Decarbonisation

How does my job relate to nature?

Why holding a space for nature-connection is my dream job

Our Sustainability Trainer Sara Wynne-Pari discusses her sustainability journey.

Growing up in rural North Wales has greatly influenced my love for nature and my dedication to protecting the natural environment. Although I’ve worked across a wide variety of disciplines, nature and biodiversity have been a constant underlying theme. I enjoy helping others on their sustainability journey and being a good environmental communicator, able to understand and tailor discussions to individual needs, has been integral to my work.

This passion for both nature and communication has led me to be the lead trainer and project manager for  Nature Wise, our eco-literacy training programme. I also develop content and deliver bespoke nature-based training to help organisations improve their understanding of the nature crisis and recognise ways they can take action to reverse it. 

I’m currently studying an IEMA-accredited MSc in Environmental and Business Management at Bangor University. Although I was nervous to return to education two decades after my bachelor’s degree, I have found the experience re-energising. It is rewarding to develop my own knowledge but also great to be able to apply all the experience and insights I have gained to what I’m learning.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me exploring the beaches of Ynys Mon, waiting for the cuckoo’s return to Nant Ffrancon, looking for new swimming spots or riding my electric bike through Eryri (Snowdonia). Delivering the NatureWise course has given me an even deeper respect and connection to nature and I feel very lucky to be able to hold a space for others to explore this through the course.  

Nature Wise is a science-based, action-focused course to help participants understand the relationships between people and natural systems. It shares knowledge, builds understanding and provides the tools to motivate and catalyse action. 

We can’t live without nature — it provides us with the essentials for life, such as clean air, water, and food, and greatly contributes to our physical and mental wellbeing. It is our best ally in the fight against climate change. 

There’s a way we can all incorporate nature into our work – of course planting trees and volunteering outdoors is important but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. There are lots of other ways we can help, for example, you could become a nature champion at work, sharing tips and ideas with your colleagues; encouraging your organisation to incorporate wildlife corridors and pollinating plants around your business sites or incorporating biodiversity considerations into your procurement process. 

Unsure of how you can implement any of that in your role? Worried you don’t have the right influence, or can’t figure out the steps to getting there?

Join us for the Nature Wise eco-literacy course! We will provide you with information, ideas and inspiration. We also offer bespoke courses for any organisations who would like more tailored content.

Sara Wynne-Pari is one of our Sustainability Trainers. She leads Nature Wise eco-literacy training, regularly running Nature Wise for Work which helps you understand your human-nature relationship as it fits in with your job role, and how you can improve your work’s relationship to nature via achievable goals.

How does my job relate to nature? Read More »

What can a just and fair net zero transition look like? 

What can a just and fair net zero transition look like?

What can a just and fair net zero transition look like? It’s a topic that has been on my mind a lot since joining Cynnal Cymru in February as the Senior Programme and Policy Lead, leading our Fair Work and Living Wage team. Unsurprisingly for a charity called ‘Sustain Wales’, we’ve always been a sustainability charity first and foremost. But for a few years now, we’ve worked on developing our aims on ‘just transition’, and that has included embedding the fair work agenda outlined in the Fair Work Wales report in 2019 into our aims. That has meant working with trade unions, writing policy papers on spreading fair work principles throughout existing government programmes, and sitting on the Welsh Government’s group aimed at tackling modern slavery.  

We’re also the Living Wage Foundation’s accreditation partner for Wales, meaning we essentially host Living Wage Wales in house. Living Wage Wales has delivered over 22,000 pay rises for low-paid workers across Wales through this work, including 5,575 in 2023 alone – making a direct contribution to tackling the cost of living crisis. This fits with another key Cynnal Cymru principle – focus on action, not just words. 

