Our top 12 environmental campaigns of 2020
Greenhouse
In an extraordinary year where we witnessed and experienced the power of our relationship with nature first-hand, Greenhouse delivered some of our clients' most ambitious and impactful campaigns to date - from a youth-led global campaign on COP26 to living in and experiencing nature in lockdown.
Here are our top 12 environmental campaigns of 2020:
At a time of national crisis, we offered our skills to help scale impact and support those most in need. In April, we worked alongside FareShare to launch a campaign calling for donations and new volunteers to distribute food to vulnerable people.
Our Greenhouse team mobilised in just three days to create and launch a campaign to profile the work of FareShare and issue the call for help. We provided a press office function, coordinated media interviews, created social media graphics and worked with celebrities to promote the campaign.
FareShare’s campaign, which resulted in extensive media coverage across the UK, generated an additional £200,000 of funding; enough to provide 400,000 meals for vulnerable children across the UK. Greenhouse was also honoured to receive a PR week award for this campaign: Best Ethical or Good Cause Initiative During the Coronavirus Crisis.
Connecting to nature is proven to increase both physical and mental wellbeing. At a time of national crisis and lockdown, a coalition of the UK’s leading nature, environment and mental health organisations came together to launch a campaign to help people experience nature and wildlife from within their homes. Campaign activities include the RSPB’s birdsong radio, the Wilderness Foundation’s Badger Cam and an Easter-themed nature hunt from Jordans Cereals.
Greenhouse provided pro bono support to launch this campaign and help encourage people to get their daily dose of Vitamin N during lockdown, even if it has to be through a window. The campaign achieved more than 270 pieces of media coverage, reaching an estimated online readership of over 1 billion. Highlights included BBC Newsround, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, iNews and the Mirror, and more than 150 regional newspapers and local radio.
By uniting as one voice and bringing together a group of leading charities in one campaign, millions of people had access to more than 100 ideas to connect with nature, inspiring people to think about what makes them happy and to try new ways to bring nature into their home.
The crisis may have also caused COP26 to be postponed in 2020, but youth activists around the world decided the climate crisis couldn’t be. In November over 330 youth delegates from more than 140 countries came together to host a two-week alternative to COP26: for the youth and by the youth, to stress the importance that climate change will not wait.
Greenhouse supported the Mock COP with a PR and digital campaign to amplify the voices of the youth activists on a global scale, putting pressure on world leaders to listen to those most affected by the climate crisis. We secured over 400 pieces of coverage including Thomson Reuters, CNN, MTV and BBC World Service, and ran a successful social media campaign promoting celebrity, climate activist and COP26 team member partnerships. As a result of our work with Mock COP, the Italian government asked to speak to youth delegates, and the UNDP reviewed the ‘impressive’ legal treaty, which will be discussed within UN departments.
The UK COP26 leadership team is predominantly male and is not transparent about positions held. Equal representation is vital for the team, the success of the conference and for the planet. More than 400 leading women, from scientists and lawyers, to academics and celebrities, to politicians and campaigners, signed a letter to UK Government calling for 50:50 representation on the leadership team for COP26.
Greenhouse supported the launch of SHEChangesClimate which was covered by multiple top tier news outlets, including BBC Newsnight, Reuters, Financial Times, BBC, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, The Sun, Euronews and Marie Claire, with a total readership of over 900 million. During the first week of its launch, the campaign met with the President of COP26, Alok Sharma MP, and engaged with multiple high-profile individuals interested in providing support beyond the letter to demand gender balance.
In December, GRIDSERVE opened the doors to the UK’s first ever Electric Forecourt® in Braintree, Essex, paving the way for mass electric vehicle (EV) adoption well ahead of the recently announced 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK.
Powered by 100% renewable energy and capable of adding 200 miles of range to 36 EVs simultaneously every 20 minutes, GRIDSERVE’s futuristic Electric Forecourt® represents a bellwether for the massive expansion of net zero carbon EV charging infrastructure.
Greenhouse has worked closely with GRIDSERVE as it has turned its ambitious vision into a reality. The opening campaign achieved more than 600 pieces of media coverage, including The Times, Guardian, BBC, Independent, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, CNBC and Forbes. Overall, the coverage reached over 2.1 billion people, and positioned GRIDSERVE as a leading player in UK EV charging infrastructure, helping to attract new partners, investment and political support which will all be key to delivering their vision of building over 100 Electric Forecourts® across the UK in the next five years.
The food sector faced immense pressures in 2020, and the race to net zero is more reliant on emission reductions within the food system than ever before.
