Sustainability Archives | Bristol Creative Industries

March is B Corp Month, which celebrates businesses that have achieved certified B Corporation status, a measure of high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Our region has many B Corps. In fact, a report in 2023 said Bristol is home to the most B Corps of any UK city outside of London.

To mark B Corp Month 2026, we’ve updated our showcase of B Corps in the Bristol Creative Industries community. Read about inspiring businesses below, with their tips for how to become a certified B Corporation.

Bristol Creative Industries B Corps

Noughts & Ones

“My biggest piece of advice for businesses considering B Corp certification? Just start! The process may seem intense at first, but once you take that first step, it all becomes much more manageable. The B Impact Assessment gives you a clear benchmark, and it’s quicker to work through than you might think. More importantly, see it as a journey. Every step you take is a step towards becoming a better business for both people and the planet. By simply starting, you’re already making a positive impact!”

Atomic Smash

“To become a successful B Corp focus on embedding sustainability deeply within your company culture. Start by clearly assessing your environmental impact. For example, Atomic Smash made a big step by transitioning a majority of clients’ hosting to providers that solely use renewable energy and prioritising greener digital practices. Regularly evaluate your performance through the B Impact Assessment, ensuring continuous improvement. By transparently integrating these purposeful practices into daily operations and clearly communicating your efforts, your business can successfully attain B Corp status and inspire positive change.”

The Collaborators

“One of the key tips about becoming a B Corp is that you don’t just become one and tick it off your list. Achieving B Corp certification is just the start of the journey. It’s about a wholehearted commitment from the top to the bottom of your organisation to do better business. It affects everything – from Articles of Association and company mission, to choice of suppliers, clients, company policies and so on. No business is perfect, but the B Corp assessment criteria help to set priorities and objectives towards meaningful change so that people and planet are considered equally alongside profit. It’s a huge commitment, but for us, there’s no other way to do business.”

Halo

“Halo was one of the first 1,000 businesses in the UK to become a certified B Corp.

“Becoming a B Corp challenges you to focus on areas often overlooked and helps focus your business into a force for good. There is a lot to do, so I’d say start small—review suppliers, refine policies, and engage employees by letting them choose causes they’re passionate about. Keep it on the leadership agenda, talk and learn from other B Corps.

“The process is about continuous improvement, ensuring accountability and impact. Going green doesn’t mean an overhaul; think local, reduce waste, and measure your footprint- we plant a tree for every invoice we raise. The biggest tip? Just get going.”

Flight Feather

“Our mission is to shape an industry where paid media done the right way delivers client success whilst contributing to stronger communities and a healthier planet.

“This clearly aligns with the B Corp values and the accreditation has helped us focus on how we can expand our purpose.

“We had a mentor, Business on Purpose founder Andy Hawkins, to guide us through the process, which was very helpful. The B Corp community is a valuable one in which working collaboratively is at its core. If you are not sure whether to proceed with the accreditation, feel free to reach out to us (or any other friendly B Corp) and we’ll be happy to answer any questions.”

Aer Studios

“Our mission is to create work that has a positive impact on people and planet, so becoming a B Corp felt like a natural step.

“Our tip is to really make sure that your people are on board with what you’re trying to achieve. B Corp certification isn’t something that a couple of people within the organisation can be solely responsible for. It’s down to everyone playing an active role – from committing to volunteering days to understanding what reproductive policies look like in our agency.

“We take regular opportunities to share what we’re working towards and invite feedback from teams across the business, which is so far proving successful.”

Taxi Studio

“Becoming a B Corp isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about weaving purpose into your business’s DNA. It starts with a genuine commitment to people, clients, the community, and the planet. Prioritise ethical practices, transparency, and accountability.

“Continuous improvement is key; small, meaningful changes create a lasting impact. Use your business as a force for good, challenge the status quo, and resist pressures that push against positive change. The journey to certification is a mindset shift, not just a process. When you do it for the right reasons, everything else falls into place.”

Something Familiar

“First and foremost, you have to truly want to do it. When Something Familiar began our B Corp journey, it was because we wanted to wear our values on our sleeve and embed good practices from the start – ensuring our business grows in alignment with our principles.

“The process is rigorous and constantly evolving, but that’s the point. We started by being honest about where we were, then committed to change, growth, and improvement. It’s not just about policies, it’s about embedding impact into every decision.

“The benefits are super clear too, we’ve forged stronger relationships, engaged teams, and built long-term sustainability. If you’re considering starting your journey, the B Corp community is incredibly open and supportive, ready to guide you along the way.”

Purplefish PR

“Becoming a B Corp isn’t just about earning the certification, it’s about committing to continuous improvement in how your business operates. By embedding its principles into your company culture, you will ensure your team understands and embraces the commitment.

