Sustainable Results Lab

We help environmental businesses grow. Sustainably.

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Your chance to win investment at Cambridge Cleantech Venture Day

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Securing investment for your cleantech business may feel daunting. But the team behind Cambridge Cleantech Venture Day is keen to show just how much support is available for businesses ready to pitch to investors. 

“We’re here; we are friendly faces, so don’t be intimidated,” says Sylvie Russell, Head of Operations at Cambridge Cleantech.

The deadline for this year’s applications is 10 March. 

“The application is easy to fill in; there are just six questions,” explains Sylvie. 

“So, it’s not an application that’s going to take you lots of time to apply. And then, if you’re selected, we’ll do pitch training sessions with you.” 

The Cambridge Cleantech team is proud of the work that it’s done to increase the number of female founders who apply.

“We want to showcase diversity and encourage applications from people whatever their background or gender,” explains Sylvie.

So, what makes a good pitch? 

“It’s a combination of being able to present your product and solution with words that are accessible for everyone,” says Sylvie. 

“Remember that investors and the people listening are not all from engineering backgrounds. It’s easy to go down the trap of very technical solutions, but what we want to hear is solutions to problems.”

“People’s passion” is what’s most memorable about previous pitches, says Sylvie. “At the end of the day, we are people relating to people,” she adds. 

The Cambridge Cleantech Venture Day team expect at least 200 people from around the globe to attend the two-day event on 18 and 19 May. The event will bring together innovative cleantech companies with experienced fund managers, business angels and corporate investors.

Innovation to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our planet is at the heart of the day. 

So what themes are likely to emerge? 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more hydrogen solutions,” says Sylvie. “Since COP26 and the energy crisis, the government has realised it needs to look for new clean energy solutions, which has raised the profile of hydrogen.” 

COVID has also increased interest in companies that improve indoor air quality. 

“These companies were there before, but nobody was thinking about it. Now when you have a new building or are retrofitting an existing one, businesses are also thinking more about what they can put in place to keep everybody safe,” says Sylvie. 

She also hopes to see more waste management and circular economy solutions. 

Sylvie Russell, Head of Operations at Cambridge Cleantech

Sylvie Russell, Head of Operations at Cambridge Cleantech, encourages people from all backgrounds to apply

“We talked a lot about reducing plastic before COVID, but then we stopped because we just had to make sure everybody was safe. But I think people are more focused again on doing something about it,” says Sylvie. 

“People are asking how we manage waste properly. How do you use the waste and transform it?”

Investors can be confident they’ll listen to high-quality pitches because everyone presenting has already been scored by a panel of experts, with the 24 highest-ranking companies chosen. 

To apply to pitch at the next Cambridge Cleantech Venture Day or secure your early bird ticket, click here. 

Sustainable Results Lab is proud to be a marketing partner for the event. 

For support with your business development strategy or pitch deck, book a call with Sustainable Results Lab founder Ruth Smith.

Achieving net zero in construction: a purpose-driven brand transformation

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The opportunity

Achieving net zero in construction requires an unprecedented change in the building industry.

Darren Evans wanted to use the pandemic as a springboard to achieve this change by working with their customers to create a more sustainable built environment.

The sustainable construction consultancy wanted to position itself as an industry leader for supporting the transition to net zero. They also wanted to target larger developers and architect firms where they could make more impact.

Key to this was educating potential clients that early involvement in a construction project enabled them to have more impact on cost, energy efficiency and carbon.

The challenge

When we first met Darren Evans, their ambition and expertise wasn’t apparent from their digital presence.

They wanted to scale-up the business to have more impact with larger players in the construction industry, but their brand identity and website were not supporting these goals.

Their brand assets did not reflect the team’s expertise or ethos, particularly their passion for customer service that goes above and beyond other service providers.

Darren Evans before and after shots of website
Before and after: the Darren Evans website now reflects their mission to build a better future

Here’s how we worked with Darren Evans to:

  • Double brand engagement
  • Open doors to potential customers they wouldn’t have spoken to before
  • Achieve six proposal requests in 24 hours
  • Increase unique email click-through rates by 78%.

Developing a new business development strategy

Before embarking on a major rebrand and website redesign, we worked with the Darren Evans team to develop their sales and marketing strategy.

Our focus was on using neuroscience and behavioural insights to lay strong foundations for growth.

By using our in-depth understanding of how customers make decisions, we developed a much more sophisticated approach to growing customer numbers and revenue.

To really understand customer motivations and behaviour, we conducted a multi-pronged research process, including:

  • Interviews with team members to map their expertise and insight
  • Analysis of website, email and sales data
  • Interviews with existing customers
  • Analysis of competitors and the market context

This revealed numerous untapped opportunities to make a real difference to the climate emergency.

