Net Zero Week is a UK awareness campaign run annually to help keep the focus of organisations, individuals and the government firmly on a positive and proactive journey to Net Zero. Recognising that we all have an important role to play in reducing the world’s carbon emissions, we at Whistle believe that it’s important for businesses of all sizes to do their part in keeping the momentum going in this endeavour.
You can read in our previous blog about Whistle’s commitment to becoming a Net Zero company and our action plan to achieve this. In February 2022 we were very proud to become the first PR agency in the West Midlands to sign up for the West Midlands Net Zero Business Pledge.
The West Midlands aims to lead the green revolution and become a net zero carbon economy by 2041. Understanding that the region’s businesses have a key role to play in making that happen, Sustainability West Midlands invited us to commit to the pledge.
By signing up to the Pledge, we have committed to reduce our environmental impact, save costs and prepare Whistle for climate change impact. It has also enabled us to access expert support and advice from Sustainability West Midlands and its partners to help us move forward with our action plan in the following ways:
- We have developed our written sustainability pledge which we will be sharing with all our clients and suppliers in the coming weeks so that we can collaborate on our sustainability goals.
- We have trained key members of the team in climate change and environmental awareness, sustainable organisations, the circular economy and how to put this into practice – and we are working with a consultant to roll out company-wide sustainability and ED&I training later this year.
- Our eco challenges have got underway with the team being asked to make one sustainable swap at home which led to us trying out shampoo bars, Ecoegg laundry eggs and a lot more. In the office we instigated a ‘no single-use plastic’ month in April to reduce our reliance on single use coffee cups and plastic bottles and we are currently signed up to make our individual commitments around Plastic Free July.
As a team we are working together to develop our charity partnerships which will include a group volunteering day within our local community, as well as supporting employees with their individual volunteering activities. More will be announced soon!
Although a small business, these are vital steps we are taking to operate more sustainably. It can be overwhelming knowing where to start in order to calculate your current emissions for example, or to set effective ESG goals and measures. By sharing the areas we’ve tackled to date, we hope that we can inspire others who have not yet embarked on this journey to start making their first steps to Net Zero too.
Claire Saltmarshe is the Business Support Manager at Whistle PR which works with clients to help develop a clear communications strategy around their sustainability roadmap, goals and achievements, whilst delivering on our own ambitions too.
Get in touch at info@whistlepr.co.uk to find out more.