“From producing an annual impact report to recertifying every three years, B Corp principles should be woven into the fabric of your business, not forgotten once the plaque is on the wall. Tracking progress and gathering evidence are key to this. At our company, we hold a monthly B Corp team lunch to review each pillar and share updates. Certification isn’t the finish line–it’s the start of an ongoing journey to balance profit with purpose and drive meaningful impact.”

Lucy McKerron, Purplefish PR (BCI profile | B Corp profile)

Osborne Pike

“Give yourself plenty of time. Use the Impact Assessment questions to inform and guide your company policies and business practices before deciding to go for certification, so that the core values of B Corp are already embedded into your culture.

“Learn from others who have been through it but if you can, engage a consultant. We were guided through the process by Byen which made the whole experience very enjoyable.

“Be thorough and meticulous. Continually record and build your evidence to simplify the submission stage.

“If you have been honest and evidenced everything, you can be confident of your score when you submit.”

AgencyUK

You should become a B Corp because you believe in the philosophy, not because it’ll benefit you, so do it for the right reasons and focus on initiatives that make a real difference to your team, your community and the world around you.

People, Purpose and Planet are the cornerstones of being a B Corp. Get those right then in turn it will benefit your Profit.

It takes time and energy to live your B Corp values. Embed purposeful initiatives into your company culture and objectives to stay focused and on track.

It’s easier (and more impactful) to make a difference if you do so with others! Find your local B Corp community and make partnerships with like-minded businesses around you.

What it means to be a B Corp changes with the times, so be adaptable to new landscapes within society and the planet as a whole.

Bright

“The best way to become a B Corp is by not taking it as a set of requirements, but genuinely using them as principles to guide yourself as a business.

“Especially with the upcoming changes, becoming certified is a lot harder if you consider it as the minimum bar to jump. By thinking genuinely about the impact you can and want to make that aligns with who you are as a business it’s far easier to get everyone on board and embed B Corp into your culture, which in turn, makes the accreditation easier too.”

ADLIB

“The more we heard about it the more aligned we felt with it and that it gave us a framework to work towards and ultimately the recognition that we were running the company in the right way.

“The key thing is identifying where you feel as a company you can make a meaningful difference across the five core areas assessed. It’s important everyone has a voice and that you are all working towards the same goals you want to achieve.”

Shaped By

“I’d suggest working through the Business Impact Assessment one section at a time. And take your time. Chip away at tasks little and often to make steady progress. Try to set aside dedicated time each week to move forward.

“Share the workload with your team, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. It’s also important that the process feels authentic. Ideally, you’ll find that many of the policies, procedures, or at least values, are already in place in your company. So going B Corp feels natural and genuine, like the next step in your journey.”

ORCA

“Becoming a B Corp is a transformative journey that reshapes your business around core values centred on people, planet and purpose. At ORCA, these principles have always guided our work, and certification has only strengthened our commitment.

“This process impacts every part of your business, so involve your entire team from the start. Define clear roles and responsibilities to ensure that everyone contributes to the initiatives that drive sustainable change. Embedding these values into daily operations is key, and tapping into the B Corp community for insights and best practices provides invaluable support, reinforcing your mission and driving continuous growth.”

Mila Embury, ORCA (BCI profile | B Corp profile)

ORCA

Loom Digital

“Get support and carve out time:

“In terms of the application itself, we found some of the questions quite jargon-heavy. So we found it really useful to work with someone who had been through the process who could clarify what sort of information the question needed as a response.

“Having support from an external party also kept us accountable for hitting deadlines around filling in the application. We set aside one day a week during the application process.

“Involve your team:

“It’s impossible for one or two people to do everything. We found that involving the team helped to share some of the responsibilities, as well as adding an element of team-building and fun to the process.”

Karen Pearce, Loom Digital (BCI profile | B Corp profile)

Loom Digital

saintnicks

“Becoming a B Corp is just the beginning. Since certification, we’ve partnered with local B Corps to amplify our collective impact.

“We’ve focused on reducing energy consumption by installing new windows. Volunteering with charities like Bristol Zoo Project and St Peter’s Hospice has engaged our team and connected us more deeply to the local community.

“The quickest win? Switching to eco-friendly alternatives like CoCo+ for business travel and Ecosia, the greenest search engine on the planet. It’s the small, habitual changes that make a lasting difference in creating a more sustainable future.”

Sunhouse Creative

“Being a B Corp is a commitment to ongoing positive change rather than a one-time achievement, a journey rather than a destination to tick off.

“What’s worked for us has been small but regular sustainable changes: changes that can be more easily embedded into business processes, adopted by everyone in the business and built on each year.

“Certification is truly a team endeavour but, practically, it helps to have one project leader to coordinate stakeholders and drive progress.”

