On February 22^nd 2024 we were thrilled to bring together our island and mainland suppliers for an evening of open dialogue and collaboration, ambitiously titled ‘How do we save the world together.’ The goal was to bring our suppliers together to celebrate, stimulate and inspire conversations around the impact of our collective actions, identify areas for improvement, and discuss how we can support each other to improve or reduce our impact.

The event commenced with three insightful presentations. First, Tom Bourne from Greenheart consultancy gave his take the significance of impact measurement for businesses, emphasizing three key areas on the journey to impact measurement. Firstly, the importance of aligning our team with our values, secondly, deciding which environmental and social matters are most important to your business, and thirdly, taking action in the form of taking measurements of what matters, creating a strategy for improvement and sharing your story.

 Next, Julia Hayward, director of Cultivate Change, delved into the realm of social impact, highlighting its relevance to businesses and emphasising how focusing on our teams, communities, and customers can lead to greater resilience and success. Julia used the example of a local Isle of Wight business that saw great success in the 90's and early 20's thanks to putting its people at the centre of its business and the positive repercussions that had on the rest of the company and wider community.

Finally, our director, Barnes Edwards, shared his personal journey as a London/China based product designer of useful-to-humans-but-not-very-useful-to-the-planet products, into an organic & regenerative agriculture nerd with a passion for producing healthy soils by integrating livestock to our garlic rotation.

Inspired by these presentations, the event transitioned into an engaging workshop. Attendees were divided into smaller groups, each tasked with exploring the impact of our businesses on people and the planet and brainstorming collaborative solutions for improvement.

As the workshop progressed, it became evident that what we all crave is collaboration, shared knowledge, and robust business networks. Despite the ambitious title of the event, there was a clear sense that collaboration and communication between each other is where the power to create real change lies. Discussions yielded practical and actionable ideas such as finding joint solutions for waste, aligning mainland suppliers and using our collective voice to make issues heard in government. 

This supplier engagement event served as a catalyst for meaningful dialogue and collaboration. By continuing to share knowledge and experience, we hope to make significant strides towards creating a more sustainable and impactful business ecosystem. By continuing on our B Corp journey, and encouraging others to join us, we look forward to implementing the ideas and making small steps towards saving the world, together.