This is what myself and my colleagues on the Fair Work and Living Wage team work on – but what does it have to do with sustainability? I’d say it has a huge contribution to make. We should be honest about the fact that there are vested interests who are opposed to carbon reduction and nature-positive actions, particularly at the scale we know these need to happen at. It barely needs saying, but profit motives very often run against sustainability aims. A tree can be a project stewarded by communities over hundreds of years that provides space for nature and clean air for people, or it can be a blocker to a new car park. At time of writing, it was only yesterday that we heard the UAE government plans to use COP28 to make oil deals.  

There are often efforts to protect private profit motives via leveraging the jobs business creates, to bind the inexorable destruction of the natural world to the interests of working people. In this framing, environmentalists and their causes are painted as cloistered from the demands of the real world that most people have to deal with. There’s no hiding from the fact that this can be an emotive and powerful dividing line, carving the people whose world is being worsened away from efforts to protect it. We saw in the recent Uxbridge by-election how action on emissions, in this case Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ), can be utilised for political gain. 

Focus on action – not just words.

For me, then, a just and fair transition isn’t just a slogan. It is a vital tool in our efforts towards carbon reduction and nature restoration. If our sustainability efforts are questioned, we can very happily point to the work we do to ensure that people have access to fair working conditions and boosting the pay of those in the lowest-paid jobs so that they can afford to live and not just exist. Work on a fair and just transition can bind working people to the cause of sustainability – not an inconvenience for people, but an opportunity. At a legislative level in Wales, the recent Social Partnership and Public Procurement Act has amended the Well-being of Future Generations Act to include ‘fair work’, and our well-being indicators include payment of the real Living Wage and trade union membership. This binds the cause of working people even closer to the task of saving our planet. 

If we get it right, the green transition gives us the opportunity to repair many of the broken elements of our economy. It can mean high-quality, unionised, green jobs spread across communities that have seen unfair working practices and low pay proliferate. Green skills training programmes that prepare our workforce for the future can contribute to bringing an end to the gender and racial inequities we see today. And of course, it can mean the avoidance of the road to disaster our climate and natural world are currently on.

So, as we look at Wales Climate Week and COP28, let’s keep the things that are important to people – their livelihoods, incomes, and their everyday lives – at the forefront of our minds. That’s what a just and fair transition is all about. 

Harry Thompson is Cynnal Cymru’s Senior Programmes and Policy Lead. He manages the Fair Work and Living Wage team, which work towards Cynnal Cymru’s strategic goal of a fair and just society. He comes from an economic policy background, having led projects on topics such as empowering trade unions, the Welsh Government’s fiscal framework, and community empowerment.

He is also our Equality and Diversity lead.

What can a just and fair net zero transition look like?  Read More »

Green Skills for a Net Zero Wales

How do we build green skills for a Net Zero Wales?

Last week, a few members of the Cynnal Cymru team attended Green Skills for a Net Zero Wales led by Business in the Community. In this breakfast briefing about the Green Skills agenda in Wales, likeminded organisations met to discuss green skills, with an address from the Minister of Economy in Wales, Vaughan Gething. Cynnal Cymru facilitated round tables with senior leaders in business of all sizes across Wales to exchange ideas on how everyone in Wales can grow a skilled workforce that meets Wales’ net zero commitments.  

What are Wales’ Net Zero Commitments?  

As part of the All Wales Plan 2021-25, organisations across every sector have pledged to make changes towards a net zero economy. In order to achieve a net zero economy, Wales as a whole needs to reduce our total emissions in 2030 by at least 90% relative to the baseline year, 2019-20.

How can we do this?

A key message in the event was championing the notion that green skills are not just about technical skills or the creation of new jobs. At Cynnal Cymru, we believe in a well-rounded approach to sustainable change, which is why we have a Fair Work team leading Living Wage Wales and a just transition to sustainable changes.  

