Our Sustainability Goals

From the beginning, Outside has been built on creativity, community and care for the planet. See below for more detail on our sustainability goals and initiatives.

In November 2024, we put together a detailed Carbon Reduction Plan to guide us towards becoming a near-zero business by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2040.

We assessed our electricity and water usage, waste management, supplier practices, and both staff and customer transport, identifying opportunities for improvement across every area of our operations. From that, we established a set of short and long-term actions to reduce our environmental impact, locally and within the wider environment.

A key long-term goal is to be completely off-grid, generating all of our own energy on-site.

As part of this plan, Outside was awarded funding from Devon County Council’s Green Impact Fund in January 2025 to install a Solar PV system with battery storage, which is now fully up and running.

This has already allowed us to reduce our reliance on off-site energy production by 70% — a huge step forward in our sustainability journey.

The system enables us to:

• Generate around 22,000 kWh of renewable electricity every year, allowing us to run almost entirely on our own clean energy.
• Cut our emissions by around 60% (approximately 5 tonnes of CO₂ annually).
• Save around £12,000 per year on energy costs, freeing up funds to invest in further green initiatives.
• Store clean power for use across the site, and export any surplus back to the grid.

Sustainability is embedded in every aspect of Outside — from how we power and heat our buildings, to how we grow food, manage waste, and support our team.

• Our air source heat pump provides efficient, low-carbon heating.
• Our on-site farm supplies the café with zero-mile produce, promoting sustainable agriculture and providing educational opportunities through our monthly farm tours and workshops.
• We have zero raw or cooked food waste, thanks to our on-site Ridan Composter, which turns all food scraps into usable compost.
• We prioritise local suppliers and work continuously to reduce transport emissions and packaging waste.

Outside was built with the incredible support of our local community, and they remain at the heart of everything we do.

• We’ve focused on creating stable, year-round employment in hospitality — in an area that is often seasonal — and we’re proud to be a Living Wage Employer.
• We keep our menu and events accessible and affordable, ensuring that our space remains open to everyone.
• We see sustainability as more than environmental — it’s social, economic, and cultural too.

From how we make business decisions, to how we support our team and engage our visitors, sustainability is integrated into every step. By leading by example, we hope to inspire change within our peers, partners, and community.

We share our sustainability story widely to engage, educate and inspire.
Through Instagram, Facebook, and our newsletter, we’ve built a strong and supportive following that’s genuinely interested (we hope!) in the progress we’re making.

It has been a challenging time to build and grow a new business, but by investing in renewable energy, reducing waste, and following a clear decarbonisation plan, we’re not only cutting our carbon footprint — we’re also lowering operational costs and building the foundations for a resilient, future-ready business.

Outside is proud to demonstrate how small, independent enterprises can lead on sustainability, proving that creativity, community and climate action truly can thrive together.