Meeting the moment – Supporting clients who fight the climate crisis.

The climate crisis won’t solve itself. 

It’s going to require a shift in the way we all live our lives on a day to day basis. Climate science has a consensus on the solutions. But some of our fossil fuel enabled habits are going to have to change. We will require a change in mindset but this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. 

Some of our policies at Wholegrain reflect the sort of changes that would help. 

For instance, plant based meals reduce the environmental footprint of food production. Wholegrain has a vegan and vegetarian meals policy in line with this. It doesn’t mean meals are boring though. Our Christmas dinner at Mallow could be described in many ways;   sustainable, innovative, delicious, but definitely not boring. 

Prioritising low carbon transport over air travel is another thing advocated for by climate scientists. This does require a shift in mindset but the results can be amazing. Our no flight policy can mean a bit of additional planning. But the combination of lower emissions and more adventure makes for the best stories. Just ask our founders Tom & Vineeta and our Technical Delivery Lead Tommy.

Diet and travel are two areas where personal tastes and habits can support can aid systematic transformation. In reality we’re in a polycrisis and change is required across all aspects of daily life. The truth is that the climate crisis won’t be solved by any single action or group of people. We need actions on policy and governmental levels to help organisations and individuals to transition to a lower carbon, less environmentally destructive way of life.

We urgently need that change to come. Our client Carbon Brief‘s daily email briefings offer insights into the risks we face. A recent email shared a report that Europe recorded over 10,000 excess deaths in the heatwaves in late June.

It’s scary to think that this is likely to become the new normal. 

In this context, it’s important to remember that there is hope.  

There are organisations out there fighting on our behalf and advocating for the change we need. When I chatted to colleagues for our last article, the work our clients are doing came up a lot. When you read about their work, it paints a more hopeful and optimistic light.

I’d like to share some of that optimism with you now. 

In this (non-exhaustive) article, I’ll show you how some of our clients are advocating for governmental policy change, enabling habitat restoration, improving our built environment, and accelerating the transition to renewable energy. 

Climate change requires top down, systemic change. Joined up, long term, resilient climate policies need expert advice, analysis and research. This is something that our client, Grantham, knows all about. The institute is hosted by the Global School of Sustainability at the London School of Economics. They enable “a sustainable, inclusive and resilient world, pursued through research, policy analysis and training on climate change and the environment”. 

It’s clear that the UK, along with the rest of the world, has to work to adapt to climate change. Part of the challenge is bridging the gap between these adaptation requirements and the finance required. Grantham is working with DEFRA to develop a new Adaptation Investment Framework (AIF) to meet this challenge. The framework provides a toolkit for the Government, real economy actors and financial institutions to mobilise the required investment, fast and at scale.

We launched Grantham’s current site in 2020 and have been collaborating with them ever since. The site looks as clean and modern today as it did on launch day, something that is a testament to the brief they provided and the work done by the project team. Like the policies they institute, advocates for the site are robust, future proofed and low carbon. 

Since the launch, we’ve worked to ensure the site maintains its high levels of performance, usability and accessibility. Optimising on site search and improved article filtering have been key to this. 

Find out more about the work with Grantham here.

The first message you see when visiting Good Energy’s site is “THE WORLD NEEDS MORE GOOD ENERGY”. The energy in question is 100% British-made renewable electricity from independent producers. In a warming world, where burning fossil fuels is exacerbating the heatwaves, this type of “Good Energy” is exactly what we need more of. 

Good Energy is a sustainable alternative who delivers higher standards than their less sustainable competitors. High levels of customer satisfaction and service led to multiple awards from Which? Did we mention that they’re also BCorp certified? 

Basically, they are just really good at what they do. The fact that what they’re doing helps the UK to transition away from fossil fuels is a lovely bonus. 

Aside from their service, they help individuals and organisations in other ways. Their switching tools are a simple way for prospective customers to move to renewables (individuals & businesses). But Good Energy can help businesses go a step further. Their solar installation service is perfect for businesses that want to cut energy costs and increase resilience. 