Since joining Cynnal Cymru, I have attended and led events such as a Net Zero Skills round table for the Open University, a steering group for the IEMA green careers hub, and a Mainstreaming Equality for a Just Transition evidence panel. Through these conversations and research, I have come to realise that if we define green skills narrowly – only as technical jobs in energy and transport, for example – we will alienate people and will not reach our Net Zero transition goals. The UK economy, like many others, relies on sectors such as hospitality, retail, healthcare, construction, creative arts and more, which also need to be a part of this transition. Our focus must be on supporting existing sectors to upskill and re-skill their existing workforces so that huge communities don’t miss out on being part of a Net Zero economy.  

If we define green skills so narrowly – only as technical jobs in energy and transport, for example – we will alienate people and will not reach our Net Zero transition goals.

So why aren’t we doing this?

I noticed that organisations:  

  • Don’t have the time to think about green skills  
  • Don’t know where to start with these conversations or changes  
  • Don’t know how green skills apply to them  

I think this can be linked back to the understanding that every job can be green.  The Welsh Government is currently taking consultations on how to achieve net zero skills across sector. Cynnal Cymru is a member of the SME Taskforce for Climate, alongside other small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). As part of my work on this taskforce, I am educating workplaces across sectors on the ways they can understand their own skillset in relation to net zero.

Sign up for Cynnal Cymru’s newsletter to discover actions for nature or get in contact for how we can support you directly in your sustainability journey.

Karolina joined Cynnal Cymru in 2021 as our Sustainability Advisor to provide consultancy support to the public and private sectors on how to become more sustainable in their operations. She represents Cynnal Cymru on the SME Taskforce for the Climate.

Green Skills for a Net Zero Wales Read More »

What inspires you to take action on the climate and nature crisis?

“I’m really excited about the future if we tackle these crises in a positive way. We’ve lost so much biodiversity in Britain. And in my lifetime, if we could see that natural spectacle come back, what a wonderful future we could create.” (Dan)

“There’s a trillion planets but as far as we know, we are on the only one that can sustain life! It just proves how precise the conditions need to be for life. And you know, climate change, it’s not about the planet: it’s about life, here.” (Carys)

“As a kid, I enjoyed playing in nature. It’s so important for confidence, learning about yourself. And that’s only going to be possible for kids in the future if they don’t have to worry about how resilient the environment is.” (Gethyn, Ecologist)

“I was born in rural France and I can see all this change. If we don’t make a difference now, then the world we live in will be so different, so dangerous for the future generation. Think about that! We have to sort it out.”

“We’re helping to decarbonise Wales one business at a time so they can have a good carbon footprint and a solid carbon reduction plan because it just makes perfect sense.” (Dave, Auditel)

“I think the vegan movement and a more plant based lifestyle is a way that is going to help propel us into a more conscious future.” (Carly)

“It’s my duty of care as a teacher to have an interest in sustainability and make sure it has a direct impact in education and on future generations.” (Mary)

“I’m involved primarily for my and others’ future generations. But also because it’s the sensible way to live” (Ceri)

“I’m of the insect-splattered windscreen generation. My children have no concept of it; it’s declined by 80% in my lifetime. It’s the proverbial canary in the coalmine. Halting and reversing the moving baseline is what inspires me.” (Ben, Woop Woop Magazine)

“The time is now to think and work collectively to envision a brighter and environmentally just world. Join the conversation to realise a better planet and collective future. We need to move beyond doom and imagine what is possible.” (Louise)

“SMEs account for over half of the UKs economy and I feel a sense of honour and privilege in playing a part in a more sustainable commercial future.” (Louis, Web Marketer UK)

“My belief that we have a moral obligation to leave the world a better place was strengthened when I travelled & experienced the impact of climate change first hand. Now I use my unique skillset to try to reverse the damage that’s been done” (Ant, Motion Manor)

“When you have a home planet that has everything in it to help you live a good life, it makes sense to look after it. It’s self care – for us as a species who have the good fortune to exist in this bountiful ecosystem.” (Sylvia, Cynnal Cymru)

What inspires you to take action on the climate and nature crisis? Read More »

A laptop with online meeting in a backround and a plant

Try the hybrid way for the planet and people

When organisations grow, it is a cause for celebration. New staff members, new clients, and crowded offices! The obvious response is to move to a bigger place, upgrade the current space or make the leap from renting to buying an office! After all, staff productivity and healthy working places make a huge difference to businesses and their staff, as many tech companies confirm. But since the pandemic, and because of commitments to reducing impacts on climate, investing in offices and buildings is not the only viable solution.

