12 minute read

‘Hogwash’ not ‘greenwash’

The accusation that your business is engaging in ‘greenwashing’ is a pretty uncomfortable one. It’s the idea that a business is overstating their green credentials or somehow making their product, brand or service appear greener than it actually is. But at Cornwall Wildlife Trust we are proud to have relationships with over 150 businesses and are hugely grateful for their support.

Last year, support from our corporate partnerships generated in excess of £130,000. This has made loads of conservation work possible: marine engagement, reserve management and funding core resources – all allowing us to do vital work for nature in Cornwall. So, the support we receive from businesses actually makes a huge difference to the work we’re doing on the ground for Cornwall’s wildlife and wild places.

To say it’s just greenwashing is quite simply hogwash.

So, how does ‘doing good by doing business’ actually benefit the businesses who support us? Here are six ways in which supporting a charity like Cornwall Wildlife Trust is a great plan for your business…

1. Help employees know they are making a difference

According to some estimates, most of us spend about 90,000 hours of our lives at work. That’s about a third of an average life – which, when you take out around 7-8 hours a night for sleeping, is quite a lot! And generally, we want the work we do to make a difference in the world for the better, or at the very least not cause any harm.

But with that in mind, there’s a big problem. Most people want to make a positive contribution to the world in a number of different ways – in fact, more ways than they have time for. Spending a third of our lives working – even if it’s really meaningful work we believe in – doesn’t leave a lot of space for the other causes we may care about.

This is where business support for charities comes in. If we know that our employer is directly making a difference to another cause we care about, this will surely help. By working for a particular business, we’re not only directly contributing to the organisation we work for, but also indirectly to a cause (or causes) which may be close to our hearts.

What does this look like in reality? One concrete example is a scheme in which businesses can become Reserve Guardians, helping us protect vital habitats on a reserve of their choice. Faye Treffry, Director at Green and Blue, told us that they wanted their company’s charitable giving to be more visible to the whole team. This made becoming guardians of a nature reserve just over the road from their workshop the perfect solution. “As a business,” she says, “we can feel connected to every penny we donate and we are also giving our time to bring the nature reserve back to life, both for wildlife and our local community.” In fact, Green and Blue are helping us to reopen Nansmellyn Marsh to the public by raising funds through Black Friday sales and helping us engage the local community.

A meaningful connection with a charity can make the employees of an organisation feel connected to that cause and proud of the difference they are making. We’ve also seen this recently in relation to our land purchase appeal. Cosy Corner Holiday Park are Bronze members of our Wilder Business Network and recently donated a really generous sum to this appeal.

It’s not just employees who benefit. Bosinver’s owner Pat Smith recently donated a significant figure to our Helman Tor Land Purchase Appeal in the names of her four grandchildren to introduce them to the benefits of giving and make them feel part of such a special project.

2. Develop relevant connections between business and charity

Many of our business supporters feel they have a specific connection to the cause of wildlife conservation in Cornwall. Organisations in the tourism industry often have a sense of the value of protecting the wildlife and wild places which visitors enjoy.  For example, Classic Cottages – who, like many of our business supporters, also sponsor our calendar – recently donated £1,000 to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserves Fund in order to help us take care our 59 reserves. This helps protect a diverse range of habitats essential for wildlife to thrive. As an company who manage over 700 holiday cottages in Cornwall, they want to do all they can to help wildlife on their doorstep.

Similarly, Aspect Holidays donated £1,000 to our Dolphin and Porpoise Appeal, funding the cost of a C-POD (a detection and monitoring system) to study dolphin and porpoise populations. Commercial Director, Mandy Spencer, said, “These beautiful creatures are a breath-taking sight to see in our waters, for locals and visitors alike, but the number of strandings is upsetting to see and in many cases unnecessary, so if our donation can reduce these, even in a small way, we are only too pleased to help.”

Some organisations endeavour to encourage their clients to support the cause, too. Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park have supported with donations of over £16,000 over the last seven years. In fact, owner Patrick Lanmaid, encourages visitors to support the cause, too. “For many years,” he says, “we have asked our customers to make a voluntary donation to Cornwall Wildlife Trust when they book their holidays with us online. Almost every guest does so, which I think underlines the affection they have for this spectacular area, and their concern to be involved in maintaining its upkeep.” Read more on their blog.

Rowan Hartgroves, our Corporate Partnerships Officer says, “Many of our visitors are becoming aware of the precarious state of nature in Cornwall and are looking for ways to help protect the environment they have come to enjoy. By introducing a visitor gifting scheme, such as that encouraged by Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park, local businesses can help build customers loyalty by enabling them to support the protection of the places and wildlife that they cherish. Helping us to ensure the landscapes and wildlife that they love, are here for future generations to enjoy.”

St. Eval Candle Company are long term supporters of our Open Gardens programme – which has allowed us to generate over £25,000 this year – and also sponsor our calendars.

3. Work together for a common cause

Many of our business supporters also connect with us because they see themselves as working towards the same cause, whilst perhaps approaching it from a different angle. A great example of this is Ekopod, an organisation which offers ‘glamping’ in a way that brings visitors closer to nature. According to co-owner, Rachael Gifford, “The wildlife at Ekopod is one of the key elements of our guests' experience. Therefore, it seemed a natural step to become business members of Cornwall Wildlife Trust and support them in their vital work of improving the provision for wildlife in our area. Our guests love that we're associated with such a worthwhile charity.”

In fact, Ekopod is an example of the way in which Cornwall Wildlife Trust is helping businesses to secure grants. We supported them in gaining grants from Tevi to install a camera to monitor hedgehogs on site. Check out the excellent footage from this summer on their Facebook page!