JonesMillbank

“For us the best advice we can give on how to successfully become a B Corp is simply to do it for the right reasons. If the B Corp set up is right for the values and direction of your business then it’s a no brainer. If however it’s primary use is that of a tool for sales, then reconsider. We’ve noted many controversial and immoral uses of the B logo by organisations hoping it’s a route to easy wins.

“The process of certification was a wonderful and thorough thing for us. It helped us ask questions of ourselves we wouldn’t have normally, set our business on a course for the foreseeable, and helped our team unite under clear and positive values. So our advice would be to enjoy the process with an open and honest mind. Even without certification you will take value from the process.”

Skylark Media

“Becoming a B Corp back in 2022 was a real turning point for us at Skylark. The B Impact Assessment helped us dig into what we were already doing well and where we needed to step up – across governance, team, environment and community.

“My advice? Don’t wait until everything’s perfect – just get started. The Impact Assessment is famously a journey, and with good reason. You’re interrogating every facet of your business.

“In uncertain times, when businesses face economic pressures and competing priorities, it’s easy to let purpose take a back seat. But it’s exactly when people, planet, and integrity are at risk that we need values-led leadership the most.”

Six

“Involve your team right from the start of your B Corp journey as you can’t do it alone.

“We needed to establish what was important to us and creating a culture where everyone is heard and can contribute means your B Corp statement is authentic and owned.

“We also would recommend being transparent, while creativity can be a force for good we also needed to be upfront with the sectors that we work in that can be playing catch up as they navigate change in sustainability.”

Epoch

“Becoming a B Corp has been a hugely positive step for us, and something we’d absolutely encourage other creative businesses to explore.

“If you’re thinking about it, start with the Impact Assessment. Treat it as a diagnostic tool first – you’ll probably discover that you’re already doing a lot of positive things for your team, community and the environment, but simply haven’t captured or measured them yet.

“Our second tip is to focus on the areas where creative businesses naturally have influence: how you support your people and community, and the environmental impact of your operations.

“Finally, remember that B Corp is about continuous improvement. Certification is just the starting point – the real value comes from using the framework to keep strengthening your impact as you work towards recertification.”

S&B Originals

“Becoming a B Corp was a natural step for us at S&B Originals. For 20+ years we’d built the business around doing the right thing, not just environmentally but for our team and wider community. B Corp gives us a framework to measure and improve that.

“My advice? If you’re thinking about going for it, chances are you’re already doing a lot right so don’t be daunted. Ask for help and chat to others who have been on that journey. And if it feels like too much, start small, become a Living Wage employer, get involved in your local community. The B Corp badge is great, but working ethically is what matters most.”

Winter Design

“Becoming B Corp Certified is vital for any business wanting to shout about their environmental or social credentials. Without this mark of trust and authenticity, you risk ‘talking the talk’ but not ‘walking the walk’.

“Being B Corp Certified means understanding and evidencing what you do (in fine detail), as well as understanding how you can improve, not to mention being honest and transparent about it.

“If you’re considering the B Corp journey, amazing! It has been invaluable for our business in so many ways. My best piece of advice would be to work with a B Leader to help guide you through the process as it is both lengthy and detailed. Be prepared to look at every corner of your business under a microscope, embrace that challenge and reap the multitude of benefits later.

Proctor + Stevenson

“My first ‘tip’ would be to recognise that becoming a B Corp starts with the right mindset. It’s definitely not about ticking boxes and filling-in forms (although there is a fair bit of that!). It’s all about looking at how your business really works – how you treat people, how you make decisions, the impact you’re having on the world around you. Once you start thinking like that, the assessment becomes much more interesting (possibly even enjoyable?).

“You’ll discover things you’re already doing well, and start finding ideas for doing things even better. Absolutely get the whole team involved, be open and honest, and keep good evidence as you go. The real reward isn’t just the certification. It’s building a better, more inclusive and more thoughtful business along the way.”

AMBITIOUS

“The biggest tip I’d give to any business considering B Corp is to treat it as a framework for improvement. From working on your own certification and speaking to clients who have through the process, the businesses that get the most value are those that are honest about where they are now and use the assessment to prioritise meaningful change. B Corp gives you structure, language and accountability, but it works best if it’s embedded into how decisions are made day to day.”

Grace & Green

“Our biggest tip for becoming a B Corp is to treat each pillar of the B Impact Assessment as its own project. Breaking the process into manageable chunks makes it far less overwhelming and helps you stay focused. Remember, everything must be backed by evidence, so transparency is key from the start.

“At its core, B Corp is about putting structure behind your intentions. It’s about committing to continuous improvement and using your business as a force for good. For us, that’s included everything from strengthening our policies to volunteering initiatives and driving measurable impact for people and the planet. It’s an ongoing commitment to do better and keep challenging ourselves to raise the bar.”