The great shift

During the COVID-19 pandemic, like millions of other people who were not working in core services such as health care, transport or food retail, our Cynnal Cymru team (at that time just five people) left their shared office space unsure when they would come back. But as time went on, our team adapted to working online, and stopped printing material, travelling for meetings and to work, and ordering stationery for everyday use and events. As we got more used to working remotely, we also developed new habits and ways of working, which resulted in us creating new training products that addressed the newly emerging need for remote learning.

The new way of working spurred innovation and made us realise we can forego business travel, stop printing documents and buying office stationery, stop using business cards and give up commuting for good. We realised we can grow without having all the things every service-based organisation thought it needed.

With that came savings and a reduction in Scope 2 carbon emissions – that is, emissions associated with the use of electricity. Because we weren’t using an office, our emissions fell from 5.25 tonnes of CO2e to zero. We did not use gas for heating and we had no company cars, so this showed no change (we stayed at 0 tonnes of CO2e). There was also a change in some of the categories of emissions in Scope 3 (that is, emissions from everything but the use of gas and fuel (scope 1) and electricity (scope 2)). Our emissions from business travel went down from 1.9 tCO2e to zero, and likewise, staff commuting changed from 0.2 tCO2e to zero.

So far so good, but the team began to grow during the pandemic, which meant that if we returned to office working, we would need more space – and in the meantime, we needed new laptops. That alone meant our Scope 3 emissions increased from 2.96tCO2e before the pandemic to 3.84tCO2e – mainly due to the purchase of our new laptops! We were also still paying costs on our now-empty office, and although our bills were included in the rent, the space we occupied was heated by gas over which we had no control. If we were to continue this way, without making any changes, our emissions would continue to rise and we would not achieve our decarbonisation target. In fact, because of the increase in our staff numbers, we didn’t meet our target, but a change was clearly needed to our office situation. Our carbon footprint results for the post-pandemic year were not dissimilar to those of comparable organisations around the world, as during the pandemic, emissions were lower in areas such as business travel and commuting, but shifted to household energy use and logistics of goods. Moreover, many offices that were empty of workers during the pandemic were still operating, wasting the energy that powered them. The reductions seen during the pandemic turned out to be temporary, and in 2022, when the lockdown restrictions started to be phased out, the emissions rebounded.

Becoming hybrid

To have an office or not? That was the question we had to grapple with. By the end of 2022, Cynnal Cymru had twelve staff members but only three office-loving regulars. We had begun travelling for work again, and meeting in person. Events were back on the agenda. All of this was great for staff morale, but not so great for the planet.

Keeping low-carbon lifestyles at home seemed to be the way forward. However, a study by the Office of National Statistics shows that it is not that straightforward. Working from home means that during a cold season, heating will be left on for a few more hours a day than usual. Electrical equipment such as laptops will be left on. Between 2019 and 2020, household emissions that were not related to travel, which is mostly heating emissions, increased by 1.5% from 80 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to 81 million tonnes[1]. While emissions from travel to work fell significantly, many households continued to purchase goods online, increasing the demand for home deliveries.

We were also mindful of the fact that if we were to become a fully remote organisation, we would need to address a mix of negative and positive impacts on staff and the organisation. According to a POST brief on the impact of remote and hybrid working on workers and organisations, working from home can increase well-being, self-reported productivity and work satisfaction, reduce work-life conflict, and introduce new ways to collaborate and more inclusive ways of working through the use of technology. However, the challenges can include increased work intensity, longer working hours, more distractions, potential health issues, decreased social interactions, fewer promotion and learning opportunities and an inability to disconnect from work.

