Acting Sustainably Archives

Our 2024 sustainability highlights!

27 December 2024/in Acting Sustainably

With the launch of our new brand earlier this year came our new values – with acting sustainably being front and centre of the future of TMPR. Whilst we know we have a long way to go, we want to do all we can to drive positive change. Since joining us back in May, Jessica Hollyman, our operations coordinator, has been leading the charge as resident ‘Green Queen’, so as we prepare to wrap up 2024, we’ve chatted with her to find out more about her sustainable ventures this year.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Can you tell us about the steps you’ve taken this year to grow your knowledge around acting sustainably?

I started my sustainability journey when I joined TMPR earlier this year,, and since then I’ve been actively attending networking events around South Wales focused around building a cleaner future. I want to learn how we can play a part in making a positive contribution to the net zero agenda and reduce our environmental impact as a business.

I also enrolled in the BT Small Business Britain webinar series which taught me strategies to use when making a sustainable action plan. These included top tips that we are introducing to the business such as upgrading equipment to energy efficient alternatives, completing energy audits, and planning efficient travel when we visit clients.

Finally, we joined the SME Climate Hub this year. This sees us submit an annual report on our progress towards achieving net zero carbon emissions as well as gaining access to practical resources that will help implement positive change in the business.

What have you learnt about the impact our day-to-day lives are having on the environment?

One of the biggest shocks was the impact of technology use. Digital overconsumption and electronic waste are two of the biggest factors damaging our ecosystem.

During the BT Small Business Britain webinars, I learnt that 20-50 AI chatbot queries could consume 500ml of water due to the cooling centres required to maintain the technology. This made me think about the damage advancements in technology could be having on our future.

I also discovered that a new laptop produces between 300kg-400kg of carbon dioxide, raising the question of “do we already have a functional laptop that can be used instead of buying new?”.

Though technology is having an impact on our environment, there are other factors that are contributing too. At the ‘Building a Cleaner Future’ event with South Wales Chamber of Commerce, I found that each year UK homes go through 686 million plastic soap bottles, 617 million plastic body wash bottles, and 520 million plastic shampoo bottles. Single use plastic is of growing concern and swapping to use reusable solutions can have a big impact on our environment.

Can you share three top tips that you’re introducing to TMPR to help us act sustainably?

Reuse within the community – When we have equipment that is no longer of use, we should see if it can be used by someone in the local community. What may no longer serve us, may be of benefit to someone else. We recently gifted our old computer monitors to those in the community as well as gifting and installing our old Promethean interactive display to the National Autistic Society’s (NAS) Cardiff Autism Centre.
Measure your carbon footprint – You can measure your carbon footprint by looking at utility bills, receipts, fuel usage, and even your property meter readings. Track what energy you are using and see if there is anywhere you can cut back.
Staff engagement and motivation – It’s super important that the whole team is on board with our sustainability journey. In our monthly Marketing Monday meetings, I share what I’ve learnt over the past month and how we can make changes in the office to drive our journey forward.

What does 2025 have in store for you?

I’ve already booked in networking events for the new year including, SEWBCC – Sustainable Business and the CEIC programme. I hope to learn more about how TMPR as a small business can act sustainably.

We are moving offices next year (exciting!) and I see this as an opportunity to establish new foundations. We can manage and track our bills from the beginning, gaining insight into our energy usage, build a biodiversity garden in our outdoor space, and introduce a shower in the building so that the team can cycle to work, minimising their personal carbon footprints!

Thank you to Jessica for sharing your sustainability journey so far with us! We have learnt so much about acting sustainably this year and will continue to grow as we enter 2025. Alongside making B2B marketing miracles happen, of course!

We’re now proud members of the SME Climate Hub!

23 December 2024/in Acting Sustainably

Powered by building trust, empowering growth, and acting sustainably, we’re constantly working on bringing these values to life across everything we do. And we know that sustainability is where we need to work hardest. That’s why we’ve spent the last six months taking proactive steps to raise our game, the latest of which has seen us join the SME Climate Hub!

As a member of the SME Climate Hub, we’ll now submit an annual report on our progress towards achieving net zero carbon emissions and have access to practical resources that help effect positive change in the business.

Our ultimate aim is to become B Corp certified, but having completed the initial assessment we recognised that we’re not quite ready. On that basis we’ve identified areas for improvement and prioritised where we need to act. As a small business, the SME Climate Hub will support us with making progress where it’s needed in the coming year, helping to set a solid foundation for accelerated improvement.

Leading the charge with our sustainability commitment is Jessica Hollyman, our operational coordinator. Self-proclaimed ‘Green Queen’, since Jess joined TMPR six months ago, she’s been swotting up on all things environmental and initiating immediate action where we can.

