Chief Executive’s foreword

Our purpose – as a charity and social enterprise – is to work with partners to find and implement ways we humans can all live happy, healthy lives within the natural limits of our one planet, while also leaving half the Earth for the rest of nature to thrive. Together, we create inspiring solutions for the ways in which we do business, how we make the products we all buy, and how we plan and build the places where we live and work.

In the past year, our team continued to support businesses, the built environment sector, local and national governments, and NGOs ranging from community groups through to the United Nations to all play their part in tackling this challenge.

Our advocacy work saw us co-lead a group of over 250 industry leaders to call for the UK Government to aim higher with its Future Homes Standard for new homes in England and Wales. This would help the UK meet its legally binding net-zero targets and also lower household energy bills. The Government did agree to one of our key recommendations to establish a collaborative group to test and develop higher standards for the next generation of building regulations.

Our work was recognised with the ‘Transformational Partnership’ award at the 2023 Sustainability Consulting Awards – for our successful partnership with Kingfisher group (B&Q, Screwfix, Tradepoint) over the past 13 years. We were also delighted to win the Consultancy of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards 2024, which noted the breadth and depth of our work. This included our groundbreaking net-zero spatial planning tool for Local Authorities, for which we were also finalists in the edie awards 2024 for Net-zero innovation of the year as well as being finalists for Consultancy of the Year.

The number of One Planet Living Leaders – projects representing the gold standard of sustainable placemaking – continues to grow. We are thrilled to welcome City Quay Gardens, Hälsa, and Windmill Group, which achieved a particularly noteworthy distinction – the first business to be recognised as a One Planet Living Global Leader.

The challenge is immense, yet our clients continue to inspire us – they prove a sustainable future is still within our grasp. I hope you enjoy reading our 2023-24 Impact Review, which is a fantastic showcase of our team’s work and our partners’ continued achievements.

Sue Riddlestone OBE,

Chief Executive & co-founder