Gibe Digital

“Becoming a B Corp as a digital agency starts with aligning your mission, operations, and impact. Begin by understanding the B Impact Assessment and benchmarking your current practices. Strengthen governance by embedding purpose into your legal structure. Improve employee wellbeing, diversity, and professional development. Audit your environmental footprint—optimize energy use, hosting, and remote work policies. We engaged Andy Hawkins at Business On Purpose to demystify the Impact Assessment and guide us through the process; this proved invaluable.”

If you’re working towards B Corp certification (or re-certifying soon), you’ve probably noticed that Climate Action is now a mandatory part of the certification process.

B Lab’s updated B Corp standards (first launched in April 2025, with a clarified v2.1 update in August 2025) replace the old points-based model: there’s now minimum requirements across seven Impact Topics, including Climate Action. The requirements vary depending on organisation size, but the foundations are the same.

This article is here to take you through the requirements step-by-step. We will lay out the practical building blocks you need, so that you can respond confidently, build a plan you can stand behind, and avoid last-minute scrambling.

The new B Corp standards: what’s changed

How B Corp’s Climate Action topic is structured

You don’t need to know the codes inside-out, but it helps to understand why B Corp now expects more than good intentions.

How to get Started with B Corp’s new Climate Action Topic: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Work out which ‘size path’ you’re on

Most digital agencies will fall into small or medium, but it’s worth checking early, because the ‘large’ path has a meaningful jump in requirements.

Step 2: Small and Mid-Sized businesses

For small & medium businesses, the standards are clear on the Year 0 deliverable: publish a Climate Action Plan that ‘commits to supporting the global ambition to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees’.

In practice, a strong plan is usually made up of the same few components (and this is where agencies can keep it simple and credible):

Here’s the awkward part of the new standards for small & medium organisations:

B Corp doesn’t mandate a full Scope 1-3 footprint at Year 0, but it does expect you to demonstrate and publish progress by Year 3. Some argue it can be tricky to decide which reduction actions are relevant, and make measurable progress, without first building a baseline footprint and identifying hotspots.

That’s why some B Corps opt to measure emissions, even when it isn’t strictly required. A full Scope 1-3 footprint is widely considered the most credible way to understand emissions, prioritise reductions, and report progress in a way that stands up to scrutiny (from B Lab and those outside of the world of B Corp, like your clients).

For agencies, getting to a sensible baseline usually means pulling together data like:

The goal isn’t perfect data, but a structured, GHG-Protocol-aligned view of your emissions, so you can pick sensible reduction actions that prioritise high impact areas, demonstrate progress in terms of CO2e, and talk about your plan and progress with confidence.

Step 3: Large businesses and above

For Large B Corps, Climate Action becomes a structured, multi-year compliance journey.

Before Year 0 (i.e. right from the start), large companies must already have the basics of credible carbon reporting in place:

By year 3, the focus shifts from just reporting to formal decarbonisation commitments and planning:

So Year 3 is about moving from ‘we measure’ to ‘we have a governed, accountable plan to cut emissions.’

Year 0 – Measure and verify
Year 3 – Set science-based targets and create a transition plan
Year 5 – Prove the plan is working and report progress publicly

Step 4: Publish once, and reuse everywhere

B Corp explicitly recognises public disclosure as a website page or report accessible without logins/paywalls. A lot of the stress around B Corp, and climate reporting more broadly, comes from the feeling that you need to create carbon reports as a one-off for separate use cases. From B Corp, to public sector reporting, to client requests, it can feel like you’re being asked for a lot of different things when it comes to carbon.

In reality, the underlying data is the same, with slight changes in reporting format. Keeping your data and reports in one shareable place means it’s easily accessible, whether that’s for B Corp submissions, bid teams, or new business questionnaires.

A great example is a simple public Climate Action page. Set it up to be accessed through a consistent URL on your website that you keep up to date on an annual basis.

A quick note on ‘quiet credibility’ (and avoiding greenwashing)

Handled well, carbon reporting can be more than a B Corp checkbox. It can help agencies stay eligible for opportunities, and build trust with values-led clients.

What to do next

If your agency is aiming for B Corp under the new standards, your next steps are:

Seedling helps growing teams translate the new B Corp requirements into a clear, credible, Climate Action Plan (and the measurement behind it), without creating unnecessary workload for busy teams. If you want to see what a completed Climate Action Plan looks like, our in-depth B Corp guidance includes a complete example – take a look here.

If you’ve worked on a tender or supplier form recently, you’ve probably noticed the questions changing slightly. Alongside the usual sections on capability, pricing and references, there’s now a block on sustainability or social value that asks for things like:

For many agencies, that’s the point where the bid manager or new business lead has to go digging for information, or admit that the answers don’t really exist within the company yet.