Greenhouse has been working with EIT Food, Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, to scale impact and promote collaboration in the transformation of the food system to become healthier, more sustainable and trusted.
In 2020, we supported EIT Food with campaigns such as their annual Venture Summit and Future of Food Conference, as well as the launch of their funding initiatives for start-ups during the pandemic; the COVID-19 Bridge Fund and Rapid Response Call for Innovation projects. Most recently, our media and digital teams supported EIT Food and Aarhus University to publish a report, visual assets and supporting content about how COVID-19 has changed consumer eating habits across Europe.
The study of 5,000 consumers across 10 countries revealed that impacts could last well beyond the pandemic, opening a window of opportunity for the food sector to innovate and support the green and just recovery. Our outreach secured over 80 pieces of coverage, including articles in the Guardian, the Washington Post and the Telegraph, and provoked discussions on social media about the future of food and food system resilience.
Lloyd’s of London is the world’s most high-profile insurance marketplace - and one of the worst insurers of environmentally destructive fossil fuel projects. If we are to meet Paris Agreement targets, Lloyd’s must immediately end its cover for coal power plants and mines, and tar sands pipelines.
We helped Insure Our Future to co-ordinate a protest action outside Lloyd’s of London headquarters, urging it to wash its hands of coal and tar sands for good. We secured widespread national and international media coverage - including Reuters, New York Times, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, and Evening Standard - with photography from the protest shared on the Reuters picture wire.
- FareShare: raising funds to deliver food during a time of national crisis.
- Vitamin N: helping the nation connect with nature during lockdown.
- Mock COP: supporting youth climate activists to challenge global leaders.
- SHE Changes Climate: campaign for women leadership on COP26.
- London Climate Action Week: bringing together London to drive climate action.
- IUCN Bonn Challenge: restoring communities through reforestation.
- Good Energy: youth orchestra creating music to protect Earth’s resources.
- GRIDSERVE: launching the UK’s first Electric Forecourt for EV cars.
- RSPO: driving understanding and uptake of sustainable palm oil.
- EIT Food: showing how COVID-19 impacts sustainable eating habits.
- PEFC: showing the relationship between forests and fashion.
- Insure Our Future: campaigning to make coal uninsurable.
1. FareShare: raising funds to deliver food during a time of national crisis
At a time of national crisis, we offered our skills to help scale impact and support those most in need. In April, we worked alongside FareShare to launch a campaign calling for donations and new volunteers to distribute food to vulnerable people.
Our Greenhouse team mobilised in just three days to create and launch a campaign to profile the work of FareShare and issue the call for help. We provided a press office function, coordinated media interviews, created social media graphics and worked with celebrities to promote the campaign.
FareShare’s campaign, which resulted in extensive media coverage across the UK, generated an additional £200,000 of funding; enough to provide 400,000 meals for vulnerable children across the UK. Greenhouse was also honoured to receive a PR week award for this campaign: Best Ethical or Good Cause Initiative During the Coronavirus Crisis.
2. Vitamin N: helping the nation connect with nature during lockdown
Connecting to nature is proven to increase both physical and mental wellbeing. At a time of national crisis and lockdown, a coalition of the UK’s leading nature, environment and mental health organisations came together to launch a campaign to help people experience nature and wildlife from within their homes. Campaign activities include the RSPB’s birdsong radio, the Wilderness Foundation’s Badger Cam and an Easter-themed nature hunt from Jordans Cereals.
Greenhouse provided pro bono support to launch this campaign and help encourage people to get their daily dose of Vitamin N during lockdown, even if it has to be through a window. The campaign achieved more than 270 pieces of media coverage, reaching an estimated online readership of over 1 billion. Highlights included BBC Newsround, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, iNews and the Mirror, and more than 150 regional newspapers and local radio.
By uniting as one voice and bringing together a group of leading charities in one campaign, millions of people had access to more than 100 ideas to connect with nature, inspiring people to think about what makes them happy and to try new ways to bring nature into their home.
3. Mock COP: supporting youth climate activists globally to challenge global leaders
The crisis may have also caused COP26 to be postponed in 2020, but youth activists around the world decided the climate crisis couldn’t be. In November over 330 youth delegates from more than 140 countries came together to host a two-week alternative to COP26: for the youth and by the youth, to stress the importance that climate change will not wait.
Greenhouse supported the Mock COP with a PR and digital campaign to amplify the voices of the youth activists on a global scale, putting pressure on world leaders to listen to those most affected by the climate crisis. We secured over 400 pieces of coverage including Thomson Reuters, CNN, MTV and BBC World Service, and ran a successful social media campaign promoting celebrity, climate activist and COP26 team member partnerships. As a result of our work with Mock COP, the Italian government asked to speak to youth delegates, and the UNDP reviewed the ‘impressive’ legal treaty, which will be discussed within UN departments.
