Sustainability has risked becoming little more than a marketing tactic — or worse, quietly dropped from business strategies altogether. But Stroud-based Ecotricity, founded in 1995 by pioneer Dale Vince, remains solid in its unwavering commitment to a better future for our planet.

The sustainability landscape is shifting beneath our feet. As political priorities change and economic pressures mount, we're witnessing a troubling retreat from environmental commitments across industries. Many companies are scaling back their ESG initiatives, citing regulatory rollbacks and financial constraints as justification for prioritising short-term gains over long-term environmental health. At Golden Valley, we confront this reality daily. Our experience has taught us that the fundamental tension isn't between profitability and sustainability, but between short-term thinking and genuine innovation.

Golden Valley is funding tech workshops at local primary schools, helping to inspire children and equip them with essential digital skills.

Starting with children at Rowanfield Primary and Hester’s Way Primary, Jam Coding will deliver workshops, including computer game design, stop motion animation and robotics coding. 

Florence Nyasamo isn’t just a community leader; she’s a force for change. Her tireless advocacy for Black lives in Gloucestershire has reshaped conversations, bridged communities, and sparked transformative action.

With a varied career spanning 35 years, Lucy Smith embodies leadership, management expertise, and a deep passion for change management. In 2020, Lucy founded Inclusive Change with a mission to build the future of work with neurodiversity in mind.

This article forms part of our series highlighting the diverse innovators of our region, from culture and sustainability to government and business. In this edition, we talked with Rob Stemp, who co-founded Red Maple and DeepMinds with his partner and fellow engineer.

Sheppard Robson will be responsible for the design of the next two buildings to come forward. The firm joins the Golden Valley team alongside architect BDP, which is already well progressed with designs for the Innovation Centre and mobility hub, which will form the first development phase.

Cheltenham Borough Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities to secure the £20m of funding provisionally allocated to Golden Valley.

Tech startups are sparking excitement across the UK, promising significant economic growth. The government's recent pledge to double the Alan Turing Institute's budget to £100m underscores this sector's potential.

It’s safe to say that Golden Valley is one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative projects right now. With detailed designs progressing for the Innovation Centre and the grand opening pencilled in for 2026, I want to recap where we are and provide some insight into the team, our goals and ethos.

Since making Cheltenham our newest home, we’ve loved connecting with our friends and neighbours. Cheltenham’s links with the government make it secretive by nature, but this just adds a layer of intrigue when meeting some of its influential characters.

We met for coffee with the CEO and Co-founder of Configured Things, Simon Arnell. With his knowledge of smart cities, we couldn't wait to sit down with him and discuss data sharing, emerging technologies and how Cheltenham can set an example for smart city innovators.

Raechel Kelly was an obvious choice when writing our dream list of Cheltenham’s visionaries to interview . Founder of community project Planet Cheltenham, consultancy business The Liminality, and a serial ambassador of worthy causes, Raechel is a force of nature in the sustainability space.