This blog is to help make that moment less stressful. Not by turning you into climate experts, but by getting a few simple building blocks in place so you can respond to carbon questions calmly, consistently and without scrambling every time a client asks.

Why clients are asking now

Large brands, universities, councils and the NHS have public Net Zero commitments that they have to monitor and report on. Your agency’s emissions sit inside their own Scope 3 footprint, as a supplier to their operations. That means procurement teams are expected to look at environmental performance as well as cost and quality, to ensure no negative impact on their own emissions and progress so far.

Many central government and NHS contracts now require a Carbon Reduction Plan that follows PPN 006 (06/21) – a set of rules and processes around carbon reduction plans, put in place by the UK Government. That applies to service providers too, including digital, creative and marketing agencies, and is on track to become a standard part of the bid process for all public sector tenders.

The short version: if you want to work with larger organisations or the public sector, these questions are not going away.

What people are actually asking for

The language used when requesting carbon data can sometimes feel overwhelmingly technical, but most requests boil down to a few basics.

Seen through an agency lens, that’s not a thousand different asks. It’s really four repeatable pieces of evidence:

1. A recent organisational carbon footprint.
2. A Carbon Reduction Plan, where relevant (public sector and NHS tenders).
3. A clear policy and point of ownership within your organisation.
4. A short, practical approach to carbon on the specific project itself.

Get those in place once and you’ve covered the majority of what tenders, portals and client questionnaires are looking for. Below are three simple steps on how to get started.

Step 1: Get a clear picture of your own impact

The goal isn’t perfection; it’s a structured, GHG-Protocol-aligned view of where your emissions actually sit, covering Scopes 1, 2 and the relevant parts of Scope 3.

You can build this yourself using spreadsheets and publicly available government emissions factors, pulling in your energy, travel and spend data and converting it into tonnes of CO₂e, especially if you’re comfortable working with data and have a bit of capacity in ops or finance to own the process.

Many agencies however, use platforms like Seedling to do the heavy lifting: analysing data, aligning it with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and having an expert review the footprint so it’s robust enough to share in bids and reports.

Either way, the important thing is that you have one source of truth you’re comfortable reusing, for every requirement that might come your way.

Step 2: Package it for bids, RFPs and PPNs

Once you’ve done the work, turn it into a small set of reusable assets that make life easier for bid managers, new business and account teams.

A one-page climate & carbon factsheet

You can attach this to tenders, link to it in supplier portals or adapt it as a slide in your credentials deck. You can also make this available on your website, or via a dedicated climate action/impact page.

A PPN-aligned Carbon Reduction Plan (if you need one)

If you’re bidding for central government or NHS work, it’s worth creating a Carbon Reduction Plan that follows the PPN 006 (06/21) structure from the outset.

You can manually pull this together from your footprint data and reduction plan, following government guidance yourself if you have capacity. Or work with an external partner like Seedling, who will be able to produce the reports for you.

The key is: once it’s written, approved and published, it becomes something you can then simply upload or reference whenever it’s requested.

Step 3: Equip your team for carbon questions

None of this should live solely with ‘the sustainability person’. To avoid last-minute scrambling:

That way, when a client or portal asks, ‘Do you have a Carbon Reduction Plan?’ or ‘How will you support our Net Zero goals?’, your team can answer consistently and confidently.

Using carbon data as a quiet advantage – without greenwashing

Handled well, carbon data and reduction plans, can be more than a compliance chore.

Most clients don’t expect you to have solved everything, but they do expect you to have made a start, and to not overclaim.

Getting help – where Seedling fits in

You can build a lot of this yourself if you have the time and appetite internally. But Seedling exists for teams who’d like some help.

We work with agencies and other growing organisations, by combining software and 1:1 expert support, to:

So you end up with carbon data that feels manageable, and evidence you can stand behind whenever a client asks for it.

UK digital agency, Torchbox, delivers major website transformation focused on environmental responsibility and inclusive design

Bristol, UK – 14th October 2025 – Torchbox, the digital agency behind open source content management system Wagtail, has developed a new website for World Wildlife Fund-US that demonstrates how sustainable web development practices can work hand-in-hand with improved user experience.

The project helps one of the United States’ leading conservation organisations share its critical conservation message with its nearly 10 million annual users by rebuilding its digital platform.

The new platform runs on Cloudflare’s renewable energy infrastructure and employs modern web development practices, including optimised image formats, efficient content delivery networks using caching to serve all content. These improvements deliver faster page loads whilst reducing the data transfer required for the site’s 30 million annual pageviews.

Accessibility features are integrated throughout the platform, including enhanced keyboard navigation, improved colour contrast, proper semantic markup, and screen reader compatibility. The rebuild also involved thoughtfully reorganising 6,000 pages of conservation content to create clearer user journeys.