4. SHE Changes Climate: campaign for women leadership on COP26
The UK COP26 leadership team is predominantly male and is not transparent about positions held. Equal representation is vital for the team, the success of the conference and for the planet. More than 400 leading women, from scientists and lawyers, to academics and celebrities, to politicians and campaigners, signed a letter to UK Government calling for 50:50 representation on the leadership team for COP26.
Greenhouse supported the launch of SHEChangesClimate which was covered by multiple top tier news outlets, including BBC Newsnight, Reuters, Financial Times, BBC, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, The Sun, Euronews and Marie Claire, with a total readership of over 900 million. During the first week of its launch, the campaign met with the President of COP26, Alok Sharma MP, and engaged with multiple high-profile individuals interested in providing support beyond the letter to demand gender balance.
5. London Climate Action Week: bringing together London to drive climate action
London Climate Action Week (LCAW) is an annual global event bringing together a world leading array of climate professionals and communities as they discuss and share solutions to climate change. In 2020, we supported London Climate Action Week Digital in July and London Climate Action Week 2020 in November. We delivered an integrated communications campaigns for both events, including digital, social, film and media to galvanize support for LCAW and its participants. We engaged with and promoted all 278 events from LCAWs social channels, pitched to journalists and supported stakeholders, leading to 227 pieces of media coverage.LCAW content was amplified by influential accounts such as COP26, Sadiq Khan, Nigel Topping, WWF, World Bank, London Fashion Week, Farhana Yamin, Shirley Rodrigues, Institute of Civil Engineers, as well as 27 British embassies. Since creating the LCAW Twitter account in June, we have built a community of over 3.5K followers - and counting!#LCAW2020 week kicks off today! 🎉 🗓️ 14-20 November There are a number of events dedicated to making sure #COP26 is a success Join the conversation and register: 👉 https://t.co/RGSXZqFJbi@london_climate | #COP26Action pic.twitter.com/gtFu6IamtW
— COP26 (@COP26) November 14, 2020
6. IUCN Bonn Challenge: restoring communities through reforestation
Every year we lose 13 million hectares of forest, equivalent to the size of England. The Bonn Challenge is the world’s largest restoration initiative, created by the IUCN and the Government of Germany, to tackle these challenges. Today, more than 210 million hectares of degraded or deforested land has been pledged to be restored from 61 countries, eight states and five associations. To celebrate and increase ambition, Greenhouse launched a global 24hr digital event that included live panels, short films, a report, media coverage and a social media campaign. The rich content demonstrated the huge impact of forest landscape restoration and called for governments to ramp up restoration commitments to meet climate, biodiversity and land degradation goals. Media across the world covered the story, including Sky News, BBC World, Euronews and Reuters, with a reach of 9.73 million. The campaign hashtag (#RestoreOurFuture) also had a reach of 9.7 million with more than 70 countries taking part in the digital event online, from Bangladesh to the US. During the event, major government spokespeople reported forest landscape restoration as the best way to tackle health, biodiversity and climate crisis, and the US and Pakistan increased their pledges during the event.7. Good Energy: youth orchestra creating music to raise awareness of the earth’s resources
To mark 2020’s Earth Overshoot Day, Greenhouse devised a powerful campaign to raise awareness of young people’s desire to protect the planet and work in the green economy. We transported an orchestra of young musical activists to Delabole windfarm in North Cornwall to provide a musical spectacle that would create impactful visual assets and generate media cut through to spread the importance of Earth Overshoot Day. The campaign secured over 220 pieces of coverage, including Forbes, Sky News, Daily Mail, The Sun, Yahoo, EuroNews and ClassicFM , as well as three in-depth profile interviews, with a combined readership of over two billion. The campaign provided clear evidence that the arts are crucial to communicating, promoting and driving climate action, and we are committed to continuing our support for the arts into 2021 and beyond.8. GRIDSERVE: launching the UK’s first Electric Forecourt for EV cars
In December, GRIDSERVE opened the doors to the UK’s first ever Electric Forecourt® in Braintree, Essex, paving the way for mass electric vehicle (EV) adoption well ahead of the recently announced 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK.
Powered by 100% renewable energy and capable of adding 200 miles of range to 36 EVs simultaneously every 20 minutes, GRIDSERVE’s futuristic Electric Forecourt® represents a bellwether for the massive expansion of net zero carbon EV charging infrastructure.
