Cambridge-based small business owner on building differently and making sustainability work in the construction industry

One small business success story featured in the new Novuna Business Finance sustainability report is Cambridge-based Chris Howard, co-founder of Cambridge Building Services.

When Chris founded his construction company, his wife was expecting twins. “I’d set up the company a little while before that,” he explains, having started out working mainly on his own with a couple of lads. “Things grew quite quickly, and I wasn’t really sure on my main focus area, but I’m a joiner by trade.”

In the early days, Chris focused on establishing trust and long-term relationships with his clients. “For me, it was about making lasting relationships, rather than just doing what some builders would do and just go in and out and get the money.”

Based in Cambridge, Chris values the close-knit nature of the city. “It’s a very small, closed city. It’s a bit like a big village, so everybody knows who you are. And if they don’t, the person next to them knows who you are, and they’re going to talk about you. I wanted to be the builder that everybody knew but talked about in a positive way.”

As sustainability and green issues became more prominent globally and locally, Chris observed a shift both in his awareness and in his business. “Where we are in Cambridge, there’s a lot of intelligent people and people that are incredibly socially conscious.” However, the business didn’t start out with a sustainability agenda. “I don’t think it was an intention to be a green or sustainable business in the beginning. We were very conscious of waste at home and waste in the business.”

The construction industry, Chris notes, is notoriously wasteful in the UK. “The more I worked, the more I became aware of just how wasteful the construction industry in the UK actually is.” In response, his company sought to reduce waste by reusing materials where possible. “We tried to combat that by reusing things.”

His growing interest in sustainable practices led him to specialise in conservation and heritage work. “That is much more sustainable than modern building, for example.” His awareness further intensified when his children started school, where sustainability was becoming a central topic. “It’s not that we didn’t know about these things, it’s that suddenly they were in front of us all the time. Because now at school, it’s something that they talk about regularly, whereas when we were at school, it wasn’t really anything, not on the agenda at all.”

Since then, the company has been dedicated to sourcing sustainable materials wherever possible. “We’ve only used sustainable materials in terms of timber, a lot of the steel we get, we try to get from Britain as much as possible.”

Chris admits the journey is far from straightforward. “It’s very, very difficult, because in this country, our attitudes and approaches to construction are just very wasteful and they’re not forward-thinking enough.”

Chris’s story is released alongside research from Novuna Business Finance which highlights the top sustainability obstacles facing UK SMEs:

- Rising energy costs (55%)

- Shifting government policies (48%)

- Inflation and interest rates (40%)

- Global economic events (37%)

- Climate change (33%)

Chris’ business story is included in full in the latest Novuna Business Finance report, Global Local: Small Business and Sustainability in a Changing World. The report explores how major sustainability issues are affecting small businesses nationwide. The report comes at a time marked by significant geo-political shifts, evolving climate change policies and growing concern about future barriers to progress.

Chris continues, that the business has focused on garden studios, outbuildings, and garden offices, which lend themselves well to modular construction. Chris sees these garden studios as valuable for wellbeing. “It’s not just environmentally friendly, but it has an impact on people’s wellbeing. We learned from recent things like COVID and the lockdowns that it’s important mental health, just as much for children and as much for people working at home.” The studios offer dedicated workspaces that help separate home and work life, reducing the stress of being “trapped with your family 24/7.”

Chris’ growing awareness that the construction industry needs to do more to adopt green and sustainable practices has deeply influenced his commitment to sustainable construction. However, he acknowledges the challenges businesses face in navigating these demands - especially when government guidance feels inconsistent or insufficient.

“As a business, you’re often left to dictate how you operate rather than being guided. Governments can be inconsistent—one day supporting ecology, the next dismissing it. In construction and manufacturing, the approach is very much business-driven, not government-driven, but it should be the other way around. We get less support than we should, especially those of us trying hard to do the right thing morally, environmentally, and in sustainability, all while keeping prices fair for customers.”

Chris goes on to explain what this means in practice: “When we buy pallets of bricks, often only about 60% are usable. The rest are discarded because they’re poorly manufactured—cast wrong or just cheap and weak, ending up as rubble. This waste is beyond my control as the end user, but it points to a need for stronger government regulation on manufacturers and suppliers to reduce waste and improve quality.”

Waste disposal costs also hit small businesses hard. I must have a waste carrier’s license to legally remove waste, and the charges are by weight and material type. These costs come out of my bottom line, not the government’s, with no incentives to do better. Most of these expenses must be passed to customers, which can be the difference between winning a job or not. Customers often want the cheapest option, but cheaper isn’t always legal or sustainable.”

Chris believes one of the most meaningful contributions his business can make is through the thoughtful restoration and reuse of older buildings. One standout project took him to Swansea, where a disused church was being transformed by a charity into a hub for disadvantaged youth. “Churches are inherently difficult buildings—large, uninsulated, and built for occasional use,” he says.

His team tackled the challenges head-on, installing insulation, an air source heat pump, and repairing structural damage including the roof, damp, and dry rot. The outcome was a revitalised space that retained its historic character while becoming a warm, energy-efficient environment suitable for regular community use, including activities like circus skills workshops.

Jo Morris, Head of Insight at Novuna Business Finance, commented: “I’d like to thank Chris, for sharing his story with us in this report and as guest on the ‘Sustainable Business Podcast’. Cambridge Building Services’ example shows how businesses, in very different sectors share something important: they are all making a significant local impact in the communities where they live and work, while also staying mindful of global conversations and actions around climate change and net-zero goals.

“At Novuna Business Finance, we know that the path to sustainability looks different for every business. What these examples show is how small businesses are finding practical, and often creative ways to respond to environmental challenges while staying true to their values and local communities. By sharing their experiences, we hope to offer useful insights and support others who are navigating similar decisions—through research, funding, and by giving them a platform to tell their stories.”

The report with Chris’s full story is available now on the Novuna Business Finance website, along with exclusive podcast interviews where business owners share their experiences in their own words.