Northamptonshire web design agency Poppy Eco Hub has been named runner-up in a regional category at the Small Business Growth Awards.

The business, founded by Marie Baker and Daniel Lister in 2024, was recognised in the Start-Up Business Award category for the East Midlands at the awards, organised by the Federation of Small Businesses and HSBC UK.

Poppy Eco Hub was selected from almost 3,000 entries across the region, with judges praising the company for “building a solid foundation upon which it can thrive”.

Baker collected the award at a ceremony held at The Carriage Hall in Nottingham, attended by finalists and winners from across the East Midlands.

The Northamptonshire-based agency specialises in creating websites designed to reduce environmental impact while meeting recognised accessibility standards.

Since launching, the business has worked with charities, local authorities and private sector organisations across the UK, delivering WordPress websites hosted using renewable energy sources and designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards.

The company also achieved B Corp certification within 18 months of launch, recording a score of 98.1, above the threshold required for certification.

Marie said: “We are absolutely over the moon. We are a small team in Northamptonshire doing something we genuinely believe in, and being recognised for it by the FSB from almost 3,000 other entries is something we are really proud of.

“We started Poppy Eco Hub because we could see two problems that nobody was tackling together. Websites were getting heavier, slower and more carbon-intensive at exactly the same time that accessibility legislation was tightening and one in four people in the UK were still being quietly shut out of digital spaces.

“That felt wrong. So, we built an agency to fix both at once, and that is exactly what we do every single day.”

She added: “Every website we deliver is low carbon and fully accessible to WCAG 2.2 AA. We are the first agency in the UK to hold B Corp certification while doing this work, and we take that responsibility seriously. This award tells us we are on the right track.”

Main Image: Marie Baker, founder of Poppy Eco Hub, with the Start-up Business Award runner-up trophy at the Small Business Growth Awards 2026.