In late 2024 I interviewed Gayle Rogers and Chris Williams of the Workers Gallery in Ynyshir on their 10th anniversary since opening. It’s wonderful to see that the sustainability embedded in the Worker’s model is being recognised. The gallery has reached the final of an important competitive support programme.
Launched by Small Business Britain in partnership with BT, the inaugural Green Growth Awards will give sustainability grants of £5000 each to two small businesses that have successfully boosted their bottom lines by implementing sustainable initiatives. The grants will help the winning businesses to build on that work.
The Green Growth Awards
Dr Gayle Rogers founded the Workers, a small but fierce independent gallery and creative space, in 2014. She made it to the final round of the awards after impressing judges with her commitment to Green growth.
While Green growth can be seen as an oxymoron from a macroeconomic perspective, and economies could be better built around wellbeing, it’s also worth keeping in mind a more nuanced perspective. Small businesses can grow a sustainable aspect of their organisation in order to directly shrink unsustainable elements. For instance, a straight up replacement of polluting vehicles by cycling.
The 5.5mn small businesses in the UK are estimated as creating half of overall business emissions. So the Green Growth Awards has been launched as part of Small Business Britain’s ongoing partnership with BT, to empower small businesses to better understand their environmental impact and embrace more sustainable practices and growth opportunities.
The Green Growth Awards shine a spotlight on the small businesses that are not only driving sustainability but also setting the standard for innovation and growth. These businesses are proving that Greener practices not only benefit the planet but also create real business success – whether through cost savings, waste reduction, or deeper customer engagement. Their passion and commitment are making a real impact on their communities and the economy.
Chris Sims, Chief Commercial Officer, UK Business, BT
The Workers’ eco-transport approach
The Workers initially invested in a cargo e-bike to make local deliveries of orders. But the potential to do more with the bike soon saw it being used to deliver community library book loans and pedal-power their ‘gallery home visits’ initiative.
Gayle says: “My focus is sharing work that has resonance for local people – that can inspire reminiscence or storytelling. The visits are a way to help tackle isolation and enable those living in the community to experience what’s going on around them in a safe and familiar environment.”
“I visit nursing homes, warm-banks, and those who are housebound with unframed artwork and photographs, alongside books and catalogues relating to exhibitions. I’m there to talk through the work and offer activities like drawing or collage, to help people respond in their own creative way to what they’re experiencing. My eco-transport approach has expanded the gallery’s exhibitions reach into the community, and I want that to develop further.’’
On being named as a finalist, she said: “The cargo e-bike was a game-changer for my business. As someone in my late-50s I want to show people what it’s possible to do with an e-bike for a micro-business like mine, and that age is not a barrier to cycling for work.”
Challenging ‘normal’
Gayle notes that there can be as much interest in the e-bike as in the artwork and the orders she delivers, “inspiring conversations around sustainability, cycling, exercise for good mental health, and travel.”
Chris and Gayle may be the only business owners operating via a cargo e-bike across the Valleys. They want to inspire others to do the same, despite the hilly terrain and the steps to many Valleys homes and venues.
The winners of the Green Growth Awards will be announced at a special event at BT’s London Headquarters on 11 March.
The Workers are doing vital work, and not only providing a space for creative people on a high street in the Rhondda Fach and connecting often-isolated individuals and groups in our communities. They’re doing so by implementing innovative sustainability practices and challenging the ‘normal’ way of operating, on multiple fronts.
The Workers Gallery deserves investment for the joy and innovation the enterprise brings to the Valleys. Good luck, Gayle and Chris. Up The Workers!