Like Grantham, they also use their expertise to influence policy. Their latest report on energy market reform is a great example. It argues that the only way the Government can ensure long term price stability for the UK is to move away from gas generation to a renewable energy mix.

We designed and launched Good Energy’s site in 2021 and have been with them every step of the way since. Our bold design supports the story telling elements of the site. We’ve been on hand to evolve user experience tweaks and add new features as Good Energy grows. User journeys are continually smoothed and optimised ensuring that switching to a renewable tariff is a breeze. 

Find out more about the work with do with Good Energy here. 

The recent heatwaves highlighted how the UK’s buildings and housing stock are inadequate for a warming planet. Renters, homeowners and businesses struggled to keep their buildings cool enough to live and work. It’s clear that something needs to change. 

Enter the UKGBC.

The UKGBC is on a mission to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment in the UK. They want to transform how buildings are planned, financed, designed, constructed, maintained, operated and repurposed.  Their 2030 roadmap sets out four key strategic goals:

1. A Shared Sustainability Vision – Foster collaboration and consensus across the sector
2. Moving from Intent to Action – Accelerate industry-wide action  toward sustainability                                      
3. Influencing Policy and Advocacy – Influence progressive policy  frameworks and business models                                       
4. Building Capacity and Leadership – Build skills and leadership for systemic change

2030 is not far away, but the UKGBC believes that we need to act immediately. “The UK’s built environment is facing an urgent reality: climate hazards are no longer future threats but immediate dangers”. 

Their recent UK Climate Resilience Roadmap sets out a vision for a climate resilient built environment, sharing clear recommendations for the industry and policy, and next steps needed to increase the climate resilience of our built environment. It identifies 5 major climate hazards threatening the UK and uses evidence to argue that “acting now is the only responsible choice”.

The report offers evidence backed methods to meet the challenges the UK faces as well as the policy changes required to make them a reality.  

In 2023, we helped UKGBC align their ambitions for the physical environment with their digital presence. Their site is one of the most innovative we’ve ever built, with the team at UKGBC wholeheartedly buying into our vision. Since launch, we’ve worked closely with their team to elevate their new initiatives digitally and optimise engagement.

Their appetite for digital innovation remains high. One of our most recent projects for them involved adding an AI chatbot to help surface more information and ensure that their wide range of resources are as discoverable as possible. 

You can read more about the project and how we support UKGBC here.

If you spend as much time reading sustainability news sites as I do, you might be aware that carbon capture schemes have been in the news recently. Microsoft has just slashed its investments in the technology. Questions remain about its efficacy and scalability.

Thankfully, nature has some pretty effective methods of carbon sequestration with habitat restoration playing a key part of this. We are lucky to support the Environment Bank, one of the best organisations in the field.  

Environment Bank is the nation’s leading biodiversity gains specialist, restoring habitats across England. They work to create Habitat Banks, taking parcels of low-quality, often monocultural land and transforming them into thriving biospheres perfect for native flora and fauna. 

These Habitat Banks allow developers to meet their Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for new builds and renovation projects. To meet planning conditions, developers must demonstrate that they will improve biodiversity as part of the project. Where it is not possible to offer a net gain of biodiversity on site, such as this project in Rochdale. Environment Bank allows developers to find tailored solutions and meet their BNG requirements.

The concept of BNGs is not the easiest to clearly communicate (though I hope I have done it justice above!). Environment Bank needed a website that clearly explained their market leading projects to multiple audiences. They needed to showcase the value of their Habitat Banks and do justice to their award winning brand. We worked with them in 2025 to build a site that does just that. 

With a diverse audience and differing user journeys to consider, our discovery process laid the foundations for a successful project. Our work to understand the site audiences, coupled with some creative, sustainable web design and bespoke features such as an interactive map creates a site the team can be proud of. 

You can find out more about the work with do with Environment Bank here. 

Wholegrain offer a range of digital services to help you and your organisation combat the climate crisis as sustainably as we know how. From maintenance contracts to full site builds and digital sustainable transformation consultancy, we’re here to help.

Contact Bailey to find out how.