All that being said, we took a leap of faith and decided to go for the third option – become a hybrid organisation with a combination of office-based and remote arrangements. We did not want to own or rent a whole office in which we had to store office items we do not use, but at the same time, we did not want to lose a place where we could meet with each other and our clients.

Definitions

Hybrid’ working refers to a combination of office-remote arrangements.

Flexible working describes working arrangements that give people a degree of flexibility over where, when and how they work.

Remote working refers to a type of flexible working based on location, where workers work at home or a location other than the traditional workspace where the employer is based.

Source: POST Brief No.0049

We found a co-working space in a building that meets the BREEAM standard, meaning that energy and water saving measures are in place, waste is segregated into five streams, there are light and water sensors, and solar panels on the roof. In addition, the space we chose has secure bike sheds, storage for the things we absolutely need, plenty of spaces to relax, quiet booths for private meetings or focus time – and a sustainable cafeteria! In other words, lots of facilities that a modern and sustainable office space needs!

We chose to rent two permanent desks, with access to hot-desking, meeting rooms and events spaces, which removed the need for us to buy equipment such as desks, chairs, banners, or office stationery. It gives us flexibility and a quality standard which as a small organisation we would not have been able to afford in our own office. Staff who want to work from home can continue to do so, but we have the option of a co-working space for anyone who wants to come into the office to work, or when we have a staff get-together. From the perspective of our emissions, it was a great choice as we have staff members based across Wales and England, so the less commuting the better for their pockets and our decarbonisation plan.

We are only a few months into our new way of working, and the impact of this move, both negative and positive, has yet to become fully clear. In terms of our carbon emissions, our next carbon report will show whether it made a real difference because in 2022/2023 our staff numbers increased yet again!

One of the biggest benefits of moving to a co-working space is collaboration. We sit side by side with many organisations with whom we have worked over the years, as they too have made a move, and so a spontaneous chat over a coffee can lead to discussions that are hard to replicate remotely.

Unsure where to start? Here is what you can do

With the rise of flexible, remote and hybrid working, organisations need to rethink their strategy to ensure that it benefits people and the planet. Here are a few things to get you started:

1. Calculate emissions and compare emissions before and after the pandemic

A carbon report will give you a great understanding of what areas you need to tackle. If, for example, the report before the pandemic shows high emissions from your use of offices which are not often staffed, this is something that needs to be tackled first in your decarbonisation strategy.

2. Survey your staff

Given that every organisation is different, there is no one size fits all, but the trend in the UK and around the world points towards flexibility. One of the biggest benefits to offering staff an option to work from home is retaining and attracting talent. But, to understand what your team needs in terms of work arrangements, it is best to devote time to a conversation before any big decisions are made.

3. Learn from others

Whichever option you choose, it will have some impact on your organization, so have a chat with other organisations that had gone through the same process. Our Sustainability Adviser talked to IEMA about their decisions, experience, and the benefits of becoming a remote organisation, which helped her better understand the practicalities of a big shift. As noted earlier, just because there is no office, it does not mean that emissions vanish completely.

4.  Adopt a circular mindset

Whether you forego an office altogether or downsize, remember to do it with as little impact as possible on the environment. In preparation from our move, we didn’t simply order a skip and chuck everything in! Instead, everything was sorted into four piles: things to give away, things to sell, things to keep, and things to recycle – which left us with a small pile of items that had to be disposed of.

5. Focus on staff and emissions from home

Whether you decide to go fully remote, hybrid, or offer greater flexibility, you need to think about staff engagement as a priority going forward. Consider using the saving you made from selling or moving out of your office to invest in better remote procedures (automation), staff activities and get to-togethers, as well as well-being offers. If you are downsizing or reducing office hours, consider investing in low-carbon solutions both at work and at home. Use this resource to understand the impact of homeworking.

