WHO SIGNED THIS OFF: JULY EDITION
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JULY EDITION:
WHO SIGNED THIS OFF?!
Football, politics and the weather – three of the UK’s perennial favourite topics – have dominated conversations in recent weeks. As England stumbled through to the last 16 of the World Cup (thank you Harry Kane) and Prime Minister Keir Starmer was deposed by King of the North Andy Burnham, the sun beat down remorselessly. But there was other stuff going on too…
We know from previous Energy Tech Summits that Octopus Energy puts on brilliant events. But how good at planning must you be to arrange for former PM Boris Johnson to be on stage as Keir Starmer announces his resignation? Even more remarkably, this wasn’t even the highlight of a day that saw the likes of astronaut Major Tim Peake, TV stars Hannah Fry and Richard Osman, and US Secretary of State John Kerry all appear at Battersea Park’s Evolution London venue.
“Swaptopus” was announced: a deal with battery maker CATL that will keep electric lorries in the road by swapping in charged batteries for used ones. And an electric car stuffed with 1,132 Constantine plushies was given away. Harpswood was delighted to support.
From Battersea, we headed east to the Excel Centre for two days hosting an exhibitor stand at Reset Connect. Like the Energy Tech Summit, this was part of the loose group of events that make up London Climate Action Week. We met companies making everything from tent pegs for hostile environments, packaging made from mushrooms and a plywood-like material made from waste. Our “Test your media skills” challenge caught the eye of passing traders and started a lot of conversations.
Despite being out and about a lot – including a trip to Bristol to visit our client Firefly Green Fuels – we still landed coverage for space client NewOrbit as it raised its £13.8 million Series A. Highlights included an exclusive in The Times, stories in Axios, the Wall Street Journal, an interview on BBC Radio and in-depth coverage in top trade titles Space News and Payload.
To top off a busy month, we’ve been joined by intern Eugene Vlas. By day he’s learning the PR ropes, by night he’s entertaining gig-goers of London with his noise rock band Windpipe. That’s the next team social sorted…
🗣️ YOU SAY YOU WANT A DEVOLUTION
Keir Starmer’s fall and Andy Burnham’s rise have both been attributed to communication. Commentators noted that Sir Keir had failed to communicate a vision, failed to communicate with his party, thought himself above politics and had no truck with the idea of Starmerism. By contrast, Burnham is recognised as a master communicator who can take people with him, as the Makerfield by-election arguably proved. A selfie featuring hundreds of Labour MPs with Burnham on his arrival in Westminster suggested he’s already better at communicating with fellow MPs. And he has launched Manchesterism – the Burnham manifesto focused on devolved power – on the UK. It may take more than being a good communicator to run the country, but the last two years have shown it is a basic requirement.
🌊 choppy waters
Makerfield wasn’t the only significant by-election held in June. Aberdeen South was taken from the SNP by the Tories, who campaigned on job losses suffered by the oil and gas industry. Battlelines are drawn between those who claim North Sea oil is the answer to cheaper energy and those who insist drilling new fields is a backwards step that will damage the climate and won’t lead to cheaper fuel anyway. The Guardian reports that scores of Labour MPs are lobbying Andy Burnham to ignore calls to develop the Rosebank field.
⚽️ he gave it 110 percent
England assistant coach Anthony Barry became an unlikely talking point at the World Cup after using a half-time interview to actually explain what had gone wrong in England’s first 45 minutes against Croatia. Instead of the usual meaningless cliches we expect from contractual sports interviews, Barry described the performance as “complicated and confusing”, spoke about “fearful patterns” and admitted England had been making the wrong decisions on the ball. England fans were left in little doubt about what was happening in the dressing room thanks to Barry’s no-nonsense comms style. England then emerged to win 4-2 after a much-improved second half. Let’s hope he can inspire an attitude to overcome the altitude in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium…
FOUNDERS UNFILTERED
"RUNNING A CLIMATE COMPANY OFTEN FEELS LIKE ANOTHER ENDURANCE RACE"
This month Jim Mann, CEO & Founder at UNDO is in the hot seat. UNDO uses enhanced rock weathering technology to kick-start nature’s own carbon capture process, locking away CO2 permanently.