The project required tight deadline management, with Torchbox working closely with WWF-US’s internal team to migrate and reorganise content whilst building new functionality. 

For WWF-US, the new platform provides a foundation for long-term digital growth. The successful delivery demonstrates Torchbox’s capability to meet the complex requirements of large international charities working under demanding timescales.

We’re delighted to announce that Future Leap Consultancy has secured funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to deliver two cohorts of our acclaimed Skills Bootcamp on Sustainability in Business—a co-funded opportunity for professionals across the region to gain practical, actionable sustainability skills.

This initiative is part of the UK Government’s Skills for Life programme and contributes to the £11.3 million investment aimed at boosting skills across the West of England. It’s a powerful endorsement of the role sustainability plays in shaping resilient, future-ready businesses—and a recognition of Future Leap’s expertise in delivering high-impact training.

💡 What Is the Skills Bootcamp?

The Skills Bootcamp is a 10-week programme designed to help professionals integrate sustainability into their day jobs. Whether you’re in HR, marketing, finance, operations or procurement, this course equips you with:

All delivered by Future Leap’s network of expert consultants and changemakers.

We’ve already worked with teams at Pieminister, Lexus, Inside Travel Group, Priority Express, Gilcrest Manufacturing, Kelpi, Solutions for the Planet and Novotel—supporting them to embed sustainability into their operations and culture.

👥 Who It’s For

🗓️ Programme Dates & Funding Options

Eligibility is open to those employed or self-employed in Bristol, Bath, North or North East Somerset, or South Gloucestershire.

🗣️ What Previous Learners Say

“I’m a complete beginner and have found the sustainability space so overwhelming! This bootcamp has given me a real grounding in all the different topics, themes and nuances and having it broken down this way has been really helpful.”
— Becky, Starling Bank

“Despite having worked in this space for over 10 years, there’s always more to learn and it can be really hard to think differently about challenges you’ve known about for a really long time. It’s been great having people from different backgrounds and companies to hear their view and we’ve had some really interesting discussions.”
— Jen, Solutions for the Planet

These testimonials reflect the programme’s ability to support both newcomers and seasoned professionals in deepening their impact.

🚀 Ready to Integrate Sustainability Into Your Day Job?

A couple of weeks back was Earth Day, and the 2025 theme is Our Power, Our Planet. This year, the Earth Day movement is uniting the globe around renewable energy to help us achieve ‘triple clean energy’ by 2030. Sustainability is at the heart of Bristol Creatives and as a community we should constantly strive to innovate and provide eco-friendly employee benefits.

But where do you start? Well, here’s a few pointers to embed sustainable and eco-friendly employee benefits into your business.

With CSR strategies becoming a must-have, companies are coming forward en masse to share their green credentials, giving birth to the term “Greenwashing”, where organisations talk the talk but don’t walk the walk when it comes to employee wellbeing practices. The same is true with greenwashing, but the scrutiny is even higher. If you make a claim about your environmental commitments, you must have the data to back it up. Without the data, it’s simply talk, and you’re at risk of being seen by your clients, consumers, and partners as greenwashing.

Clients and employees increasingly seek businesses that do good environmentally and socially, but they will also want to see the proof. Being branded a greenwasher will harm your reputation among employees, clients and partners, and you could find yourself in court.

There’s a long list of ways you can embed sustainability into your business through eco-friendly benefits and ways of working. Employees want to work for a business that authentically demonstrates ethical behaviours, and they’re scrutinising your corporate social responsibility policy alongside your Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Conscious quitting is a growing trend among socially conscious employees seeking equally socially conscious employers who contribute to the communities and environment in which they exist. By 2025, Millennials will make up nearly three quarters of the global workforce, and they’re looking for socially responsible employers.

Climate anxiety is real, especially among the younger generations, and these are the people who will make up the future workforce. Research tells us that young people don’t think the government is doing enough to avoid a climate crisis and expect their employers to act responsibly.

How can business’s embrace sustainable business practices through eco-friendly employee benefits. How about helping employee’s retro fit their homes…double bonus of improved financial wellbeing with energy bill savings and improvements in sustainability?

You can’t discuss eco-friendly employee benefits without stepping into the world of green car and cycle to work schemes. Both encourage greener ways of commuting to work, whether by an electric vehicle or bike and bring tax and NIC savings to employers and employees. Greener commuting and money back in your pocket! The more employees who take up a salary sacrifice scheme within your business, the more you’ll save on National Insurance Contributions. Cycling promotes physical wellbeing, and healthy people have less sickness absence = another saving to your outgoings. Your employees’ finances also benefit from a reduction in the taxable element of their payslips.

Cycling may not be feasible for those travelling long distances, but with your support, they can still make their commute greener. Offer your employees a salary sacrifice car scheme to create tax savings and make low-emission travel more affordable.