Here is how we can help

Training ↗

We can help you build knowledge and an empowered workforce through our courses and training programmes

Membership ↗

Join a growing network of sustainability leaders and connect with like-minded organisations.

Advice↗

We help you to identify your organisation’s impacts on people and the environment,.

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/covid19restrictionscuthouseholdemissions/2021-09-21

Try the hybrid way for the planet and people Read More »

Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group Launches First Challenge: How could Wales feed itself by 2035?

The world is experiencing the disastrous impacts of the climate crisis and is currently off track to avert further impacts.  Leading scientists recently issued what they called “our final warning”. The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have jointly invited an independent group to explore how the country can speed up its transition to net zero, and how amending its target to 2035 from 2050 could be made possible. 

The ‘Group’, led by former Environment Minister Jane Davidson, is tasked with: 

  • finding the best examples of transformative change from Wales and around the world and bringing them to Wales; 
  • challenging the Welsh government and Senedd (Welsh Parliament) to go further and faster; 
  • imagining what a fairer, more sustainable future looks like for the Welsh nation. 

Will Evans, 10th generation farmer from Wrexham and member of the Group said: 

“I am deeply concerned about the impact of climate change on farming in the UK and across the world, that’s why I am proud and excited to be part of this national conversation on how Wales can blaze a trail for action and adaptation to safeguard a future for our children.” 

10th generation farmer Will Evans, is proud of his work. Yet he has grave concerns about the future of farming in Wales and the future for his daughters in the face of climate change. He is aware that farming needs to change and this provides a huge opportunity. He has recently joined the newly formed Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group, chaired by ex-environment minister Jane Davidson to help ensure farming and the food system in Wales is fit for the future. The Group is formally launching its work today, with a first challenge to explore how Wales could feed itself by 2035. 

Jane Davidson, Chair, said: 

“Setting up the challenge group shows that the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru “get” the graveness of our global situation and are serious about how we can lessen the impacts and prepare for the future.” 

The Group is looking for the most imaginative solutions to inform 10-year deliverable plans from 2025 to 2035.  

It will be seeking views from Wales and the world; making draft conclusions public to openly put them to the test in Wales and beyond, before making recommendations to the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru in summer 2024.  

Jane Davidson added:

“I challenge anybody with big ideas about how to reach net zero by 2035 – whilst also making sure that we support communities in Wales and deliver better outcomes for nature – to respond to our calls for evidence.” 

The Group will be wanting to hear from people and communities across Wales and the world to listen to their experiences and ideas, across a range of key challenges. The first challenge, being launched today, is How could Wales feed itself by 2035? 

The first challenge’s call for views and evidence also launches today and is expected to run for two months, closing on the 30th June. The launch dates for further challenges will be announced in due course. The Group’s work is scheduled to run until summer 2024. 

The Group is made up of 25 independent, unpaid members and includes representatives from the Welsh Youth Parliament. 

The five Net Zero 2035 Challenges are: 

  1. How could Wales feed itself by 2035?  
  2. How could Wales meet energy needs by 2035 whilst phasing out fossil fuels?   
  3. How could Wales heat and build homes and workplaces by 2035?  
  4. How could people and places be connected across Wales by 2035?  
  5. What could education, jobs and work, look like across Wales by 2035? 

Visit the new website netzero2035.wales for more details >>

For more information, contact Stanley Townsend

Please follow the new Wales Net Zero for updates on their work at:
Twitter @WNZ2035
Mastodon @WNZ2035@toot.wales
Linkedin Wales Net Zero 2035

Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group Launches First Challenge: How could Wales feed itself by 2035? Read More »

Heading for Net Zero? Our new partnership can help

We are seeing a growing demand for services not just to help organisations make sense of sustainable development, but more specifically to measure their impact relating to climate change and the Net Zero ambition.  Identifying robust and scientifically accurate data is a barrier to many organisations and so to assist with this challenge, Cynnal Cymru is joining forces with Compare Your Footprint to provide an enhanced carbon accounting consultancy.

