Spenbeck's Story
Spenbeck is a 40-year-old second-generation family micro-SME providing bespoke offices in Grade II listed former warehouses in the heart of Nottingham's Lace Market.
Often, workspaces can be quite unsustainable. In offices, there is a lot of energy use and unless people are quite environmentally aware, a lot of waste too. Items might be put in the wrong bins, or there might not be a place to recycle certain things. There's also the issue of who is paying the bill – we're all a lot more energy conscious at home!
Spenbeck is changing this in our local area. We have publicly pledged to meet Nottingham City Council's Carbon Neutral 2028 pledge and have taken several measures to stay on top of sustainability for the good of the planet, as well as the people who use our buildings and the local community. This in turn inspires our tenants and encourages others in the local business community to make their buildings more sustainable too.
We have been providing working environments for over 40 years, and sustainability is at our core. Our building is within easy walking distance of the tram and we actively support other sustainable travel options. The building itself is naturally well-lit which saves energy, and we work closely with our tenants to help them achieve their Environmental Management System (EMS) requirements and maintain ISO 14001 certification.
We have long-standing partnerships with both Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham's Energy Institute to support our carbon reduction strategies and are proud to be Carbon Literacy certified. We also have a fantastic supply chain which is committed to helping us achieve our sustainability goals.
The embodied carbon in our Victorian buildings is very low, we are able to use it to offset limits to what we can achieve to meet Listed Building requirements. We take measures to ensure we are as sustainable as possible. As well as encouraging recycling in the building we also have a battery recycling scheme; a food composting partnership with local charity Stonebridge City Farm; and a covered bike rack and repair tools.
In addition to being as eco-friendly as we can, we take care to make our space accessible for everyone and inclusive by design. Wellbeing is important. By looking after the people who use our buildings as well as the planet, we share our ethos and vision with them. In turn, we hope we will inspire them to contribute to our local efforts to tackle a global challenge.
Useful Learnings from Spenbeck
It's about progress not perfection. Doing something that is ok is better than not doing something until it is perfect because it never will be. Start that initiative now! You will achieve far more this way.
Being sustainable and better for the environment should encompass accessibility and inclusivity. We are careful not to compromise on this when we look for ways to be more eco-friendly.
Go for the quick wins. Your success will motivate you to try further initiatives more impacting initiatives.
It's all about partnerships and when it comes to sustainability we are stronger together. Find out who you can collaborate with, use the support that's out there.
Be authentic about your initiatives. Genuinely wanting to improve your sustainability will motivate your key stakeholders to join you in your sustainability journey.
Spenbeck's Metrics
We are measuring the number of tenants who choose a Spenbeck office due to our sustainability efforts.
We are measuring our carbon reduction (scope 1-3).
We are seeking to reduce overall building energy usage through combined tenant and landlord reductions.
