The Opportunity

Channeling Lake District Heritage into Independently Certified Environmental Action

Founded in 1997 and inspired by the natural beauty of the Lake District, fragrance and skincare brand The Bath House has long prioritised eco-certified, natural ingredients. However, as environmental awareness evolved, co-founders Nigel Brooks and Gareth Marshall, recognised that producing high-quality natural formulations was only part of the equation.

To reflect their surroundings and meet growing customer expectations around sustainability, the leadership team set out to transform their broader operational impact from product packaging and energy use to supply chain ethics. To ensure their claims carried genuine authority, transparency, and structure, The Bath House initially partnered with Green Business to measure their footprint, build a structured action plan, and establish certified environmental credentials. Over time, the robust structures and data built through this ongoing partnership provided the ideal foundation to support their subsequent B Corp submission.

The Commercial Value

"Working with Green Business gave us a backbone of structure from the very beginning. It’s one thing to say you're doing the right thing, but having a trusted third party solidify your efforts and set clear, yearly milestones gives our brand authority and confidence in our claims. That foundational work not only helped our decision to cut our product plastic usage from 62% down to under 2%, but it also gave us the structure and evidence base we needed when we later submitted our B Corp certification."

- Gareth Marshall, Co-Founder, The Bath House

The Challenge

Driving Down Environmental Footprint & Elevating Operational Efficiency

Transforming a luxury skincare brand into an industry leader in sustainability meant turning complex manufacturing and supply chain realities into opportunities for practical innovation. Working alongside Green Business, The Bath House implemented targeted, high-impact initiatives across the business including:

• Pioneering Circular Packaging: Transitioned from bioplastics to bespoke, infinitely recyclable printed aluminium bottles while introducing a refill pouch system, combining premium aesthetic appeal with a low-impact, multi-use design model that reduced plastic reliance from 62% to under 2%.
• Innovative Energy Recovery: Engineered custom heat-recovery systems across formulation vessels, capturing excess thermal energy during intensive heating and cooling cycles to heat the warehouse and significantly boost manufacturing energy efficiency.
• Elevating Supply Chain Standards: Reimagined packaging elegance by stripping back unnecessary boxes, eliminating foil printing, and enforcing FSC-certified paper standards, curating a supply network exclusively aligned with the highest environmental standards.

To navigate this multi-faceted transformation without compromising production or brand equity, the leadership team needed a trusted, hands-on partner to convert high-level ambitions into a clear, actionable roadmap with measurable annual milestones.

The Approach

Practical Action Planning, Iterative Footprinting, and B Corp Preparation

Green Business provided ongoing, highly responsive support to guide The Bath House through their sustainability evolution:

• Structured Environmental Action Planning: Co-created a live action plan setting out clear operational improvements across energy, waste, raw materials, and packaging.
• Iterative Carbon Footprinting: Conducted increasingly rigorous annual carbon footprint assessments, allowing the team to accurately monitor emissions and identify hotspots as the business scaled.
• Third-Party Certification: Awarded Green Business Certification to validate their progress and provide complete transparency to retail and wholesale customers.
• Supporting B Corp & Certification Submissions: As the relationship progressed, the environmental management systems, carbon data, and policies developed with the support of Green Business directly contributed to their successful B Corp, Leaping Bunny, and vegan certification submissions.

The Impact

Industry-Leading Plastic Reduction, Circular Logistics, and B Corp Status

By embedding marginal gains and holistic environmental thinking across the entire business, The Bath House transformed its operational model into an industry benchmark for sustainable luxury:

• Dramatically Reduced Plastic Reliance: Reduced plastic packaging across their product range from 62% down to under 2%, transitioning to printed aluminium, glass, and a rapidly growing refill pouch ecosystem.
• Circular Operational Innovations: Replaced single-use shrink wrap with reusable wooden pallet collars and plastic crates between production and distribution sites, saving thousands of single-use wraps every year.
• Manufacturing Efficiency: Installed heat recovery systems to redirect waste heat from manufacturing vessels to warm the warehouse, and adopted innovative cold-process formulations to reduce energy consumption.
• B Corp Certification: Used their established Green Business frameworks and carbon tracking as a springboard to achieve certified B Corp status, cementing their standing as a force for good.

The Partnership

What It's Like to Work with Green Business

"The personal, hands-on support from Tim and the Green Business team has been exceptional. In an industry where so many services are hidden behind technology portals and automated forms, being able to pick up the phone and get quick, practical answers makes all the difference. Having that ongoing education and guidance early on gave us the confidence to tackle massive changes and made subsequent milestones like B Corp feel far more accessible."

- Nigel Brooks, Co-Founder, The Bath House