Compare Your Footprint is a B Corp based in the UK which provides the best quality tools to consultants and businesses; and expertise to support organisations to make a just transition to a sustainable future. Their carbon software will allow us to measure scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions and generate a comprehensive analysis of a company’s footprint. This in turn will allow us to work with clients to find the most appropriate and effective strategies to decarbonise.

Our license agreement kicks off in April 2023. Please look out for our carbon accounting service launch and if you think this service may be of value to you in the future please contact consultancy@cynnalcymru.com.

Heading for Net Zero? Our new partnership can help Read More »

Image to show the Future-proofing toolkit website.

The role of business in supporting future generations

It’s been 20 years since Cynnal Cymru began working on the sustainable development agenda for Wales, building consensus and catalysing change with government, businesses and individuals. From convening Wales’s first National Conversation on the ‘Wales We Want’ to providing one-to-one support to public bodies and enterprise, we played a major part in the ascent of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and continue to dedicate our efforts to making sustainability part of the everyday vocabulary.

In February 2023, Cynnal Cymru was delighted to join a project funded by the SMART Innovation team at the Welsh Government and led by Office of the Future Generations Commissioner to review a Future-Proofing toolkit aimed at the private sector.

What is the Well-being of Future Generations Act and why does it matter to business?

The Act, passed in 2015, is one-of-a-kind legislation as it places a legal duty on the 44 public bodies in Wales to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to work to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change from occurring, rather than just dealing with their consequences. The Act is unique to Wales, attracting interest from countries across the world as it offers a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change for current and future generations.  

Although the Act does not apply to the private sector, here in Wales large organisations such as Welsh Water began to align themselves with its overall purpose of improving Wales’s well-being in the broadest sense.  They saw the Act as a framework for talking about sustainability to stakeholders and wanted to show the public sector how they too can contribute to the seven Well-being Goals that the Act sets out. After all, the private sector supplies goods and services to the public sector, so it is important to demonstrate shared values. Moreover, given that the Act reflects the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), businesses in Wales, who have been working on the SDGs, understand the Act’s relevance.

Can the Act be a guide for all businesses?

Last year we got a chance to explore this much further. In partnership with the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner we held a series of interviews with large organisations with a presence in Wales, as well as business networks who said that being able to “speak” the language of the Act would be of value to the private sector. However, in the absence of a readily available, comprehensive, and peer-reviewed guide to the Act and a framework to align with, businesses turn instead to global frameworks and the SDGs, which are more familiar to the private sector. The link between the SDGs and the Act in Wales is therefore missed.

On the back of this research, we suggested a framework for businesses to help them start making sense of the Act, which we are now trialling with larger companies. As further research we also ran a workshop with board members of Hafren Dyfrydwy (a subsidiary of Severn Trent Water) to help them realise how to contribute to the Act’s Goals.

Future-proofing smaller businesses 

While our research addressed the challenge that large businesses face, we felt that there was also an opportunity to engage smaller organisations with fewer staff and resources. 

Over the last two decades, we have noticed that small-profit and not-for-profit businesses want to contribute to sustainability but lack time, people, knowledge and money to take action. They want to sustain their operations and provide employment opportunities without causing damage to the environment, communities and economy for years to come. But they feel overwhelmed by the information about sustainability and confused when this is often presented as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must-have’ like HR, health and safety or finance. They are in need of clear advice and want to talk to someone with an understanding of their challenges. We also often hear that businesses want a one-stop shop where they can read and enquire about sustainability and find solutions that are relevant to their size or sector. And because most business owners feel that they are on their own, being part of a community is important to them too.

This is why we were excited to join Matt Appleby, Annabel Lloyd and Jonathan Tench in a project commissioned by Business Wales in conjunction with the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner to review the existing Future-Proofing toolkit and expand it to make it more relevant and helpful to SMEs. 