How about considering CSR Partnerships? Embedding paid volunteering opportunities into your strategy boosts morale, social value, and engagement. There are clear benefits to the business, such as being more attractive to potential partners and customers, but it isn’t without cost. Whenever you pay for a person to be out of the business, you’re funding time that’s essentially non-productive from a business output perspective.

Still, most employees think their employers should incorporate paid volunteering days as an employee benefit, claiming it allows them to learn new skills they can bring back to the business. There are employee benefit providers that allow employee to access even more volunteering opportunities within their local communities and is proving incredibly popular – a definite morale booster!

Post COVID flexibility in contracts is becoming the norm, which is excellent because they’re in demand. There are also measurable business benefits, such as a high increase in productivity. Offering flexible, hybrid, and remote contracts helps talent acquisition and retention, with two thirds of job seekers claiming they’d reject a role that didn’t offer flexibility. The more flexible you are as an employer, the more you support your employees in finding a healthy work-life balance, which will increase employee engagement levels.

From a sustainable business practices perspective, there are additional benefits to having a hybrid workforce including lower fuel and energy usage within the office and fewer employees driving to the office means lower emissions that you can chart against your climate or social value pledge.

In a time where hybrid or fully remote working is becoming increasingly more common, it is really important to be able to make the most of your work environment. Sitting at your desk all day may seem like the best way to complete all of your tasks for the day, but there is only so long a human can focus before productivity begins to take a nose-dive. There are lots of small, easy changes you can make to your working day in order to ensure you are as motivated and productive as you can be, whilst still looking after your wellbeing. Here are our 5 favourite tips for increasing productivity at your desk!

1. Leave your desk

Sounds counter-intuitive doesn’t it? Well, plenty of studies have shown that taking regular breaks away from your desk increase your productivity when you are back at your desk. Give your mind a break from your workload by taking a walk, grabbing a coffee or just getting some fresh air, which is proven to massively increase focus.

2. Stay hydrated

It is really important to stay hydrated, both in and out of the office. Increased water consumption improves energy levels and the quality of your sleep, both of which will have an impact on the quality and speed at which you complete your work. Whilst a cup of tea or coffee will aid rehydration, it is a good idea to keep a bottle of water at your desk so that you can drink throughout the day.

3. Look after your space

Think about what motivates or inspires you, without distracting you. Studies have shown that having pictures of loved ones, plants or other small personal belongings provide a quick mood boost and can increase focus. Ensuring your desk space is personalised to you but not cluttered is a good way to make the workday run a little smoother. Staying on top of organisation and storage also reduces the time you’ll spend hunting for that file or favourite pen, which can lead to further distractions!

4. Break it down

If your to-do list is seemingly never-ending, it’s easy to feel demotivated and like you aren’t actually achieving anything. Breaking down big jobs in to smaller, more manageable tasks creates an easy plan to follow, as well as a huge feeling of accomplishment when you complete everything on your list for that day. Setting yourself smaller goals for the day mean you don’t feel overwhelmed, and you might find yourself surpassing your targets, which will further add to your sense of achievement.

5. Keep connected

So you’ve tried everything, been for a walk, had some water, looked at your office plants, but your workload still seems to be increasing and you can’t seem to get going? Talk to your co-workers, or the other people in your office, whether it’s on zoom, email, or face to face, the chances are that if you are experiencing a dip in productivity, they may be able to help. Either by reminding you of what the end goal is for your task or project, or by helping you manage some of your workload, the people around you are all part of your support network, and being able to engage with and offer assistance to your colleagues can have a feel-good effect on you as well.

For more great tips or resources that help increase productivity in the workplace, we like SnackNation’s blog: 34 Ways To Be More Productive At Work

Wellbeing matters and is THE core key feature within any employee benefits package.

Wellbeing (noun) Definition: A good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterised by health, happiness, and prosperity.

We know that employee happiness and wellbeing are directly linked to the benefits they receive. Employees who feel valued and happy at work are more productive and effective in their roles. Additionally, organisations that provide appropriate benefits to support employee wellbeing are more likely to foster engaged and high-performing teams.

In today’s fast-paced, competitive corporate world, prioritising employee wellbeing is no longer a perk, but a necessity.

Employee wellbeing goes beyond physical health, it also includes mental, emotional, and financial wellness. Employers who invest in the wellbeing of their workforce not only meet their Duty of Care obligations but also create a positive workplace culture. This results in higher retention levels and enhanced productivity.

According to latest research, 82% businesses have seen their employees demanding more wellbeing benefits, with 56% of employees saying that they would leave their job if another company offered them a better benefits package. In addition, it’s widely recognised the need for benefits packages to address unprecedented employee stress levels causing burnout, decreased engagement, and higher absenteeism, highlighting how great wellbeing and benefits are not just good for employees; they are good for business.

