Ecosulis aids communication strategy of WWF-UK
Bath-based environmental consultancy Ecosulis has been engaged by the World Wildlife Fund to work on its communications campaigns in Scotland, Wales and England. The consulting firm, which specialises in advising entities promoting biodiversity and ecological sustainability, has also provided the WWF with strategic advice and reports in the last year.
Founded in 1990, Ecosulis is a consultancy and contractor which works with clients to help protect and improve the biodiversity of multiple sites across the United Kingdom. Alongside its headquarters in Bath, the firm also holds offices in London, Birmingham and Cardiff, with more than 30 employees working with organisations across those locations. Recently the firm was engaged by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in order to bolster the international non-governmental organisation’s communications strategy across the UK.
The WWF specialises in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment. The Fund’s UK office seeks to promote and raise awareness around the key environmental issues facing our planet. During the nine-month contract, which has now come to an end, Ecosulis’ communications team was tapped by WWF-Scotland, WWF-England and WWF-Cymru to offer strategic advice and generate reports to raise campaign profiles and resonate with a wide range of stakeholders.
In April, this saw the firm compile a report for WWF-Scotland exploring how extreme weather – made more likely by climate change – had caused the number of livestock dying early to rise by more than 100,000 animals across the country. Forming a high-profile part of WWF-Scotland's campaign calling for urgent action on climate change, it was reported on by the BBC, Good Morning Scotland and STV, among others.
Commenting on Ecosulis’ efforts, WWF-Scotland's Food Policy Manager Sheila George said, "The work of Ecosulis helped us communicate the risks of climate change to agriculture and was incredibly useful for our advocacy work. It was thorough, highlighted significant costs and received widespread pickup in mainstream press."
Elsewhere, Ecosulis worked with WWF-Cymru to compile, characterise and prioritise drivers of biodiversity loss in Wales. These are now set to be connected to existing and proposed policy changes in order to decrease adverse impacts on biodiversity across the country.
On a national level, meanwhile, the relationship between Ecosulis and WWF saw the consultancy provide scientific and editorial advice on the charity's UK Nature campaign. This included compilation of a number of conservation case studies, briefs for an environmental photo-shoot with MPs, and assistance with a global footprint campaign. A major part of this consisted of crafting a hard-hitting press release calling on the UK Government to reduce the impact of UK trade on the planet in order to protect and restore UK nature.
"From climate change to plastic pollution, there are so many conservation-related issues in the media these days," commented Ecosulis Biodiversity Lead Vance Russell. "But with dedicated research and carefully crafted messages, we managed to rise above the noise. Collaborating with WWF on these campaigns was a really rewarding experience, and I know they appreciated our work."
WWF-UK is currently calling for a strong and ambitious new Westminster Environment Bill post Brexit, including a due diligence/private sector duty on UK businesses to reduce their global footprint. Engaging the public, decision makers and charities is critical to the success of this effort, particularly as a number of the Government’s key Brexit figures have previously alluded to slashing environmental protections once the UK is beyond the jurisdiction of EU protocols.
