By James Durie, chief executive of Bristol Chamber & Initiative at Business West Bristol has a serious pollution problem – many of our city centre streets are breaking legal air pollution limits, with knock-on effects for the health of our families, workers and visitors. Central government is at last,...
Expertise on developments in the clean energy sector have earned Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT a place on utility SSE’s new legal panel. TLT joins four other new firms on the nine-strong panel, which formerly begins its mandate next month. The panel is made up of firms ranging from...
Bristol-based specialist energy investment company Thrive Renewables is to invest up to £6.5m in the UK’s first geothermal electricity power plant. The plant in Cornwall aims to supply around 3MW of electricity to the National Grid and up to 12MW of renewable heat for local use. Thrive’s funding will enable...
The University of Bristol has stopped investing in all fossil fuel companies and joined calls for all UK other universities to do the same. The move follows a pledge made two years ago by the university to change its investment policies. Last year it also became the first in...
A pioneering £20m project to develop lightweight propeller blades that will help the UK aviation sector cut its carbon footprint and reduce noise at airports is being supported by Bristol’s National Composites Centre (NCC). The NCC, on the Bristol & Bath Science Park, is part of an industry-led consortium...
Engineers at Rolls-Royce’s Bristol plant have started to make the world’s largest fan blades for the next generation of low-emission aero-engines. As a set, the composite blades have a diameter of 140 inches – almost the size of a narrow -body aircraft fuselage. They are being manufactured in the...
The CBI has urged the Chancellor to take bold action on skills, innovation and infrastructure in his Budget to ‘power-up’ the South West’s economy. The seven-point plea was made before Sajid Javid resigned as Chancellor and was replaced by Rishi Sunak – throwing into doubt whether the Budget will...
Business organisations have slammed the decision by North Somerset councillors to reject Bristol Airport’s expansion plans. The CBI in the region described the move “a real blow to Bristol and the wider South West” while the Federation of Small Businesses echoed the airport’s own claims that it would force...
Bristol Airport has accused councillors who rejected its controversial expansion plans of “putting the brakes” on the region’s economic growth by stifling international trade and tourism. It also said the move, which it is expected to appeal against, would deter airlines from using the airport – forcing passengers to...
Bristol green energy group OVO has been told to pay £8.9m by the industry regulator for overcharging thousands of customers. Ofgem investigated the firm, the UK’s largest independent energy supplier with 1.5m customers and about 2,000 staff – around half of them in Bristol – after a series of...
Entrepreneurial Bristol businesses ranging from a maker of biodegradable glitter to a designer specialising in digitally printed luxury silk scarves were among the winners in a business awards scheme that showcases the region’s ‘ones to watch’. Some 27 outstanding individuals and firms went head-to-head in nine award categories aimed...
The region’s largest business organisation has called on the government to ensure firms get essential support and guidance for life outside the EU as the UK today marks its official departure from the world’s biggest trading bloc. While the UK is leaving the European Union at 11pm after 47...
The South West Fair Trade Business Awards are returning for an eighth year, with The Great British Bake Off star and Bristol resident Briony Williams lined up to host the presentation ceremony. The awards, which celebrate ethical organisations of all sizes and from any sector across the region, have...
