Business
A Greenprint for Britain
Sustain Britain is creating a roadmap for a sustainable, independent Britain.
25 June 2025
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Main image: Aerial image of the proposed Sustain green food super production centre and Super-Midden, Royal Wootton Bassett
Sustain Britain, a movement designed to deliver greater localised sustainability throughout the UK, has announced it will be launching its ‘Greenprint for a Sustainable, Independent Britain’ at the 2025 Sustain Britain Conference in Wiltshire on 19 September.
Free to attend, the conference will feature keynote speaker Sir Jonathon Porritt, My Green Pod co-founder Jarvis Smith and Hannah Pathak, CEO of Forum for the Future.
The speakers will provide a fascinating insight into future trends, sustainability strategy and systems for driving change across key areas such as food, energy and business purpose.
Building on feedback from delegates at the inaugural conference held in Royal Wootton Bassett last September, the 2025 conference will focus on practical ways to build more resilient, self-sufficient local communities nationwide, outlining a ‘greenprint’ that communities throughout Britain can adopt, adapt and implement for their own good.
The conference will also address policy changes that both local and national government need to adopt if we are to realise a more sustainable future for Britain.
Among the policy changes, Sustain Britain is calling for a simplified, transparent tax system, using income tax as the principal form of taxation, that would make collection more efficient, reduce tax avoidance and allow citizens to see where their money is being spent.
100% British-made products should enjoy zero VAT and new legislation should be introduced to ensure 80% of UK pension savings are invested in British businesses.
The use of Community Interest Companies (CICs) should be championed, so more wealth is shared within the communities within which the companies operate.
Sustain Britain also wants to see greater focus on health education and practical learning in schools and society, with the goal of producing self-reliant and resilient individuals who are able to contribute more widely to communities and society.
A 10-year window is proposed, after which all new houses built by developers must be built as autonomous properties. This would force developers to build out their existing landbanks in advance of the new regulations.
Sustain Britain also recommends that British fossil fuel exports should be banned in a decade, and imports banned after the following 10 years.
The goal is to encourage investment in alternative green energy solutions and ensure a future in which only British fossil fuels are used in Britain.
A 10-year notice period should also be given to businesses ahead of a proposed ban on all new plastics in clothing and footwear, to allow time to switch to natural alternatives or recycled plastics.
At the same time the government should introduce new legislation requiring all manufactures to adopt and support the principle of designed-in repair for all new products sold in Britain.
The introduction of an ‘80/20’ rule would mandate that 80% of budgets are spent on frontline delivery, not studies, reports or consultants.
This would set a 20% permissible error rate, encouraging central and local government departments to be braver, more agile and effective in their decision-making.
Core to the Sustain Britain Greenprint is the need to address Britain’s vulnerability to external forces and global crises – such as trade disputes, fluctuating tariffs, supply disruption and currency fluctuations – that impact the price and availability of goods.
To address our over-reliance on foreign goods and resources, the conference will outline the steps necessary to decouple Britain from a state of dependency, as well as the risks of continuing with business as usual.
Special focus will be given to the various ways local communities can be encouraged and enabled to produce a greater proportion of goods and services using local materials and resources, keeping more wealth in local economies.
The concept of ‘The Sustain Circle’ will be outlined as a way to effect the changes we need.
This model encourages communities to produce and source as many goods and raw materials as possible within their local circle, only ever extending beyond that where products, services and resources cannot be accessed.
The aim of the model is to strengthen local economies through innovation and self-reliance, preventing wealth from being lost to large corporations and promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability in the process.
As investment is required in key sectors such as renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and sustainable consumption, the conference will look at the roles of government and entrepreneurs in driving innovation in a way that reduces environmental impact.
For Sustain Britain, this entails an enhanced focus on Britain’s mineral and natural resource wealth, which it deems critical if we are to realise a more independent future – and of particular importance in the development of the country’s high-tech industries, which will in turn bolster national security.
Here investment, supported by government initiatives designed to stimulate innovation, is critical to strengthening Britain’s strategic independence and economic resilience, enabling new and innovative products and technology to be developed and manufactured domestically.
Taking place during a time of global upheaval and uncertainty, the Sustain Britain Conference will focus on the clear need for communities and businesses to produce more for themselves and their local markets, so they can become less reliant on international imports, the influence of multinationals and the impact of foreign powers.
One example of this approach, and a focus for the conference, is new technology that has the potential to turn landfill into one of the most climate-friendly methods of waste treatment.
The Sustain Super-Midden, currently being pioneered in Wiltshire, has been designed to transform landfill sites into energy and food production centres.
Landfill methane is captured to create energy, which is supplied to flexible, positively pressured greenhouses to provide heat, controllable UV light and CO2, creating perfect growing conditions all year round.
The Sustain Super-Midden enables the production of affordable, organic fruit and vegetables for local communities, and has been designed to implement just-in-time production to meet real-world demand.
This enables the delivery of fresh, local food at a lower cost than supermarkets.
Set to be trialled following the arrival of the first prototype greenhouse later this year, this smart use of landfill shows how a blend of traditional and modern solutions can be used to reclaim control of the wider food supply chain, ending the need for imports or the transportation of produce that has been grown at distance.
The conference will look at how Britain can build resilient food systems for the future, and adopt innovative farming practices that can be used to produce local food for local markets, to ensure long-term food security and sovereignty.
The conference will also address how Sustain Super-Middens have the potential to prevent over 2 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere annually, and also how they have the ability to provide a valuable source of polymers for future plastics production, once oil production stops and virgin plastics are no longer available.
The conference will also explain how, as part of the Sustain Super-Midden model, Sustain Wiltshire is currently evolving the development of sustainable, grazeable subterranean workspaces that will be supplied with low-cost heat and energy from the Sustain Super-Midden, reducing energy bills for tenants and boosting their competitiveness and growth.
Modular in form, these eco working business units will create an environment that fosters collaboration among local businesses, increasing innovation and job creation, supercharging the local economy and enhancing the power of the Sustain Circle.
These spaces are housed in cutting-edge dome structures, covered by 1.5 metres of soil that insulates, prevents water run-off and allows for grazing by farm animals, blending the units naturally into the rural environment.
Looking further into the future, the Sustain Britain Conference will also address the issue of affordable housing through its vision for Green Halo communities on the outskirts of towns, villages and cities.
Here, the conference will outline how agricultural land would be leased for the construction of affordable, eco-friendly rental housing built in new forest by Community Interest Companies.
This model will enable permissible, sustainable housing to be developed on agricultural land.
With only the cost of construction, land rent and energy produced on site reflected in rental costs, the conference will outline how this radically different approach to rental housing development can generate housing at a fraction of the rental cost of conventional rented accommodation.
The conference will also show how these Green Halo communities will be accessed using central transport hubs via a network of paths, cycleways and autonomous vehicles, giving car-free access to town centres.
Sustain Britain is creating a roadmap for a sustainable, independent Britain.
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