operate.
Second, those changes can create value, build resilience and contribute to more positive workplace cultures.
Finding practical ways for businesses to embrace that win-win approach has become my life’s work.
Hannah: And this is something you’ve been building towards for quite a while?
Nell: It is.
In 2022, while raising my two daughters, I completed a Master’s in Sustainable Development at the University of Exeter and turned my passion into a career.
I then joined Cornwall Council, where I led the work to embed sustainability into the £187 million Good Growth Fund until it concluded in March 2026.
After that, I saw an opportunity to establish myself as a freelance consultant, and I haven’t looked back.
I really thrive on building close relationships with my clients and helping them create meaningful, lasting change.
Hannah: When people hear “sustainability”, they sometimes assume it’s going to mean additional costs. Is that necessarily true?
Nell: Not at all. Operating more sustainably can actually reduce costs while making a business more resilient.
It can also help organisations attract talented people from an increasingly climate-conscious generation. There are benefits for staff morale, wellbeing, long-term retention and performance too.
Measures such as switching to renewable energy, improving waste management, adopting circular-economy principles and developing local supply chains can reduce both costs and carbon emissions.
They can also give businesses greater protection against global shocks, including volatile oil and gas prices, conflict-related disruption, crop failures and increasingly frequent extreme weather.
Hannah: So sustainability isn’t simply an environmental issue—it’s a business resilience issue too?
Nell: Exactly.
It’s about creating businesses that are better prepared for the future.
But underlying all of that is the fact that every business has a part to play in tackling climate change and preventing global temperatures from reaching catastrophic levels.
The good news is that environmental responsibility and good business practice can go hand in hand.
Hannah: What’s one change you’d particularly like to see businesses in the South West making?
Nell: One of the biggest barriers to scaling sustainable solutions in the South West is procurement.
I would love to see a network where sustainable producers and manufacturers can have constructive conversations with our major procurers, including the NHS, universities and local councils.
We need to understand what the barriers are and then start working together to remove them.
There are brilliant sustainable businesses in this region. Creating better connections between those businesses and the organisations purchasing at scale could unlock some huge opportunities.
Hannah: If I put you on the spot, what’s one simple change every business could make today?
Nell: Switch to a renewable energy provider.
It’s straightforward, doesn’t require a major upfront investment and could save your business money immediately.
Hannah: That sounds almost too easy!
Nell: It really can be that simple.
Not every sustainability measure requires a huge strategy or an expensive project. Sometimes the best place to begin is with one practical change that you can make now.
Once you’ve done that, you can start looking at the next opportunity.
Hannah: What about choosing local suppliers? Can that make a meaningful difference?
Nell: One hundred per cent, yes!
Choosing local suppliers can reduce your carbon footprint, support the growth of the local economy and make your supply chain more resilient.
It can also provide greater protection against global disruption caused by conflict, crop failures or extreme weather.
So you’re supporting another local business while strengthening your own. It delivers environmental, economic and practical benefits.
Hannah: Sustainability can sometimes feel overwhelming. Do you think that stops people from getting started?
Nell: Definitely.
Sometimes people do nothing because they feel they can’t do everything—which is crazy!
We need to give ourselves and one another the opportunity to show up imperfectly. Nobody can do it all.
The important thing is to begin somewhere and make the changes that are realistic for you. One imperfect action is still better than no action at all.
Hannah: What are some of the everyday changes you’ve made yourself?
Nell: A few of my easy wins have included switching to unbleached toilet paper from a UK supplier called Naked Loo, changing my laundry detergent to Earth Breeze and buying reusable razor blades from Peace With The Wild.
I’ve also reduced the amount of beef I eat.
That was surprisingly easy, and it encouraged me to try more vegetarian alternatives—which I genuinely find tastier and more satisfying.
Hannah: I don’t think we’ve mentioned toilet paper in one of these interviews before!
Nell: There’s a first time for everything!
But that’s the point, really. Sustainability isn’t always about enormous changes. It can be about looking at the products you buy every day and asking whether there’s a better alternative.
Those small decisions start to add up.
Hannah: You’re going to be exhibiting at the Cornwall Business Show 2026. Why did you decide to get involved?
Nell: I wanted to meet and connect with other businesses, and the Cornwall Business Show offered the opportunity to do that with hundreds of local organisations under one roof in a single day.
I put the feelers out to a couple of different shows before choosing the Cornwall Business Show.
What stood out to me was how genuine the organisers seemed and how invested they were in the growth and success of all the exhibiting businesses.
It feels like they’re building a community and a network that goes beyond the one-day event, and that really appealed to me.
Hannah: What are you looking forward to most about the day?
Nell: Having proper conversations with local businesses.
I’d love to hear what sustainability challenges they’re facing, what they’ve already tried and where they might be getting stuck.
Every organisation is different, so it’s about understanding the business before deciding what meaningful, practical action looks like for them.
I’m also looking forward to meeting other exhibitors, discovering what they do and identifying opportunities for collaboration.
Hannah: Who would you particularly like to come and speak to you at the show?
Nell: Any business that wants to become more sustainable but isn’t sure where to begin—or perhaps knows where it wants to go but needs some practical support getting there.
You might be looking to reduce your costs or carbon footprint, strengthen your supply chain, improve your workplace culture or understand which changes would have the greatest impact.
You don’t need to arrive with a complete sustainability strategy.
Come and have a conversation. Tell me about your business, what matters to you and the challenges you’re facing. We can start there.
Ready to start a conversation about sustainability?
Nell’s message is refreshingly straightforward: you don’t have to do everything, and you certainly don’t have to do everything perfectly.
Start with one practical change.
Ask questions.
Look at where your business could save money, reduce its environmental impact and become more resilient.
Then build from there.
Come and meet Nell from Sustainable Growth Consultancy at the Cornwall Business Show 2026 and discover what sustainable growth could look like for your business.
Of course, Sustainable Growth Consultancy is just one of the fantastic businesses you’ll be able to meet at the Cornwall Business Show.
It’s a day to visit, connect, discover new businesses, make new contacts and find opportunities to grow your own organisation.
Book your free ticket, come along and get involved.
