DisCom

🤩 #Glocal Action thanks to Wokingham Positive Difference 👏 Once a month, members of a networking group for business, charities and local government meets in the Town Hall for breakfast, open networking, and to learn about a topic, which is always delivered by a local expert, and hosted by pillar of the community, Graeme Hobbs. These monthly gatherings are a great opportunities for stakeholders to connect and share knowledge. February is always their climate-focused event and the room was full to hear from 🌟 University of Reading Professor of Ocean and Earth Observation Professor Chris Merchant providing context on global temperature trends 🌟 Clare Sharp from Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership introducing the £381M LEVI programme - bringing EV charging within 10-minute walks of homes 💡 One useful recommendation was the "Little Book of EV Myths" by Quentin Willson which is a trusted source on all things EVs, to counteract much of the misinformation we find online. 🌍 From Global to Local Action - Norway is leading the way with ICE vehicle sales ending this year - Wokingham is implementing a charging infrastructure plan - Look for for several business-focused and resident-focused EV awareness events, Climate Stripes Day and The Forest of Imagination coming in 2025 💬 To be part of the conversation ➡️ Next People Planet Pint is on March 6th at the Rose Inn https://bit.ly/3ESVsZz ➡️ Wokingham Positive Difference Meetups: https://lnkd.in/e4fYEYkK ➡️ Checkout @Wokingham-Borough-Council's Climate Emergency Hub: https://lnkd.in/exdQnCvB 📸 Clare Sharp breaking down how the £381M LEVI programme is bringing EV charging within 10-minute walks of homes without driveways.

What does it mean for a business to think about future-proofing? Well this week, the perfect place to think about this question is the Better Business Summit https://bit.ly/3Pz6oNY ➡️ It’s a 2-day conference kicking-off on the 15th January, where panels are banned in favour of workshops, keynotes and interactive activities, followed by a day spent in nature with peers to take stock of the latest learnings. Hosted in the wonderful city of Manchester at Manchester’s Metropolitan University Business School here are some of the talks 👇 🌍 Patagonia talking about the Shitthropocene movie, and how they use creativity to drive change ⚓️ Seasalt on being asked the difficult questions on how to truly be a sustainable Fashion brand 🌊 dryrobe Ltd and Priory Direct - Planet Friendly Packaging - B Corp™ asking can you really create massive change in how we view the end to end lifecycle of products ✈️ Intrepid Travel are not afraid to jump into if Long haul Travel can ever be good for the planet? 🚶🏻♀️ Co-op Live sharing the challenges of building big, creating truly accessible and green space strategies, and looking after the people that work for you 💰 Living Wage Foundation on challenging why looking at the data, not government standards needs to be how we pay our people 🌿 Business Declares on questioning why aren't we talking about the elephant in the room, and what REALLY can business do to solve the massive challenges like Biodiversity loss.

🌱 Last week, DisCom played a tiny part in helping Lloyds Banking Group think about integrating nature and biodiversity into its supply chain and sourcing processes. With a huge customer base of residential mortgages and agriculture businesses, flooding and nature loss are very real future risks to the bank. They're increasingly focused on nature as part of their mission to help Britain prosper and align with one of their core values ➡️ sustainability. ⭐️ Curious people, who care, exist everywhere ⭐️ Learning together builds both knowledge and connection ⭐️ The power of in-person collaboration with different stakeholders (which last week included a supplier and a brilliant year-12 work experience student) 🎯 What we did: A full-day pilot workshop where a cross-functional group played the biodiversity collage - a nature-based card game exploring ecosystems, biodiversity pillars and the pressures causing its decline since 1970. The goal? To equip colleagues with the knowledge to consider nature within their roles. 💫 The outcome? Yes, understanding, knowledge and confidence in the topic increased but we also sourced over a hundred ideas directly from colleagues and built an unforgettable circle of trust thanks to an experience that demands attention, collective wisdom and vulnerability. 🔄 Looking ahead: LBG is working on how best to integrate management of nature risk into their supply chain, with dedicated expertise from Ashlyn who will be leading on nature for sourcing & supply chain in 2025. Several participants are even keen to become facilitators themselves! 👏 Delivered in collaboration with Rosie Deane of What On Earth. If you're curious about how these workshops can help bring your stakeholders together, let's chat in 2025!

