Join The 100 Western Australian SMEs spreading climate action

It started with a coffee

When Bethan Winn and Charlie Blake first met at a cafe in January 2022 they could both feel something other than their coffee was brewing.

Both Bethan and Charlie help organisations solve huge problems, innovate, and develop their leadership. Coming up with solutions and ideas is central to what they do and it’s part of what they do best.

However, these two Western Australian small business owners felt huge frustration and isolation when it came to taking action against what they see as the biggest challenge of our age – the climate emergency.

Their own organisations had both taken steps to improve their sustainability and make climate commitments. At the start of 2021, Charlie’s leadership and strategy business had already started a 1-for-1 tree planting program. “For every person we train, we plant a tree. It’s a simple way to directly link what we do every day to making a positive impact. We planted over 1000 trees in the first year alone. Our clients loved it too – so we’ve kept on doing it,” Charlie says.

Bethan took her corporate training and critical thinking business carbon neutral in 2021, and was surprised at how easy and affordable the process was. She started thinking that if taking action was this simple, maybe there’s a way that more can be done?

Over that first coffee, they decided they wanted to spread the word and take their aspirations further. Surely together, they could make a bigger impact.

Collective action leading to large scale change

Bethan and Charlie knew that acceptance of the climate emergency is now mainstream. Although the crisis can seem daunting, they are both natural optimists who believe in a better future if you can create the change you want to see in the world.

Bethan and Charlie’s vision grew quickly. Plant more trees? Reduce carbon use? More solar panels on the roof?

Their ideas swelled, and they realised they didn’t need to go it alone – why not foster a community of like-minded leaders who are ready to embrace the collective action that will really shift the needle?

They decided to try and get 100 Western Australian businesses to go carbon neutral by the end of 2022. It’s a number that felt scary, but achievable.

Taking action together – Join The 100

Join The 100 is a project to inspire change. The movement is bringing together ambitious organisation leaders who are ready to step up to the plate. It’s about creating a community of businesses focused on change, achieving the outcomes they want, and leading with action rather than words.

Join The 100 can highlight to politicians and incentivise the market that there is strong business support for action on climate, and there’s huge demand for investment in clean energy and climate technologies.

By deciding that now is the time to make an impact, they hope the project will pave the way for others and make it easier for others to follow.

Through Perth-based partners Carbon Neutral, achieving carbon neutrality is easier than you think and can be done entirely online. As the project progresses, there’ll be access to supporting resources and to share insights and ideas with the Join The 100 community and members.

So what are you WAiting for? Join The 100! Click here to check out the LinkedIn page.

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