Bury St Edmunds-based SaveMoneyCutCarbon leads the way to a thrifty, eco-friendly future
Saving money is on everybody’s mind right now as the cost of living crisis sinks its teeth into incomes and savings.
And hot on its heels come the dire warnings about carbon and climate change that we cannot afford to ignore.
Go back a decade, and for most of us it’s unlikely either of today’s burning issues was top of the agenda.
But engineer turned businessman Mark Sait was already ahead of the curve – starting a venture that put together precisely those two concerns.
Today he is CEO of a fast-growing company recognised as the UK’s leading money-saving and sustainability platform.
Bury St Edmunds-based SaveMoneyCutCarbon started out working for businesses, a ‘one-stop shop’ that makes it easier for them to cut costs by going greener. Now it also helps householders to do the same thing.
It will do anything from taking on and managing huge projects in the public and private sector, to selling you a light bulb.
Among those whose energy bills it has helped to slash are Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hilton Hotels, and 200 schools including Eton and Harrow.
Mark is regularly called on as an expert by the media. But despite once being described in the national press as an eco-warrior, that isn’t exactly how he sees himself.
“We consider ourselves climate optimists, rather than climate activists,” he said.
“I was an engineer by trade, and had been an engineering officer in the Royal Navy, then left and did some business qualifications and had been involved in growing businesses – a couple worth £100 million-plus.
“I’m not what people would call a ‘tree hugger’. I was jetting round the world.
“Then, about 15 years ago, I saw a prediction that by 2019 we would see rioting in the streets about this thing called carbon.”
The bleak picture of the impact of carbon-producing activities stuck in his mind.
“This business was founded round the kitchen table over a glass of wine with my wife Carolyn ... it was ‘this is what I’m going to do next, here’s my idea’.”
But at the time the idea of sustainability was far from mainstream.
“At first it was really difficult, starting something where you’re creating your own playbook, something that has never been done before.
“A lot of doors closed in our face. A lot of investors told us to go away. You just have to keep going when the chips are down.
“Finding customers that were serious about it, and wanted to do things, was a difficult ask, but we kind of knew from our research that this tsunami of concern about carbon was coming.
“They say pioneers take the arrows, settlers take the land. We took a few arrows.
“It started with me leading it as an engineer. It was project-led but we always had the ambition to build a brand.
The company has offices and warehousing in Bury’s Eastern Way where it stocks 2,500 different products and also has links with the makers.
“At first we had a little office in London. Then a small office in Fornham, then we took over this place,” said Mark.
“It’s a little bit bursting at the seams but this is a good place because it allows our staff to walk into town.
“We have now done 1,000-plus projects throughout the UK and have 50 to 60 experienced staff, but will move to 70 soon.
“We began doing big projects, doing everything, where before they would have gone to a lot of different suppliers ... a bit like Gusto delivering all the food in one box.
“It starts with a carbon mentor call for new customers. Where are you now, and what do you want?
“From that we can create a road map of where you want to get to, your goals. Some are really ambitious, and want to get to carbon zero by 2050. Others just want to do one thing.
“Normally with a consultant it would stop there ... but we are a true one stop shop. We put it together, find it, install the whole thing.
“Some customers also have us look after their projects. It depends on how they want to handle it.”
In the boardroom a screen shows the latest figures on the effects so far.
For carbon reduction it adds up to more than 24 million miles in an average car. Almost 800 million litres of water have been saved. And energy savings come in at over 32 million kilowatt hours.
“In a big project we also audit the staff. We want to know how much the staff know and help them learn how to keep their energy bills down.
“People who do this at home come back with a different view of saving in the workplace. Our business is as much about education as projects.
“We are not just focused on the people who are already converted.
“Some people say I know the planet is in trouble but I need it easy, all in one place, make it easy for me.
“It used to be quite a niche thing and I don’t think it should be – particularly at home with bills going up at the moment.”
And home is where the company saw a chance to focus when Covid knocked a huge hole in its regular business. It led to a new online home shop, driven by a free app.
“In Covid, 80 per cent of our turnover was wiped out because you couldn’t go into buildings,” said Mark.
“Then what people started saying was ‘we’re working from home, can I do that in my home’.
“The Home App has loads of articles and goes round each room in the house, showing sustainable swaps that make a difference to your energy bills but also to the planet.
“It’s all about education. Clever marketing and education is as important as the products. It’s about changing behaviour.
“On the app every product has its own mini calculator that will tell you how much it will save you per year.
“The overarching thing is that we treasure what we can measure, so you can track the money saved.
“We find people want to be more sustainable but not if it’s going to cost the lots of money.
“With the government it always seems to be either or, depending on what crisis we’re in. But we can do both together.
“Before Covid we were doubling in size every year, and didn’t have time to think. The pandemic gave us time to look at the business.
“Online we could have a million people using our app at the same time. We migrated to a tech business.
“The customer just wants it to be made easy, whether you are the CEO of a hospital or sitting at home looking at your energy bill thinking ‘oh God I have to do something’.
“Pretty much every kind of building you can imagine, we have looked after it. We cut our teeth and learned how to manage it.
“Office buildings, warehouses, retail groups, hotels ... when we do a five star hotel we can’t compromise – things have to work just as well.
“We won an NHS sustainable supplier of the year award for our work at Addenbrooke’s.
“And we have just done a big retail store group, where 7,500 LED lights reduced their bills by 60 per cent. Locally, Thetford council reduced its lighting costs in its HQ by 75 per cent.
“There is always a bit more you can do. We love it when we go in and uncover opportunities. It’s a lovely feeling when they save money and help the planet.”
The company also has an office in London which it needs to attract the multi-million pound investors who, Mark said, could be put off by the lack of transport links to Bury.
But he feels that East Anglia should have a major role in sustainability.
“I live in Ixworth and I am a big fan of Bury. I have a personal view that East Anglia should lead the renewable sector.
“We should be the renewable hub, and SaveMoneyCutCarbon is one of the leading brands.”
Attracting people to work for the company is not a problem. “I have amazing staff, many from the local area,” he said.
“We’re now in a position where people approach us. A lot of younger people want to work in a business with a purpose, they are interested in doing good. That’s exciting for us. We like developing staff.
“We now encourage people who are growing their own business under our umbrella ... little business teams that run their own areas of speciality like electric vehicles.
“With EVs we deal with the manufacturers who make the charging points, not the cars.”
He stresses that people should not be racked with guilt if they cannot make their homes completely eco-friendly, and uses his own house as an example.
“I moved from quite a new house in the town to quite an old house in the country. We now have a woodburner, but use different firelighters.
“We have eco-shower heads, which are good because we have teenage children, and LED lighting on control so if my daughter walks out of the room it turns itself off. I drive a hybrid electric car.
“But not everything is applicable to everybody. If we have 20 or 30 things you can do, maybe do four or five. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you can’t do everything.
“Try some sustainable swaps – like buying toilet rolls that don’t have plastic round them.
“If there is anything positive in the cost of living and energy crisis, it’s that it makes people look at how they use their energy, and do it in a more efficient way.”
For more information, visit savemoneycutcarbon.com.
To access the free home app via the website on Google Play or Apple Store click on ‘resources’ then choose ‘our apps’.