“As a business we’re setting environmental targets and actively introducing new initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint. We’ve started small and focused on the areas where we can make an immediate impact, but we have big ambitions for the future. Being part of the SME Climate Hub will help lay the foundations for us to achieve our vision.”

We’re a small but friendly bunch based in Penarth. Come talk to us if you’re looking to make B2B marketing miracles happen, or if you’re an SME on your own sustainability journey and have some pearls of wisdom you’d be happy to share!

TMPR and Steer IT join forces to deliver edtech donation

1 November 2024/in Acting Sustainably

TMPR and Steer IT join forces to facilitate edtech donation

We recently joined forces with Steer IT, a leading IT services provider, to gift and install our Promethean interactive display to the National Autistic Society’s (NAS) Cardiff Autism Centre. Replacing a broken interactive whiteboard in one of the centre’s classrooms, the ActivPanel is a valuable addition that will facilitate improved educational experiences for autistic students.

After upgrading our own meeting room with an ActivPanel LX – a flexible interactive display designed for business – we wanted to find a new home for our old ActivPanel. Acting sustainably is one of our core values, which is why we preferred for the ActivPanel to be rehomed rather than recycled.

We consulted with local Promethean partner, Steer IT, to find an education or community facility that would benefit from the technology. Having become aware that NAS was struggling with failing technology in its Cardiff Autism Centre, we set to work on replacing it.

Steer IT removed the old interactive whiteboard and relocated the 75” ActivPanel to its new home on Pacific Road, Cardiff. As well as donating time to manage the installation, Steer IT gifted a specialist AV bracket to wall-mount the ActivPanel. “We were really happy to support this initiative,” says Stuart Steer, Director, Steer IT. “We’ve recently become a Promethean partner in Wales, so this was a great opportunity to give something back to the community while giving our team the chance to get hands-on with the new solutions we offer.”

The classroom where the ActivPanel was installed is used regularly by one student who has struggled since the old interactive whiteboard stopped working. Meirion Boudier, Deputy Manager at the Cardiff Autism Centre, believes that bringing interactivity back will make a huge difference to the student’s educational experience: “Interactivity is known to improve teaching and learning for all, but this is particularly true for some autistic students. When the old board stopped working, our student became increasingly frustrated and communication became much more difficult. The return of interactivity, thanks to the ActivPanel, will change that.

“As a charity, budgets are naturally a challenge, so we are always grateful for any support – and in this case, want to say a huge thank you to TMPR and Steer IT for making this happen.”

Helping a Kenyan Community – Thanks Helen

25 June 2018/in Acting Sustainably, PR

In May, we were proud to be able to send Helen our best wishes as she embarked on her trip to Nakuru in Kenya to support a local school and community. The trip was organised by Derby County Community Trust and African Adventures, but Helen needed to raise funds for the trip through sponsorship and donations. We were proud to be Helen’s main sponsor for a second year in a row.

Upon her return, Helen has shared with us how the trip this year was very different from last year and not what she was expecting. To Helen’s surprise, the children she met last year were in even more of a tired state. This is likely due to a combination of unrest in the region because of elections and the intense weather conditions.

There have been a lot of thunderstorms and flooding in the area which has caused significant problems with roads and infrastructure, especially in the slums. Many families that could afford to move to different areas have done so, leaving behind the poorest families. Despite having so little and living in such poor conditions, Helen told us how it was wonderful to see the families still laughing, and the children still learning and playing.

This year the team spent a lot of their time carrying out maintenance work on the school building. New guttering has been installed, paint work repaired, internal walls plastered, and external walls pointed. The team also raised the perimeter wall by adding two layers of boulders for increased security and fixed a main gate.

Whilst in Nakuru, the team celebrated Madaraka Day – a national holiday – with the children and some of their families. The team prepared a feast with meat, cabbage and chapatis. They built a swing and did lots of drawing and painting with the children, played with balls, bubbles and balloons.

With the funds raised the team managed to buy 92 school jumpers for the children. Although 250 jumpers were ideally needed, every child received something.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Helen for the amazing work she has done in Kenya again this year. We are in a privileged position to be able to sponsor such a worthwhile cause. Although the living conditions for the children weren’t as expected this year, it reaffirms how important the project is to help the families and children in need.

Community is at the Heart

9 May 2018/in Acting Sustainably

Here at Technical Marketing & PR, we are passionate about the future of Wales’ development. For this reason, TMPR consultant, Louise Matthews, volunteers as a non-executive director on the board for Planning Aid Wales, where she brings 15 years of marketing and PR experience to bolster the organisation’s communication capabilities.

