It’s been a great year for green energy at design and web agency Eight Wire in Falmouth – the company has been shortlisted in the Cornwall Sustainability Awards following the installation of 14 solar panels.

Eight Wire has been based in their studio at Ebenezer Hall since 2014 when managing director Sara Pugh converted the disused church into a spacious, light working space for the business. Now, they have taken the step to manage their energy use sustainably, with the instillation of the solar panels.

Sara said: "It is really important to us to be able to run our business sustainably. We employ 14 members of staff who throughout the week use a lot of energy, so it was vital to us to ensure we consider our planet. Along with power saving techniques, recycling and going paperless where possible, the next natural step was to look at solar energy.”

The business is estimated to produce a surplus of energy (or to generate more energy than they consume) and will avoid 3,774 kg/year of CO2 emissions as a result of installing the solar PV panels.

The change meant the business was in a strong position to enter the Cornwall Sustainability Awards which encourages, rewards and gains recognition for the excellent work businesses are doing to improve their own sustainability, and that of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as a whole.

Veryan Jones, on behalf of the Cornwall Sustainability awards, said: "We were delighted to see Eight Wire’s application for the Cornwall Sustainability Awards. Every time a business makes the step towards more sustainable practices it means a step towards a greener future across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. We were happy to shortlist Eight Wire as a finalist and look forward to seeing them at the awards event on 1st December.”