Founder Darren Evans says:

You spent a significant time in understanding; more time than other companies I’ve worked with were willing to spend. For me, this is the real value, which reflects Sustainable Results Lab’s purpose, motivation and integrity.

Building a better future

One vital insight was customers’ desire to create a positive legacy. Whether that was developers, architects or mechanical engineers, all were motivated to create a built environment that enables people to thrive – now and in the future.

The Darren Evans home page now reflects customers' desire to build a better future
The Darren Evans home page now reflects customers’ desire to build a better future

Developing a stronger brand

Our discovery process also uncovered that most of Darren Evans’ customers came to them needing help understanding and complying with complex regulations.

It was therefore crucial that the new brand positioned them as established experts.

Darren Evans business cards show how the brand transformation positions them as established experts

Creating a compelling user experience

As part of the rebrand, we developed a much more compelling user experience. We simplified the navigation structure to make it easier for people to find what they wanted.

We rewrote website copy on key pages to better reflect customers’ needs and challenges so that potential clients could quickly see how Darren Evans could support them to achieve net zero in construction.

A focus on compassion and wellbeing

Image of a person in a wheelchair playing chess.
Darren Evans wanted to show that buildings are more than just bricks – they are spaces that enable people to thrive

A strong thread that runs through the company internally and externally is a focus on compassion and wellbeing.

Darren has built the business around these values and talks passionately about how our built environment can help us be “the best version of ourselves”.

In a storytelling exercise, other team members recounted times they had most enjoyed their jobs, with the common thread being helping customers who were feeling overwhelmed.

Thrive in Construction sign up box
The website also introduced a more sophisticated sales funnel, for example a new data capture form to enable Darren Evans to build deeper relationships with potential customers over time.

Standing out in a sea of buildings

Our research process led us to identify an opportunity to stand out from the others in the sector by breaking the trend of using photographs of buildings. We also noticed that nearly all competitors used either green or blue colours, so we decided to avoid this also. 

Darren agreed that a radical transformation that bucked industry trends was the best way to make the impact they wanted.

Darren Evans navigation bar with playful illustrative touches to delight users
Our designer Megan Sayers added playful illustrations to make people smile

Striking the right balance

The brand needed to carefully balance appearing established and knowledgeable with the sense of warmth and compassion inherent in the company culture.

We achieved this by pairing playful illustrations with a more serious feeling serif font. We also balanced the softer colours used in the illustrations with blocks of darker, more masculine colours. This enables the brand to flex depending on the tone required for a specific audience or subject.

Creating moments of delight

The team at Darren Evans are a kind and approachable bunch who care passionately about their customers’ success. We, therefore, wanted to reflect the quality of the real-life customer relationships in the interactions on the website by sprinkling playful illustrative touches throughout.

Using behavioural insights to boost impact

Underlying all our work with Darren Evans was an understanding of the science of decision making.

We used neuroscience and behavioural insights to develop a brand strategy that persuades the construction industry that achieving net zero is achievable and cost effective.

Darren says: “When you talked about the behavioural sciences and the limbic brain, it made sense theoretically as I’d seen examples.”

But it also made sense after the branding work because everyone has said the same thing – ‘this is a really good website’. It’s really clear to understand, it feels really warm and it reflects the connections we forge with people.

Results

The Darren Evans team now has a strong brand that reflects their true purpose, enabling them to support their customers to achieve net zero in construction.

All the brand collateral and messaging that we created is reusable across multiple customer touchpoints, supporting the team to achieve sustainable growth.

Some of the early results include:

  • Brand engagement doubled with potential customers spending twice as long on the new website
  • A six-week email campaign focusing on the new brand messaging led to a 78% increase in unique click-through rates and an 85% increase in click to open rate
  • One email lead to six proposal requests in 24 hours
  • The Darren Evans team are now in a much stronger position to talk to developers and architects at the start of the construction process, enabling them to make more of an impact on improving the energy performance of buildings.

Reflecting on the brand transformation, Darren says:

What I got was better than imagined, and I wanted something of a high standard. That’s opened my mind to what’s possible and opened doors to potential customers we wouldn’t have spoken to before.

He adds: “Our new brand is also enabling us to attract the brightest minds, people determined to make a difference in the construction industry.

“We’re creating something we’re all proud of and can tell our grandchildren we were part of this.”

Want to transform your brand too? Whether it’s developing your growth strategy, building a low carbon website or developing lead generation tools, we can support you to make more impact.

Email our founder Ruth to arrange a coffee and chat about your growth strategy.

Digital carbon footprints: worse than flying?

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Green tech is a crucial part of tackling the climate emergency, with advances in artificial intelligence revolutionising what’s possible.

But there’s increasing awareness that digital is not carbon neutral.