Tangible benefits, especially those with high (perceived) value, can significantly boost employee morale and fulfilment. There is a lot of noise now for electric vehicles supplied as an employee benefit. A brand-new car, for example, is more than just a mode of transport, it’s a symbol of appreciation, recognition and support from an employer. Car benefit schemes not only signify support and recognition to employees, elevating job satisfaction and motivation but they also host several other perks that boost workplace wellbeing and engagement levels. One benefit of the scheme to employee wellbeing is financial peace of mind. Employees don’t need to worry about car loans, credit checks or deposits. A fixed monthly reduction from their salary covers it all- insurance, tyres, VED, servicing, and even breakdown cover.

Sustainable benefits have become vital to the wellbeing of a large proportion of employees in recent years, particularly Gen Z and Millennials. Offering environmentally conscious benefits, like EV schemes, helps promote a sustainable culture that aligns with employee’s values. As an added benefit, it also supports corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals.

Is there a creative resurgence in the low carbon, green sector in Bristol and Bath? Or has it been ticking away, quietly waiting, during recent years?

Bristol and Bath have always been key cities in driving forward the UK’s green and sustainability sectors – it’s part of the region’s DNA. Yet other UK hotspots seem to have taken more of a lead in developing this most vital of economic industries. Delightfully, we have recently seen multiple announcements about Bristol and Bath businesses with insightful, clever green products and inventions. Hopefully they will go beyond Bristol PR coverage and Bristol marketing to gain awareness across the UK, and potentially further.

For OggaDoon, highlighting innovative companies like the ones mentioned here is more than just showcasing future success stories; it’s about championing the bold ideas shaping a more sustainable future. Sharing their progress and getting excited about their work can be a way to inspire others to think creatively about solutions to common issues and encourage broader support for green advancements that extend beyond Bristol and Bath.

We know that sustainable businesses can come from any sector, as long as they care about helping the environment and saving our planet through innovative products and services that change the way society behaves. At OggaDoon, we’re committed to amplifying voices like these and driving awareness of sustainable innovation. You can learn more about our experience in green PR and low carbon marketing on our website – or head over to our blog to read more of our takes on what’s important in the PR and marketing landscape right now.

Aer Studios, a leading creative technology studio in the South West, is thrilled to announce the appointment of James Hobbs as Head of Technology. Hobbs, who brings a wealth of experience from his time at Dyson and Great State, joins at a time when Aer Studios also announces a new trio of practice leads, including Max Waring (Front End), Jon Chard (Back End), and Aaron Bushell (DevOps).

Hobbs’ appointment comes shortly after the addition of Lucy Rees, Head of People and Culture, further strengthening Aer Studios’ leadership team. These strategic hires mark a significant step in Aer Studios’ growth, as well as its commitment to excellence and innovation in the creative technology sector. Last year it secured a coveted place on the BBC Digital Design Roster.

Notable career achievements for Hobbs include a six-year period at Dyson, where he successfully led the global digital technical team from its inception to over twenty members. At Great State, Hobbs was instrumental in driving the company’s technology strategy, leading an engineering team delivering multi-award-winning work.

In addition to his impressive career achievements, Hobbs has been recognised in the prestigious BIMA 100 for Sustainability, underlining his commitment to sustainable practices. This aligns perfectly with Aer Studios’ 2024 BCorp certification and its ongoing efforts to prioritise sustainability in all aspects of its operations. Aer Studios won its own prestigious BIMA Award in the Innovative App category in October 2023.

“James’ appointment comes at a time when Aer Studios is gearing up for growth,” said Tom Harber Managing Director at Aer Studios. “His experience and values fit perfectly with our ambitions. With James on board, we’re excited to amplify our efforts and lead the charge in transforming the tech industry into a beacon of sustainability for the future.”

“I’m delighted to have joined Aer Studios,” said James. “It was immediately clear from my initial conversations with Lucy and Tom that Aer Studios have a deep focus on people and planet, both of which are really important to me, alongside delivering outstanding work for clients.”

Hobbs’ arrival at Aer Studios is set to propel the company towards new heights, enhancing its technical capabilities and reinforcing its commitment to sustainable practices. With a cross-capability leadership team in place, Aer Studios is well-positioned to lead the industry in creative and sustainable technology solutions.

Aer Studios is an award-winning creative technology studio based in the South West of England. Its mission is to create meaningful digital experiences that have a positive impact on people & planet. Partnering with leading brands in the public and private sectors, its clients include Warner Media, Cartoon Network, BBC, Dogs Trust, Diabetes UK, CNN, History Royal Palaces and GOV.UK. With a particular focus on employee experience, Aer Studios ranked in the top 100 best workplaces and best workplaces for wellbeing by the Great Place to Work awards.