Planning Aid Wales is a charity that works towards creating effective community involvement in planning and building development. The organisation promotes and facilitates community engagement, to help all voices be heard in the planning of Wales’ future.

With an ever-growing population, there is a need for the development of more houses and community facilities in Wales, with TMPR believing that community is at the heart of creating effective development policies. Louise comments: “Planning Aid Wales advocates that communication between local councils and the public is essential. I am proud to bring my marketing and PR skills to the charity, as it provides a future vision that looks to maximise community welfare.”

Take a look at Planning Aid Wales’ website to find out more about its services or how you can volunteer to support the charity: http://www.planningaidwales.org.uk/

We’re Proud to Sponsor Helen

7 December 2017/in Acting Sustainably

Here at Technical Marketing & PR, we like to do our bit to help those less fortunate than ourselves. In recognition of UK Charity Week, we thought we’d tell you about our sponsorship of Helen Ripley. In 2017 we were honoured to be Helen’s main sponsor on a life-changing two-week trip to Nakuru in Kenya, organised by Derby County Community Trust and African Adventures. The trip was such a success in terms of the difference Helen made, we are proud to be Helen’s main sponsor again in 2018. Here’s Helen telling us a bit more about the work she was involved with on the trip and what motivated her to take part:

“This year we went and worked with the Ungana Academy in Kenya and we’ll be going back to the same place in 2018 for two weeks. The school has 320 pupils between the ages of 3 and 16. Some of the children live in houses as small as my bedroom, up to 7 people and no running water. Their toilet is a hole in the ground, and 16 families share this. They live on a diet of mainly rice and beans.

When we’re out there we spend lots of time interacting with and getting to know the children and adults. In our team there are some teachers, and they spend time teaching the children English. This year we were also tasked with taking down an old classroom and building a new one.

We take bubbles, balls and stickers with us for the children, they absolutely love it. It is so heart warming seeing them laughing and playing when they have so little. Many of the children’s back packs are worn through and they have shoes without laces – we try and help out with these as well as basic school stationery. Where we can, we visit some families at home and take them food parcels. They are so grateful. We also cook a meal with meat for some of the families. To you and I this is normal, but they only eat meat on very special occasions, it’s a luxury.

The trip is something I have always wanted to do. I feel like I’m at a point in my life with my family growing up, that I can do it. I will admit I was a little worried that it would be a very emotional experience, and it is. But at the same time, it is so rewarding and so positive seeing how much of a difference is being made to the lives of the children, and how genuinely happy they are to have such basic things. It really makes you appreciate what we have.

The difference we can make to these children’s lives really stood out for me when we were able help a little boy named Clifton from the Jubilee School. His leg had been injured in a car accident and his bone was exposed and infected. Together with the charity Start Small we were able to raise £7,000 to help with his surgery, physio and the after care. Without this he would have undoubtedly lost his leg and died.

I’m really looking forward to going to the school again in 2018, the work we do makes such a difference. I’ve run events such as raffles and discos, all to raise funds for the trip. It’s thanks to the kind donations from people and the sponsorship from Technical Marketing & PR that I am able to support the school again.”

Helen will be heading over to Kenya on 19th May 2018. Though Helen has achieved her goal of £2,500 to be able to go and help with the project, your donations are still welcomed and will really help. The donations cover Helen’s flight, materials and lots of resources. Some of the money will also come back to the Derby County Communities Trust to support children in Derbyshire with physical and mental disabilities. The Trust works with these children through engaging them with sport. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.

At Technical Marketing & PR we spend a lot of time working with schools alongside clients in the technology sector. Seeing how lucky children are in this country to have access to the latest edtech only makes it even more important for us to support the wonderful work Helen is doing in Kenya. We wish Helen every success in May and can’t wait to hear all about it.

TMPR Lends a Helping Paw to Hope Rescue!

21 November 2017/in Acting Sustainably

Here at Technical Marketing & PR we like to sprinkle a bit of happiness whenever we can, and that’s just what we did recently with Hope Rescue in Pontypridd.

The team work hard to re-home rescue dogs within the local community, and as a small independent team they rely heavily on volunteers and donations. When we heard that they needed help to they buy an information portal for their newly refurbished charity shop in Pontypridd, we were pawsitive that we wanted to offer some financial support – not least because technology is kind of our thing.

With the new portal in place, shoppers can browse their website and have a look at the Hope dogs available for adoption, it’s definitely a handy addition to the shop, make no bones about it!

Take a look at the Hope Rescue website to see how you can get involved with helping the charity, or to browse the list of dogs looking for new homes http://www.hoperescue.org.uk.