ON MY DOORSTEP...

Visit…‘whitstable

Beach. We head there pretty much once a week for a long walk with our dog, Monty. In the summer we swim; in the winter we get blown away. We love it every time.’ ‘Macknade Fine Foods (macknade. com) in Faversham has the best local seasonal ingredients and a fantastic unpackaged section.’

Shop at…

Go for a meal at...

‘The Three Mariners (thethreemarinersoare. co.uk) in Oare has lovely food, a great atmosphere and is Monty friendly.’

‘I think of business as a means to achieving good things. Old-school, money-focused 1980s entrepreneurs were never aspirational,’ says Kresse.

‘To me, the world has let itself down and we don’t behave well enough.

Life and work should be joyous – giving back and making a difference is all part of affecting change for good.’

Most traditional businesses measure their success by the bottom line. Elvis & Kresse has two additional measures: how much waste is diverted from landfill and how much money is given to charities.

DRIVE VALUABLE GOODWILL

Elvis & Kresse decided to donate 50 per cent of its profits to the providers of its waste products – a philanthropic gesture that has also proved a discerning business move, generating priceless goodwill and encouraging partner relationships with suppliers.

BE CONSCIOUS

Customers are increasingly looking for transparency. Ethical brands that support sustainability and ethical practices are on the radar of planet conscious customers. When a business lives up to their sustainable expectations, loyalty can be lifelong. Mediocre is no longer enough.

FOCUS ON INVESTMENT

‘There is a lot of investment pouring into large-scale green infrastructure, but investment is needed in small-scale distributed projects that encourage people to participate,’ says Kresse. ‘By gifting the technology on Project Solar Forge, we are encouraging communities to get involved and use what they have. The offers of help pouring in from engineers, scientists, teachers, pupils, philanthropists and industry professionals is overwhelming. We only have 10 years to save the planet, so we need to get this right.’

SPEAK TO SOCIAL ENTERPRISE UK ‘When we started Elvis & Kresse we were really lucky to get involved with Social Enterprise UK (socialenterprise. org.uk) and spent time with a range of businesses, from those starting out to those generating more than £10 million, all giving at least 50 per cent of their profits to charity.’ In the UK there are an estimated 100,000 SEUK businesses generating over £60 billion a year – think Divine Chocolate, Cafédirect coffee, the Eden Project and the Co-op. By selling goods and services in the open market, social enterprises reinvest the money they make back into their business or the local community, allowing them to tackle social problems, improve people’s life chances, support communities and help the environment.

AIM TO BE A CERTIFIED B-CORP

‘We became one of the first UK businesses to certify in 2015,’ says Kresse. ‘Certified companies don’t necessarily have to give 50 per cent back, but they must meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. It is an amazing community of leaders using business as a force for good. Regenerative practices are the future.’ Visit, bcorporation.uk