Its global mission is to permanently remove more than 1 billion tonnes of CO2 and make carbon removal accessible to all.
It’s undoing the damage already done and providing a healthier planet for future generations.
What’s the scrappiest thing you’ve done so far to make progress?
At the very start of UNDO's journey, I car camped during COP26 in Glasgow to avoid the eye-watering hotel prices. It wasn't glamorous, but many of the relationships I built at the UN’s climate change summit have stuck with us to this day.
What are you most excited about with your business right now?
Our vision is to empower a global network of project developers with the scientific, digital and financial infrastructure needed to deliver durable, bankable carbon removal at scale.
Right now, I'm most excited that we're signing partners onto the world's first end-to-end platform for enhanced rock weathering (ERW). By removing barriers around measurement, data management and upfront project finance, we're creating the enablement layer that could unlock more than one billion tonnes of community-led carbon removal by 2050.
What’s one podcast you think everyone should listen to?
Moonshots with Peter Diamandis. It reminds me just how extraordinary this moment is for technology and innovation. When you're building a climate company, it's easy to become consumed by the challenges. It gives me perspective, optimism and a huge amount of energy about what's possible.
One word you hope people use to describe you – and one word for your business?
Relentless. I compete in 100-mile-plus ultramarathons, and running a climate company often feels like another endurance race. Progress comes from showing up every day, especially when it's hard.
As for UNDO, what our scientists, farmers, data, tech, and finance teams are building is truly groundbreaking.
NEWS-O-METER
🤩 NAILED IT
Around 50,000 Scotland fans descended on Boston for the World Cup group stage and, against several laws of football-tourism physics, made themselves more popular than when they arrived. Bars reported record sales (and beer shortages!), Boston Common hosted singalongs, and both the Boston Globe and the Boston Red Sox published thank-you notes after the Tartan Army moved on.
🥶 FAILED IT
Wowcher was forced to apologise after a promotional email went out with the subject line: “Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!” days after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in Huntingdonshire. The company said the wording was “unacceptable”, “should never have been written” and had not been approved for use. A lesson in how not to newsjack - a child in hospital is not a hook for discounted spa breaks.
🔥 HOT TAKE
A relentless news agenda and the lack of a timely hook for climate stories are stopping the subject from getting more media coverage, a survey of 80 broadcast journalists has found. Broadcast journalists themselves ranked climate change third, behind only the cost of living and the economy, in a choice of topics that were urgent to cover. But their preferences were not reflected in levels of TV coverage. UK Press Gazette – who reported the findings from Climate News Tracker/Kantar research – suggested the planet heating up “is a slow-burning story whose significance has developed over years rather than hours, making it harder to compete with the urgency of news.”
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
📘 it’s the honour of my life
Comedian Matt Forde (guest hosting Harpswood-recommended show Strong Message Here) went on a well-argued rant against cliché as he criticised politicians for wheeling out the overused phrase “It’s the honour of my life…” He said: “Why would you want to say the same thing as everyone else? Wouldn’t you want to stand out and differentiate? I’ve never understood why you would want to follow trends in language because then you just become part of the blob. Pick a new form of words. Show that you can express yourself rather than just copy and paste.”
CAREERS
👩🏻💻 we’re hiring!
We’re looking for an Account Executive to join our growing team in Shoreditch.
If you want to work with purpose-driven businesses, helping them to grow and earn credibility in the media that matters, we'd love to hear from you.
We are looking for a natural storyteller with strong media instincts and the famous Harpswood ‘can-do’ attitude.
We offer brilliant training, career progression and opportunities to learn from a team of ex-journalists and PR pros. We’re a social bunch and have regular team outings and an early 4pm Friday finish.
If this sounds like a role for you or a friend get in touch 👉careers[at]harpswood.com
HARPSWOOD IRL
MEET OUR LONDON TEAM IN July AT:
🗓️ Panel discussion: The Satellite Economy@ Frontline Club on Wednesday 15th July
🗓️ City of London - People, Planet, Pint™ Sustainability Meetup @ Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Tuesday 21st July
🗓️ Climate Tech Time @ The Conduit on Wednesday 29th July
🗓️ Climate Coffee @ St James Cafe Thursday 30th July