Telford College hosted the launch of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce’s new Sustainability Partnership – with the first get-together hailed as an ‘insightful and educational’ success.

Andrew Goff, who is leading on social value at Chamber patron Coforge, hosted the first meeting at the Wellington campus – an interactive workshop designed to set the agenda for the rest of the year.

Speakers included Nigel Ryan of EVC Solutions, Tina Cooke of Cuan Wildlife Rescue, Sarah Davies from Telford College, Paul Jones of Learning Community Trust, Liza Freudmann of BLA Consultancy, Wayne Carter of Fabweld Steel Products, Jason Blair of Camelott, and Deborah Cairns-Stoll from E4Environment.

Andrew said: “The whole idea of the event was to bring people together, talk and start to make the connections needed to form partnerships and achieve sustainable legacy here in Shropshire.

“People enjoyed the format, and the discussion was considerable. The reception online has been brilliant and just shows the mettle of the Shropshire business community and the Chamber of Commerce to be bothered, and to do the right thing.

“The speeches demonstrated that we have the talent, expertise and appetite to grow great business here in Shropshire through sustainability aligned with the Government’s missions, industrial strategies and sustainability plans, and all focused on better outcomes for the planet and future generations to come.”

Wayne Carter said: “Speaking about Fabweld’s sustainability journey was a pleasure, as was hearing from so many other guest speakers.

“What impressed me most was the collaborative spirit in the room – businesses coming together to share expertise, showcase initiatives, and strengthen Shropshire’s local economy through mutual support.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how this partnership develops and the positive impact it will have on sustainability across our region.

Sarah Davies added: “It was a great pleasure to host this event in our Orange Tree restaurant. I got to share what Telford College is doing to reduce its carbon footprint, and emphasise how important sustainability is to our students. It was also a fantastic opportunity to hear what other local businesses are actively doing.”

Gareth Thomas, from Beckbury-based events company Adfield, was among the delegates. He described it as an ‘insightful and educational workshop regarding true sustainability – learning what it realistically means to different businesses and their leaders’.

“The biggest thing I took away was that it’s not about promising to plant trees or go paperless, but more finding ways of improving the future, for our business, our people, our customers and our environment, all whilst affirming that being sustainable includes being commercially effective and profitable.”

Liza Freudmann said: “It was so good to be having these conversations locally and to see such expertise and interest in the room – I came away feeling very inspired.”

Jenny Pearson, head of commercial success at Shropshire Chamber, said: “The sharing of best practice is fundamental to helping all Shropshire businesses approach sustainability with confidence. This was a great first meeting, and very important to the people that attended.”

• The next meeting is planned for October 7. To register interest, email enquiries@shropshire-chamber.co.uk or call the Chamber team on 01952 208200.