It doesn’t matter what size a business is. Support from smaller organisations can also make a huge difference. Koru Kayaking, one of our longer-standing and smaller business supporters who are part of the Wilder Business Network, run kayaking trips and educate people out on the water, talking about wildlife disturbances and how to act safely and responsibly around our coast.

Some business work with us on a common cause by sponsoring specific projects. The architect’s Marraum, for example, have supported Seaquest Southwest, a project designed to engage people with the marine environment, collecting data to better understand and maintain marine wildlife. Daisy Sawle, Company Director, says: “Supporting Seaquest Southwest has been brilliant. It’s wonderful to support a project that works to understand and protect the Cornish marine environment that we, as a team, all love and enjoy so much.  Abby and the Seaquest team are amazing.”

We were delighted to announce a partnership project with Seasalt Cornwall recently. The three-year ‘Seeding Change Together’ project aims to restore seagrass found at our Fal Ruan nature reserve. Adam Cotgreave, Chief Customer & Sustainability Officer at Seasalt Cornwall, said: ‘’Cornwall is our home, and we are delighted to be partnering with Cornwall Wildlife Trust on this environmentally important pilot project. As a business, we have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the environment as much as we can and this partnership is one of the many ways we are endeavouring to do so.’’

Find out more about the project

Revolution-ZERO make sustainable, reusable face masks for hospital use, supplying Royal Cornwall NHS. Each time masks are purchased, money is donated to help fund vital seagrass monitoring and protection in Mounts Bay, together with Mounts Bay Marine Group. Survey work undertaken by Cornwall Council established that there is far more seagrass in Mounts Bay than anyone realised (the size of 290 rugby pitches, making it one of the largest beds ever found in the UK!). However, while we now know more about the scale of Mounts Bay’s seagrass beds, we don’t yet know what condition they’re in. Therefore, further monitoring and survey work is required.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust are currently working with the local community in Mounts Bay to develop a seagrass project as part of our Your Shore project. Revolution-ZERO’s donation is a huge help to get this work up and running. We hope to train local people to monitor the seagrass meadows, as well as becoming actively involved in drawing up a ‘Charter for the Sea’ - an action plan to help protect the marine environment in Mounts Bay.

4. Foster good mental wellbeing and develop teambuilding opportunities

Businesses who support charities might also be able to take advantage of the positives such support brings for employee mental wellbeing. Cornish Lithium, for example, are Reserve Guardians for Bissoe Valley nature reserve. West-Cornwall Reserves Manager, Nick Marriott, recently took employees on guided tour of the reserve. They learnt all about our wildlife management techniques and discovered how the site had been transformed from an old arsenic works into a haven for wildlife.

Founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium, Jeremy Wrathall, said: ‘’Wild spaces not only provide havens for our native wildlife and flora, but also offer us a place of sanctuary from the fast-paced nature of life. In synergy with our environmental, social and governance strategy, we are proud to support local organisations that help to halt nature’s decline in the face of climate change by providing carbon-capturing habitats. The fact that the Bissoe Trail is so popular with local families and links to Cornwall’s rich mining heritage, as well as its proximity to our lithium exploration site at United Downs, makes this partnership even more important to us.’’

Business support for charity is not only good for employee mental wellbeing, but also for developing new teambuilding opportunities. Marraum have found that their support of Seaquest Southwest has also led to fantastic team building opportunities, after the Trust’s marine team trained them to carry out sea watches. Company Director, Daisy Sawle, said that it’s given them a great focus for their company away days.

Seasalt Cornwall have also really benefitted from volunteering on various away days. Sustainability Manager, Peta Day, says: “Seasalt Cornwall employees always return from their volunteering with Cornwall Wildlife Trust having had the most wonderful time. The different pace, manual work and, being outside for the day gives everyone a new and motivated energy. It’s a chance to get to know your colleagues on a different level as well as meeting some of the most fantastic people in the Cornwall Wildlife Trust team and regular volunteers.”

5. Make new business connections: ‘Netwalking’

‘Netwalking’? Yep. We made this one up. ‘Netwalking’ is a great alternative to traditional indoor business networking. If, like many, you find networking events awkward and often find yourself struggling to start up conversations, ‘netwalking’ could be just the thing. Held sporadically throughout the year on our nature reserves across Cornwall, we take like-minded business owners for a guided tour, stopping to discuss management techniques, the cultural and historical background of the reserve, as well as looking for wildlife. We find the discussions that take place between participants happens much more naturally during these type of events. Therefore, the relationships you build are that much stronger.

We’re currently making plans for some ‘netwalking’ opportunities at our largest nature reserve, Helman Tor, two and a half miles south of Bodmin…

6. PR opportunities

We’ve saved this one till last for two reasons. First, it’s pretty obvious. Second, it’s often seen as the primary motivation for businesses, but that seems like a bit of a reductive view to us. Hopefully what this blog shows is that there are plenty of good reasons why business support for charity is good for both charity and business. It’s not just ‘greenwashing’ for better PR.

Having said that, supporting a charity is also very good PR. Just as the owners of Cosy Corner Holiday Park support wildlife for its own sake, recognising that this also brings benefits to people, the same is true for business support for charities. Business support arrives at our door because organisations genuinely want to make a difference to wildlife in Cornwall. But this also brings PR benefits back to those organisations.

We celebrate our Corporate Partnerships through social media posts, shout outs on our podcast, in our members’ magazine, through joint projects, on our calendar… and, of course, in blogs like this one.

If you’d like to find out more about how your business can support wildlife in Cornwall, please get in touch with Rowan Hartgroves, our Corporate Partnerships Officer, at rowan.hartgroves@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk or on 07932 545 538.