Southern Sustainability Partnership events are where genuine sustainability and environmental management initiatives meet real market opportunity.
They provide a proven platform for organisations to showcase credible sustainable practices, connect with decision-makers, and drive measurable business growth.
Few initiatives are more powerful than those born out of frustration — and that’s exactly where ours began. As directors of a programme designed to educate businesses on sustainability, we kept asking the same question: “Now what?”
Businesses were learning, engaging, and investing time — but when it came to practical next steps, the answers simply weren’t there.
So we created them.
That question became the seed of an idea, and nine months later, the first Southern Sustainability Partnership Expo opened its doors. What started as a simple concept quickly grew into a full-scale platform — and we’ve never looked back.
Just three years later, we expanded further with the introduction of the Southern Sustainability Partnership Awards, recognising leadership, innovation, and real-world impact across the sustainability landscape.
Founded in 2015, The Southern Sustainability Partnership Limited emerged from a collective vision to champion corporate sustainability and the drive towards net-zero carbon across organisations of all sizes. With over 26 years of combined experience in sustainability, our founders, Anita Potten and Lynda Daniels, embarked on a mission to transform advice into action—creating a tangible platform for companies to not only navigate but excel in their sustainability journey.
We recognised the gap between knowing what to do and having the means to do it in the realm of sustainability. Our aim was to build the “ship” and “port” for organisations to embark on their sustainability voyage. The journey has been one of passion, dedication, and continuous learning, as we strive to make a difference in both the public and private sectors.
Our annual Big Sustainability Expo and the Big Sustainability Awards stand as testaments to our commitment. These events are designed to foster connections, showcase innovations, and celebrate achievements in sustainability. By creating a space where magic happens, we enable passionate delegates and caring suppliers to collaborate effectively.
To ensure the most comprehensive and effective platform for our delegates and our exhibitors, we began using artificial intelligence in 2025 to assist us with reseach of the products, services, technologies, innovation and experts you want to see at our events. This tool has enabled us to expand our reach and achieve our goals without expanding our team. This means our stand pricing is highly competitive and the expo is free for all delegates.
Committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner, we practice what we preach. As a two-person business, we recognise our unique position to minimise our environmental impact and promote sustainable practices in our daily operations.
Our Commitments
• Remote Working: Enables us to significantly reduce commuting-related emissions and energy use associated with commercial office spaces. With our Dorset office running on air source heating.
• Energy Efficiency: We adopt energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and heating in our offices and aim to reduce electricity consumption wherever possible.
• Digital-First Approach: We minimise paper use by prioritising digital communication,
documentation, and file storage, and only print when absolutely necessary. All of our event printing is produced by Stanbury Chameleon in partnership with the World Land Trust.
• Waste Reduction: We recycle all eligible materials and responsibly dispose of e-waste. We aim to reduce single-use plastics and packaging in our supply chains.
• Sustainable Purchasing: We prioritise suppliers and service providers who demonstrate strong environmental practices and offer sustainable alternatives.
• Continuous Improvement: We regularly review our environmental impact and look for new ways to improve our sustainability efforts, both individually and as a business. We believe that small businesses have a vital role to play in environmental stewardship. Our size allows us to be agile, intentional, and proactive in reducing our ecological footprint.
With a career rooted in telecommunications, sales, and project management, Anita has long been focused on using technology as a force for positive change — particularly in reducing organisational carbon footprints. What began as a commercial career gradually evolved into a deeper commitment to sustainability, driven by a desire to create practical, measurable impact.
That journey was cemented during her involvement in a carbon reduction initiative for the Borough of Poole. It was here that she met Lynda — a meeting that would prove pivotal. A shared frustration with the lack of clear, actionable pathways for businesses striving to reduce their environmental impact quickly turned into collaboration.
This led to her joining the green supplier network, The Green Knowledge Network, and ultimately to the founding of The Southern Sustainability Partnership Limited — a platform created to bridge the gap between sustainability ambition and real-world action.
With extensive experience in marketing across the electronics assembly marketplace and, more recently, the renewable energy sector, Lynda brought a deep-rooted passion for environmental management to the co-founding of the Partnership. Her career consistently reflected a belief that sustainability should be embedded into business strategy, not treated as an afterthought.
Her journey intersected with Anita’s while working together as directors on a carbon reduction initiative for the Borough of Poole. Alongside this, as organiser of a green supplier network, The Green Knowledge Network— Anita also took part in what was to further cement both the appetite for change and the lack of practical routes for businesses to act.
These shared experiences ultimately led to the creation of The Southern Sustainability Partnership Limited, founded to turn sustainability ambition into meaningful, commercially viable action.