The toolkit aims to support businesses to play their part in Wales’s journey to the Act’s seven Well-being Goals. It is free of charge, available in the public domain and most importantly, is written from the perspective of businesses and their sustainability priorities.

We recognise, however, that to increase its relevance and effectiveness, the toolkit can be enhanced with more tools, examples and case studies to help businesses future-proof their operations. This is the next stage of our work and we are excited to use the knowledge and insights we have gained from working with our members and others to inform this.

We hope the toolkit will act as a guide to sustainable development as described in the Act, and as a hub of knowledge for businesses seeking ideas and solutions. 

Can you help test this toolkit to meet business needs?

If you are an SME and you’d like to help test this toolkit, please get in contact.

The role of business in supporting future generations Read More »

photo of a house made using hempcrete

Green Drinks with PHG Consulting: Designing sustainable housing

Last summer we held a Green Drinks networking event with PHG Consulting. Not only are PHG members of Cynnal Cymru who share our values, but last year the building became Cardiff’s second Living Wage building whereby all tenants agreed to pay the real Living Wage to their employees and contractors working on site.

The event showcased PHG Consulting and sister company, Wellspring Homes, where they shared their experience of designing sustainable housing projects helping to reduce the emissions associated with materials and construction processes (aka ‘embodied carbon’). It will also an opportunity to hear about the innovative methods of construction using solid Hempcrete walls. 

PHG Consulting – structural engineering inspired by nature

Founded in 2013, PHG Consulting is a firm of consulting Civil and Structural Engineers based in Cardiff.

Unlike many firms, they seldom advertise, or aggressively market themselves, preferring to allow their work and reputation to speak for itself, as over 85% of their work is repeat business.

They support many local community and environment causes and are passionate about Engineering, Architecture, Sculpture and the Arts, and promote creativity wherever they can. In particular, they support the promotion of engineering in local schools. 

Wellspring Homes

Wellspring Homes are a property developer established to bring low-embodied-carbon homes to both the affordable and private market. Their vision, to pursue construction-innovation which utilises better-than-zero carbon technology to deliver the next generation of living space.

With a desire to provide homes that are beautiful, practical and beneficial to the environment, Wellspring build with solid Hempcrete walls supported by a sustainable timber frame structure. Made from a mixture of hemp and lime, Hempcrete is ‘a revolution in sustainable living’.

As well as being a natural, better-than-zero carbon product, Hempcrete is breathable, insulating and mould proof. Its breathability allows moisture to pass out of the building, virtually eliminating internal condensation and potential mould growth. Its unique properties help to store and release heat from the building’s walls, limiting fluctuations in temperature and reducing energy use, the monolithic structure ensuring a high air tightness performance.

Lynfi Court in Maesteg, Wellsprings first project, is approaching completion. With its use of environmentally friendly materials, internal area of 3000ft2, air source heat pump and underfloor heating, it delivers a luxurious example of cutting edge, eco-living.

With planning permission granted for eight more homes in Neath using the same methods, Wellspring Homes continue to demonstrate what future-living can look like when the commercial housing industry choose to ‘build-different’.

Green Drinks with PHG Consulting: Designing sustainable housing Read More »

Riversimple hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle

Riversimple – The car that will transform personal transport

Riversimple have completely turned the conventional business model on its head, with a new business proposition to offer for their innovative technologies. They do not sell cars and never will.

They are making electric cars powered by hydrogen rather than batteries because they believe they have a vital role to play in decarbonising transport as quickly and effectively as possible. The only emission from our cars is water.

Most importantly, Riversimple will not be selling cars. Their vehicles will be offered to customers on a subscription-only basis. One all-inclusive, cost-transparent monthly payment will cover all costs, including insurance and fuel.

As a business they want to make sustainability profitable – the longer the cars last, the more efficient they are, the more profitable they will be.

Riversimple – The car that will transform personal transport Read More »

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