“Think globally, act locally” is one of those phrases that comes up a lot when talk turns to ESG. It can feel a bit overused, but there’s a reason it tends to resonate.
Many of the issues we’re facing – climate change, social mobility, inequality – are global. But we experience them locally.
Consider the growing threat of floods. The Met Office confirms what we can see for ourselves – heavy rainfall events are becoming more frequent and intense. So much so that the kind of cataclysmic downpours previously seen maybe once every 50 years could become a regular occurrence, according to the UK’s meteorological service.
Meanwhile, the consequences of flooding don’t just show up as physical damage. Flood-hit homeowners are now paying 121% more than the national average for home insurance – a stat made even more alarming when, as Aviva claims, one in nine new homes in England are being built in areas of flood risk.
It also feeds into other highly visible, emotive issues, such as the UK’s sewage problem. Heavy rainfall is putting extra pressure on drainage systems, leaving communities to deal with raw sewage spilling on their streets.
Connecting with local B Corps
All of this is a reminder that concepts such as sustainability and social value aren’t distant or abstract issues. And it’s why, as a team, we make a real effort to understand how we can make a meaningful difference within our local community.
With that in mind, this B Corp Month felt like a good excuse to spend some time with other Brighton B Corps and see what that looks like in practice.
We went along to an event hosted by Bird & Blend Tea Co. at Projects, a co-working and events space in Brighton’s historic Lanes district, where several businesses spoke about the changes they’re making in hospitality. It’s a sector with an outsized impact when it comes to sustainability, so it was interesting to hear how different teams are approaching things like sourcing and waste on a day-to-day level.
Colleagues Leonie MacLeod and Eve Dickie also made it to the launch of Dorothy Koomson’s 23rd novel, The Quiet Girls, at Redroaster, a well-known Brighton café and roastery with multiple locations across the city. Koomsman and Redroaster have also developed an offer with two independent bookshops, Afrori and City Books, where readers can get a free coffee if they purchase The Quiet Girls. Sometimes local impact is as simple as connecting with other local businesses and authors to support each other’s journeys.
The ones we missed
We didn’t manage to catch up with everyone, but there are plenty of other B Corps in and around Brighton doing interesting work. Finisterre, which has a physical store in the city centre, is a brand known among surfers for its more responsible approach to outdoor clothing. Though founded in St Agnes, Cornwall, and now very much global, its connection to the sea feels particularly relevant in Brighton, where spots around the West Pier regularly draw local surfers. The company has long supported ocean-focused campaigns, working with organisations like Surfers Against Sewage to tackle issues including plastic pollution and sewage in UK waters.
Then there’s Beryl Bikes, the city’s bike and scooter scheme. Founded by Emily Brooke, who studied at the University of Brighton, the business is built around making sustainable transport more accessible in cities. Like Finisterre, Beryl is having a tangible impact locally, providing people in places like Brighton, Norwich and Belfast with a lower-carbon alternative to short car journeys.
What we’re doing
While this B Corp Month didn’t reveal anything radically new, it certainly helped reinforce our focus on becoming a more responsible business, especially at a local level. As well as our recent volunteering and fundraising efforts, such as planting potatoes for Brighton-based food charity Nature Through Nature and participating in the Big Sleep Out with homelessness charity the Clocktower Sanctuary, we’ve been making a conscious effort to use local, sustainability-focused suppliers, like Kindly, which now supplies us with many of the foods we eat when we sit down for breakfast as a team every Monday morning.
As part of a recent session with The Carbon Literacy Project, we also spent some time thinking about our own habits, including how we get to and from work, and where we can make lower-carbon choices. Although none of the team are daily users of Beryl Bikes, we encourage one another to walk, cycle or use public transport whenever possible.
None of this is especially groundbreaking on its own. But taken together, it adds up to something more meaningful. Because in the end, ESG doesn’t really happen in the abstract, but every day in places like Brighton.
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