Bright Green Business

What Bright Green Business does

Bright Green Business is a Scotland-based environmental services and talent intermediary, operating as a trading organisation of The Business Partnership Ltd (a private limited company registered in Scotland). Formed in April 2013 by merging two predecessor entities, the organisation runs four interconnected lines: (1) the Environmental Placement Programme (EPP), Scotland's longest-running environmental internship scheme (20+ years, 30+ placements per year, 8-12 week paid internships at Real Living Wage with 80% extension rates); (2) Green Ticks BS 8555, the only UKAS-accredited BS 8555:2016 environmental management system programme in Scotland, maintained since March 2013 with Tarian as inspection partner; (3) the Bright Green Business Network, a tiered membership community (11 employee-size bands, £25-£400/year) delivering events, newsletters, and member benefits; and (4) ISO 14001 consulting, graduate recruitment services, and STEAM educational programmes targeting Scottish schools.

The business model is a hybrid of subscription recurring revenue (network memberships), professional services (placement recruitment charging admin fees over Real Living Wage intern salaries, plus £100-£950 graduate recruitment tiers), and grant-funded programme delivery (Climate Challenge Fund, Zero Waste Scotland Circular Economy Internship Scheme, Cycling Scotland campus cycling placements). The organisation operates as a not-for-profit and is led by CEO Karen Ritchie (appointed April 2021), with headquarters in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Customers span the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, multiple colleges and universities, SSE, Energy Saving Trust, Zero Waste Scotland, Cycling Scotland, and private enterprises including Ooni Pizza Ovens and Skyrora.

Name

Bright Green Business

Legal name

The Business Partnership Ltd

Website

https://brightgreenbusiness.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bright Green Business is a Scotland-based not-for-profit environmental services organisation running the country's longest-running environmental internship programme (20+ years), a UKAS-accredited BS 8555 EMS scheme, a tiered business membership network, and ISO 14001 consulting, serving Scottish businesses, government bodies, and graduates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Environmental placement services
• Environmental management systems
• Graduate recruitment services
• Business network membership
• STEAM education programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Musselburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The Bright Green Business Network charges tiered membership fees based on organization size, ranging from £25 (students/graduates) to £400 (250+ employees) annually, plus VAT. Benefits include events, networking, newsletters, environmental support, and discounts on services.
2. Placement Recruitment Services: Full-service internship placement recruitment including advertising, shortlisting, interview facilitation, contract management, and payroll administration. Host organizations are invoiced for the entire placement cost including Scottish Living Wage allowance and administration fees.
3. Graduate Recruitment Services: Bespoke recruitment service with tiered pricing: Advert (£100), Advert plus shortlisting (£300), Recruitment Fee (£650), and Complete Recruitment Package (£950). Fees are excluding VAT.
4. Environmental Services: Environmental consultancy services including ISO 14001 implementation, Green Ticks BS 8555 accreditation, sustainability assessments, and environmental training. The organization operates as a not-for-profit service.
5. Educational Programmes: STEAM-focused educational services including Full STEAM Ahead (10-week programme), Stepping Stones (P6-P7 transitions), Business Mentoring, and Physical Physics. Pricing varies by programme and number of pupils.
6. Climate Challenge Fund Support: Recruitment support services for Climate Challenge Fund grant holders, funded through CCF allocated funding. Covers advertising, shortlisting, interview arrangement, contracts, and payroll administration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bright Green Business is a not-for-profit Scottish organisation that recruits students and graduates for paid 8-to-12-week environmental internships with host businesses, and delivers environmental management consulting (Green Ticks BS 8555 accreditation, ISO 14001 implementation, training, baseline assessments). It also operates the Bright Green Business Network (a tiered membership community for Scottish businesses) and runs STEAM-focused educational programmes for Scottish schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Ticks BS 8555: A UKAS accredited environmental management system (EMS) scheme supporting organisations in implementing BS 8555:2016 standard.
• Environmental Placement Programme (EPP)
• Early Career Programme

