- Manchester-based social enterprise, Grounded MCR, has been awarded £6,000 through TalkTalk’s Future Fibre Fund
- The donation will help fund their upcoming sustainable community café
- The connectivity provider launched the initiative to help small businesses in Greater Manchester become more sustainable as it rolls out Full Fibre
- Research shows that Full Fibre is 80% more energy efficient than legacy copper technologies*
A £6,000 donation and coaching session from TalkTalk’s Future Fibre Fund has been awarded Grounded MCR, a social enterprise that serves locally sourced speciality coffee, to support its sustainability initiative in the local community.
After receiving a large number of applications from a range of small businesses across Greater Manchester, TalkTalk selected Grounded MCR to walk away with a Future Fibre Fund donation because of its outstanding commitment to helping vulnerable adults in the local community as well as their dedication to sustainable practices.
Grounded MCR is an independent business that serves locally sourced food and drinks currently from its bespoke trike. The business also employs vulnerable adults who suffer from poor mental health and is currently developing a community café and event space in south Manchester to offer barista training for locals – helping to build people’s skills and combat social isolation.
The donation and sustainability coaching will enable Grounded MCR to enhance their upcoming community café by adding a mini allotment to the top of the shipping container and eco-friendly walls using local repurposed materials.
The Manchester-based company is aiming to become carbon negative within its first three years of trading and eventually run its entire operations using only sustainable resources such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Natalie Lobel, founder of Grounded MCR, said: “We are so chuffed to receive this donation from TalkTalk’s Future Fibre Fund – it will enable us to create a beautiful wildflower and bug paradise, plus create eco-friendly green walls for the outside of our new cafe. We can’t wait to create the most environmentally friendly container cafe that South Manchester has ever seen!”
Will Ennett, Head of Sustainability at TalkTalk, said: “As a Salford-based business we care about supporting the local community. In recent years we’ve taken on several measures to become more sustainable, so are looking forward to helping Grounded MCR develop new initiatives that will have a positive environmental impact.”
TalkTalk has taken on a number of measures in recent years to become a more sustainable business. Following its launch of a companywide environmental policy, TalkTalk has so far been able to lower its operational carbon footprint by 80% over the past five years. It is also helping customers to reduce their lifetime carbon emissions by encouraging consumers and businesses to switch from standard broadband to full fibre – a more environmentally friendly technology*.
TalkTalk’s Full Fibre and Amazon eero packages combine the benefits of a 100% full fibre connection and Wi-Fi 6 technology to deliver enhanced speed and reliability. For more information visit:https://new.talktalk.co.uk/broadband/fttp