📣 Would you like a local night out and a free drink? 🍺 Interested in sustainability? ♻️ Keen to do your bit for the planet? 🌍 Then come along to People Planet Pint OR share it with someone you know. 😃 If you live, work, or are passing through Wokingham on Thursday 5th December, come join us at the Rose Inn between 6pm to 9pm in 2024 for the last meetup of the year. 🎟️ https://bit.ly/4eX25Gg People Planet Pint is a monthly meet-up and that meets on the first Thursday of every month. 🌹 (Yes that does indeed mean we'll be back on Thursday 2nd January! 😏) Krystal buys your first drink. 🍺🍷🍹☕️ There's no agenda, workshops or speeches... just chatting and connecting with fellow locals. People Planet Pint is a global initiative founded by Small99 so if you can't make it to Wokingham, check the map to find one near you.

📸 A snapshot of how 7 strangers got to know each other over 3 hours on one Saturday morning, playing the climate game, aka the Climate Fresk, during Woodley's Climate Action Week. We want to normalise workplace conversations about our environment. We do this by bringing people together to build their knowledge and confidence so teams understand what to plan for, adapt to, and mitigate against in a changing environment. 🍒The best part is the deep trust that gets built between a group of individuals - whether that's in a business context, or in the community. 🐝 Next up is the Nature Game, aka the Biodiversity Collage, on Sunday 8th December between 4pm and 7pm. 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/e53biDS3? This is a collaborative, fun and science-based workshop to understand nature, the causes and consequences of its decline, and impactful actions for its regeneration.

📣 Event Sustainability Live kicks off next week - ideal for anyone organising team days, corporate events, concerts, tours, awards, galas, or sporting events. I'm particularly looking forward to chairing a panel on making sustainability accessible for events of every size and budget - featuring 4Good, Legacy Events, and Connection Crew to chat about how to build moments that matter without the excess. Other themes to explore include how to make sustainability work at any scale, the latest trends in event culture, technology and how to sell 'less is more' in a world chasing Instagram moments and endless novelty. #ESLLONDON24 - it's free to attend. 🎟️ https://bit.ly/3Cl8NIN

📣 Climate Fresk is coming to Woodley. 🎉 This Climate Game is taking place during Woodley’s Climate Action Week. This card-based game is a collaborative, creative, and fun workshop that builds confidence and understanding on the causes and consequences of climate change AND connects us with our local community. 📆 23.11.2024 📍 Woodley 🎟️ https://bit.ly/3YuyTBv It's perfect for beginners and experts alike and like any good English gathering - tea & biscuits are being provided - all thanks to Woodley Town Council in partnership with Wokingham Borough Council.

🗽 Back in New York for the 3rd time, but my 1st for New York Climate Week - and no, I didn't come on a solar powered boat. Loving the flight and fascinating conversation with my fellow passenger (who went from photographing exclusive weddings to telling stories at climate events), while grappling with the climate impact leaving me discombobulated - which is precisely why my business is called DisCom. On my packed agenda for my day #1 📣 The Hub Live by Climate Group 🛠️ Site visit for our Impact Hustlers event 📣 Kickstart Sustainability event 📣 kyu House opening debate 📣 CSO Awards North America I'm here to: 1️⃣ Learn about engaging stakeholders with sustainability 2️⃣ Meet relevant climate and nature solution providers 3️⃣ Connect with fellow climate communicators 🤔 First impressions: It's also discombobulating to feel such familiarity in a 'new-to-me' place. As a NYCW rookie, I'll share on the ground updates and key takeaways. Follow along 🔔 if you’re curious.

📣 For any leaders responsible for sustainability within their organisations. The CSO Awards by the @Futur.io Institute provides a platform for thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers. They organise regular meetings including their flagship event at Davos - an executive reception to shine a light on the leadership role of Chief Sustainability Officers. For Sustainability Leaders it is 👇 ✅ A place of belonging ✅ Shared expertise in E, S, and G matters ✅ Cross-sector and international peer-to-peer support 🎧 Check out the CSO Impact podcast interviewing folks like Andreas Wade on building bridges at HVAC leader Viessmann Climate Solutions, Marcia Balisciano on inspiring all company levels to embrace sustainability goals at RELX and Karin Reiter, CSO of Adecco Group. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/emUgy2y8 🛫 And if you happen to be going to New York Climate Week, then you can request an invite here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4ebCauu because you should be in the room too at the iconic One World Trade Center on September 23rd from 7PM to 10PM 🎟️

Olympics Time!! 🤩 One of my personal goals when I set up DisCom was to have the freedom to go on adventures with my family in the summer before the kids got too old - and here I am at the start of a whole month of family time - and let’s be honest - some business planning time too. It almost makes working 24/7 these last 18 months worth it. 🤪 The 2nd half of 2024 is set to be even busier than the first half of 2024 - including planning for several projects at New York Climate Week. People Planet Pint Wokingham is back on Thursday 5th September. 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/eP8KEU9Y See you in September... https://bit.ly/3A0hVkZ