Products and services

• Environmental Placement Programme (EPP) Paid 8–12 week environmental internship placement programme connecting Scottish businesses and organisations with students/recent graduates to deliver project-based environmental work such as carbon behaviour strategies, active travel, waste management and community engagement.
• Graduate Recruitment Services Bespoke graduate recruitment service with tiered packages: Advert (£100), Advert plus shortlisting (£300), Recruitment Fee (£650), and Complete Recruitment Package (£950), excluding VAT.
• Green Ticks BS 8555 Environmental Management Scheme The only UKAS-accredited BS 8555:2016 environmental management system programme in Scotland, providing step-by-step environmental review, documentation, legislation checking and third-party inspection by Tarian.
• ISO 14001 Implementation and Auditing Design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of ISO 14001 environmental management systems for businesses, including staff training and compliance monitoring.
• Environmental Consulting General environmental consultancy service assisting businesses with sustainability, environmental legislation, and management system implementation challenges.
• Environmental Training Staff training programmes that empower business employees to understand and act on environmental management, sustainability and compliance issues.
• Baseline Environmental Assessments Baseline assessments to give businesses an initial picture of environmental performance and identify areas that could be improved.
• Bright Green Business Network Membership Annual membership community for Scottish businesses committed to environmental improvement, with tiered fees by organisation size (£25–£400+VAT/year) and benefits including networking events, newsletters, environmental support and discounts.
• STEAM Educational Programmes STEAM-focused educational services for Scottish schools, including Full STEAM Ahead (10-week programme), Stepping Stones (P6–P7 transitions), Business Mentoring and Physical Physics, targeting S4–S6 and P6–P7 pupils.
• Climate Challenge Fund Recruitment Support Recruitment support service delivered in partnership with the Climate Challenge Fund and Keep Scotland Beautiful, providing advertising, shortlisting, interview arrangement, contracts and payroll administration for CCF grant holders' placements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 placements per year helping businesses meet environmental goals
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Climate Challenge Fund (CCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBright Green Business has partnered with Climate Challenge Fund and Keep Scotland Beautiful to provide intern recruitment support for CCF grant holders. The service assists projects in achieving targets through intern support, covering advertising, shortlisting, interviews, contracts, and payroll administration.
• Cycling ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBright Green Business works with Cycling Scotland to deliver and provide support for campus cycling initiatives across Scottish institutions. Cycling Scotland funds interns to deliver cycling programmes, with Bright Green Business managing placements for 34 weeks.
• Zero Waste ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Circular Economy Internship Scheme, which creates capacity within companies to develop circular products or services. Zero Waste Scotland funds placements through Bright Green Business, with 10 companies benefiting annually from the scheme.
• Scottish GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Scottish Government is a key partner supporting the Environmental Placement Programme. Government partnerships help fund and promote placement opportunities for students and graduates across Scotland.
• EcologiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFor each graduate placed with a host company, Bright Green Business plants 25 trees and offsets 0.5 tons of carbon through Ecologi. This environmental initiative adds sustainable impact to every placement completed.
• Keep Scotland BeautifulcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeep Scotland Beautiful partners with Bright Green Business and Climate Challenge Fund to support environmental projects across Scotland through intern recruitment services.
• 2050 Climate GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEPP Awards finalist in 2021, hosting environmental placement projects focused on climate action initiatives.
• Transition University of St AndrewsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEPP Awards finalist in 2021, hosting Cycling Scotland-funded placement for campus cycling initiatives.
• Ooni Pizza OvensminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHost company for sustainability placement; winner of Most Enterprising Environmental Intern 2021 at EPP Awards.
• NECCUSminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEPP Awards finalist in 2021, hosting decarbonisation-related placement projects.
• The Scottish Wholesale AssociationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEPP Awards finalist in 2021, hosting placement for Decarbonisation of the Wholesale Industry Project focused on hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicle technologies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability consultancy delivering EMS, climate strategy, and ESG advisory. Comparable to BGB as a wider environmental consultancy offering overlapping ISO 14001 and sustainability services, but at much larger scale and international scope.
• SLR Consulting: Global environmental and advisory consultancy with a substantial Scotland office. Comparable to BGB as an environmental consultancy offering EMS, ESG, and sustainability services, but operating at a much larger scale with broader service lines.

Direct peers

• Mabbett & Associates: Scottish environmental, energy, and safety consultancy delivering ISO 14001, EMS, and sustainability services. Comparable to BGB as a Scotland-based boutique consultancy competing for the same EMS and sustainability-assurance client work.
• Changeworks: Edinburgh-based environmental charity tackling fuel poverty and climate change. Comparable to BGB as a Scotland-headquartered environmental nonprofit delivering both sustainability advisory services and community-facing programmes, with overlap in the Scottish environmental talent pipeline.
• Energy Saving Trust: UK-based charity delivering energy-efficiency and sustainability advice, with strong Scotland presence. Comparable to BGB as an environmental services nonprofit that hosts interns and supports sustainable business initiatives across Scotland.
• Keep Scotland Beautiful: Scottish environmental charity that delivers environmental accreditation, education programmes, and climate action campaigns. Closely comparable to BGB as a Scotland-focused environmental nonprofit running both certification schemes and community engagement programmes, and an active BGB partner.
• Zero Waste Scotland: Scottish Government-backed circular economy body that funds and shapes sustainability programmes. Comparable to BGB as a Scotland-based environmental services body partnering with BGB on the Circular Economy Internship Scheme, addressing the same SME sustainability market.
• Sniffer: Edinburgh-based environmental consultancy and social enterprise focused on climate adaptation and sustainability. Comparable to BGB as a Scotland-based environmental services organisation combining advisory work with training and capacity-building projects.
• Resource Efficient Scotland: Government-funded programme providing SMEs with environmental and resource efficiency advice. Directly comparable to BGB's EMS consultancy and sustainability services, serving the same Scottish SME customer base with overlapping green-business advisory work.

Emerging players

• Cycling Scotland: Scottish national cycling charity that funds and manages active travel programmes. Comparable to BGB as a Scotland-based nonprofit partner that funds interns and sustainability placements, with overlapping focus on behavioural change and community engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ShadeGreener
• Facebookfacebook.com/brightgreenplacements
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brightgreenbusiness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bright Green Business