Greenhouse has worked closely with GRIDSERVE as it has turned its ambitious vision into a reality. The opening campaign achieved more than 600 pieces of media coverage, including The Times, Guardian, BBC, Independent, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, CNBC and Forbes. Overall, the coverage reached over 2.1 billion people, and positioned GRIDSERVE as a leading player in UK EV charging infrastructure, helping to attract new partners, investment and political support which will all be key to delivering their vision of building over 100 Electric Forecourts® across the UK in the next five years.
9. RSPO: driving understanding and uptake of sustainable palm oil
While palm oil may be a controversial ingredient, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is working hard to drive responsible practices in the industry. Through strict standards that prohibit deforestation and exploitation, it aims to make certified sustainable palm oil the norm. To demystify this complex topic among consumers in the UK, US and Australia, Greenhouse teamed up with an illustrator and a motion graphic designer to develop an impactful series of animated videos and assets. The creatives were released throughout a 15-day social media challenge on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. With a reach of 1.2 million people and over 107,000 video views, the campaign brought the sustainable palm oil story to life and empowered consumers to do their bit to help the rainforest and people in producing regions.10. EIT Food: showing how COVID-19 impacts sustainable eating habits
The food sector faced immense pressures in 2020, and the race to net zero is more reliant on emission reductions within the food system than ever before.
Greenhouse has been working with EIT Food, Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, to scale impact and promote collaboration in the transformation of the food system to become healthier, more sustainable and trusted.
In 2020, we supported EIT Food with campaigns such as their annual Venture Summit and Future of Food Conference, as well as the launch of their funding initiatives for start-ups during the pandemic; the COVID-19 Bridge Fund and Rapid Response Call for Innovation projects. Most recently, our media and digital teams supported EIT Food and Aarhus University to publish a report, visual assets and supporting content about how COVID-19 has changed consumer eating habits across Europe.
The study of 5,000 consumers across 10 countries revealed that impacts could last well beyond the pandemic, opening a window of opportunity for the food sector to innovate and support the green and just recovery. Our outreach secured over 80 pieces of coverage, including articles in the Guardian, the Washington Post and the Telegraph, and provoked discussions on social media about the future of food and food system resilience.
11. PEFC: showing the relationship between forests and fashion
Fashion follows the seasonal cycle of nature, yet it is looking to reduce its environmental impact by searching for sustainable material alternatives. Greenhouse worked with PEFC to demonstrate how natural and renewable forest fibres can be part of the alternatives providing they are responsibly sourced from sustainably managed forests. The Fashions change, Forest stay campaign built demonstratable awareness and engagement amongst target companies including Nike, Ralph Lauren and Adidas. Media coverage secured in 10 top trade publications across the globe, including EcoTextile News, Just Style, Fibre2Fashion and Global Textiles. The hashtag #FashionsChangeForestsStay reached 246,500 users and the campaign animation achieved 39,000 views. The campaign creative was also positively received by stakeholders and recently featured in leading creative industries publication, Creative Boom.12. Insure our Future: campaigning to make coal uninsurable
Lloyd’s of London is the world’s most high-profile insurance marketplace - and one of the worst insurers of environmentally destructive fossil fuel projects. If we are to meet Paris Agreement targets, Lloyd’s must immediately end its cover for coal power plants and mines, and tar sands pipelines.
We helped Insure Our Future to co-ordinate a protest action outside Lloyd’s of London headquarters, urging it to wash its hands of coal and tar sands for good. We secured widespread national and international media coverage - including Reuters, New York Times, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, and Evening Standard - with photography from the protest shared on the Reuters picture wire.
Lloyd's was well and truly shamed by the campaign's extensive media coverage. Since the protest action, Lloyd’s agreed to set a market-wide policy to stop new insurance cover for coal, tar sands and Arctic energy projects by January 2022 - and to pull out of the business altogether by 2030. The scale of the climate emergency requires immediate action and collaboration at all levels of society. We’re looking to work with organisations that are challenging global inaction on climate change with pioneering solutions. If you’ve got a strong environmental story and need our help to tell it in 2020, get in touch with the Greenhouse team on 0117 214 1250 or email info@greenhousepr.co.uk.Today, Insure Our Future stands outside @LloydsofLondon headquarters on Lime Street, as it reopens after COVID-19. Our demands are clear. Lloyds – wash your hands of coal and tar sands. Here’s why: 🧵 (1/11) pic.twitter.com/ubPrGhBVtV
— Insure Our Future Global (@InsOurFuture) September 1, 2020