Here are some stats from the carbon emissions think-tank The Shift Project, which illustrate the scale of the problem:

In fact, the Paris-based Shift Project argues that:

Digital technology is currently doing more to fuel global warming than prevent it.

So, what does this mean for marketing?

The starting point is to recognise that all marketing has a carbon footprint, digital included.

As we strive to make our marketing sustainable, we have a duty to ensure that we use the very best tools and techniques.

Anything less fails to maximise the impact of the carbon we use.

To get science-based tips on avoiding waste in marketing, put your email in the box below.

Photo by Nafis Al Sadnan on Unsplash

Want to avoid waste in marketing?

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Digital technology contributes to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, double that of the worldwide aviation industry.

This research by carbon emissions think-tank The Shift Project shows why it’s vital for marketing professionals to be mindful of their digital carbon footprints.

But what does this mean in practice? The Sustainable Results Lab has launched a series of guides and emails that explore how marketing professionals can respond to the climate emergency.

Resources include:

  • 10 ways to avoid waste in marketing – a research-informed guide to help you maximise return on investment and make a difference
  • A major research report on what a sustainable approach to marketing is. You’ll hear how sustainable marketers are applying their principles to their customer outreach strategies
  • How to use insights from the behavioural sciences to maximise marketing impact
  • Data on what works and why

All our emails are evidence-backed. We aim to save you time by distilling the latest research to give you quick, actionable insights.

The focus is on supporting you to reach and engage more customers, sustainably.

Avoid waste in marketing

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I wanted to let you know how good your emails are and the content that you are sharing in them. This is now my go to place for thought-provoking articles to help me improve my own marketing efforts.

Testimonial from Helen Hawkins, sales and marketing, Outposts Ltd

Photo by Michael Jin on Unsplash

Are you wasting money on social media?

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James has a dilemma. The marketing manager at a sustainability consultancy is rushed off his feet.

What’s the best use of his time and budget? Should he invest in more social media advertising? Or should he build his email assets to engage potential customers?

On the train to work, James is reading This is Marketing by world-renowned marketing guru Seth Godin.

Published in late 2018, Seth’s advice on social media is stark:

It’s time to stop wasting money on stolen attention that won’t pay off in the long run

“Facebook and other social platforms seem like a shortcut because they make it apparently easy to reach new people.

“But the trade-off is that you’re a sharecropper. It’s not your land. You don’t have permission to contact people; they do. You don’t own an asset; they do,” writes Seth.

The impact of Facebook algorithm changes

News outlets have seen the consequence of this first hand. Referrals to their websites plummeted in January 2018 when Facebook changed its algorithms to de-emphasise news publishers in favour of posts from individuals. The knock-on impact on advertising revenues has been a financial headache for media outlets.

More than 20 years ago, Seth started a marketing revolution with his book Permission Marketing.

It argued that winning permission to email people is a privilege – a precious asset for businesses.

The value of email marketing

To return this trust, we must offer something of genuine value that solves a problem.

Reflecting on this, James decided to prioritise email marketing to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

Reading This is Marketing also left him feeling inspired by the contribution marketing makes to tackling climate change.

Marketing is not about “shouting, hustling, or coercion,” writes Seth. Instead, marketing is about “changing culture for the better. It’s a chance to serve.”

Picture credit: photo by Nick Grant on Unsplash

Are you finding it hard to win customers?

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Even when you’re selling an innovative, low carbon product, sourcing new leads and converting them into sales can feel tough.

At the Sustainable Results Lab, we use research from the behavioural sciences to inform how we approach this challenge. 

This experiment by the UK Government’s Behavioural Insights Team has some useful insights.

Behavioural research: how to increase take-up 

It shows how removing the hassle for customers can dramatically improve take-up.

The environment department was grappling with a dilemma. How do you encourage more people to insulate their attics?

Professor David Halpern, the psychologist who heads the Cabinet Office’s Behavioural Insights Team, had a theory.

In Inside the Nudge Unit: how small changes can make a big difference, he writes:

The problem was less about money and more about hassle. Specifically, people couldn’t bear the thought of having to clear out the contents of their lofts.

To test this theory, the unit ran a leaflet trial in London promoting different services:

  • The cheap option: low-cost home insulation
  • The expensive option: low-cost home insulation combined with a loft clearance service

Take-up of the most expensive option was three times higher, despite an extra cost of several hundred pounds.

By thinking through the barriers to sale, and understanding human motivations, the team had shown they could triple take up.

What are your barriers to sale?

While you might not sell an energy efficiency product, the learning is useful.

What are the barriers to sale for your customers? What can you do to remove the hassle for them?

It might only be something small, but the research shows that if you can get this right, you can sell more and charge more, enabling your business to make more of a difference.

More science-based insights

How making it easy for customers can more than double engagement

The most common mistakes environmental businesses make

Picture credit: photo by Photo by Nacho Capelo on Unsplash