The story that changed my life

I was incredibly honoured to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BusinessGreen Women in Green Business Awards. It was a wonderful evening, surrounded by so many brilliant women who are leading change across business, finance, policy, innovation and communities.

Receiving an award like this makes you pause and reflect. For me, it took me back twenty years to one story that changed the direction of my life.

I was sitting in church watching a short film made by Tearfund about small-scale farmers in Africa whose crops were failing because the weather had changed. Families were being forced to leave places they had lived for generations. Long before most of us were talking about climate change, these communities were already living with the consequences of a crisis they had done the least to cause.

I couldn't stop thinking about that film. I knew very little about climate change at the time, but I knew something needed to be done and that it was urgent. It also showed me the extraordinary power of storytelling. One story had taken an enormous global issue, made it human, touched my heart and made me care enough to act.

Communications was what I knew. I had spent my career working in communications, so I started thinking about how I could use those skills to support the people and organisations working on the issues that mattered most. And that was the beginning of Greenhouse.

I didn't want to build just another communications agency. I wanted to build a different kind of company, where purpose came before profit, where values mattered, where we only worked with organisations aligned with our mission, and where people had the confidence, freedom and support to do work they could feel proud of.

Twenty years later, Greenhouse has become so much more than I could ever have imagined. We have had the privilege of working alongside extraordinary organisations and people, helping to build movements, influence policy, unlock investment, bring people together and accelerate solutions. I have also come to believe more strongly than ever in the power of communications - not because communications changes the world on its own, but because it can help the people and ideas that will change the world travel further and faster.

Most of all, Greenhouse has always been a collective effort. I am incredibly proud of our team, past and present, who have embraced the mission and brought their passion, creativity and ideas, and challenged us to make Greenhouse so much more than I could ever have built on my own.

Receiving the award made me think about what those twenty years have taught me. We certainly haven't got everything right, but there are a few lessons I have learned that I thought I would share:

Be brave enough to take a risk

When I started Greenhouse, I really didn't know very much about climate change. I wasn't an expert and I certainly didn't have all the answers. I just knew something needed to be done and that it was urgent. If I had waited until I felt ready, or until I thought I knew enough, I would never have started.

I still have to remind myself of that now. As Greenhouse has grown, there have been plenty of moments when I have had to take a deep breath, trust my instincts and take another risk. Of course, you need to do your homework, listen to people who know more than you and think carefully about the decisions you make, but sometimes you have to take the first step without knowing exactly where it will lead.

Lead with your values and stay true to your mission

Our mission has always been at the heart of Greenhouse and has guided so many of the decisions we have made, particularly the difficult ones. It has also helped us bring together people who care as passionately about that mission as we do.

I have been incredibly lucky to work with people who have brought different perspectives, fresh ideas, passion and a determination to make a difference. The best people don't simply do what you ask them to do. They challenge you, push the thinking, bring ideas you would never have had yourself and ultimately make you and the business better.

As we have grown and changed, having a clear sense of why Greenhouse exists has given us something to come back to. You can change almost everything else about a business, but staying true to your mission and surrounding yourself with brilliant people who believe in it gives you a very strong foundation.

Put purpose above profit

Purpose above profit sounds straightforward. In reality, it can be a tall order. We developed strict criteria at Greenhouse for assessing the opportunities that come to us. We look carefully at the organisation, its impact and ambitions, what we are being asked to do and, importantly, the risk of greenwash. But there isn't a formula that gives you the answer. Ultimately, you have to look at each opportunity and make a judgement.

There have been times when we have turned down significant pieces of work when we really needed the revenue. Those decisions are hard when you are responsible for a growing team and business. But if purpose only comes first when it is easy or commercially convenient, it doesn't really mean very much. I think being prepared to make those difficult choices has been fundamental to the trust Greenhouse has built with our team, our clients and the wider movement.

Be generous and open-hearted

Giving back has always been really important to us. Over the years, Greenhouse has invested a huge amount of time supporting people and organisations across the environmental movement through pro bono work, collaboration, sharing our knowledge and bringing people together. We have also invested in building strong green networks, connecting people and organisations that we felt could achieve more together.

Those networks have benefited Greenhouse and our clients enormously, but that wasn't why we started them. We did it because we believed in supporting the wider movement and that collaboration would make all of us stronger.

I have experienced that generosity personally too. So many people, and particularly women, have opened doors, shared ideas, made introductions and supported me over the years. Looking around the room at the Women in Green Business Awards was a wonderful reminder of how powerful that generosity and collaboration can be.

Lead from the front

We have always wanted to lead by example and to inspire others to follow. Becoming a B Corp gave us an important framework to challenge ourselves - measuring what we were doing, looking honestly at where we could improve and holding ourselves accountable. From setting science-based targets and our Planet Positive commitments to our pro bono work and investment in the wider movement, we have tried to practise what we preach.

We haven't always got everything right and there is always more to do. In fact, that is partly the point. Having frameworks and commitments that keep challenging you to improve is more valuable than claiming to have all the answers. I believe that willingness to keep pushing ourselves has been an important part of building Greenhouse's credibility and reputation.

Know when to hand over

Perhaps one of the hardest decisions was working out what should happen to Greenhouse when I move on. Having worked at Greenhouse for 20 years, I spent the last three years considering the options. Should we find a global partner to invest in Greenhouse and help us grow at greater speed and scale? Or should we hand the company to the people who knew it best, cared about it deeply and would protect its mission?

We had offers and seriously considered them. But each organisation understandably had its own ideas about how Greenhouse should change. In the end, we wanted to choose what was right for the business, our team and the mission we had spent twenty years building.

So we chose employee ownership, and Greenhouse is now proudly employee-owned and led by a talented and passionate team. I have never regretted that decision.

It doesn't mean I want the next generation to preserve Greenhouse exactly as it is. Quite the opposite. I hope the team will be ambitious, continue to take risks, bring in fresh thinking and do things differently. But they all know and care deeply about Greenhouse, and I trust them to protect its purpose while growing the business and its impact. Perhaps handing something over is another form of taking a risk - trusting other people to take what you started and make it better.

The next chapter

Which brings me back to the story that started all of this. One story from Africa changed my life and led me to spend the next twenty years helping other people tell theirs. Now, twenty years later, it feels fitting that part of my next chapter is taking me back there, helping to establish an African-led strategic communications agency and supporting a new generation of African communications leaders.

Africa is home to extraordinary entrepreneurs, businesses and organisations developing solutions to some of the world's greatest social and environmental challenges. I want to help those ideas and African voices travel further - building credibility and visibility, attracting investment, influencing policy and helping create even greater impact. It feels like the most fitting next chapter I could have imagined.

Thank you…

So thank you to James, Cecilia and everyone at BusinessGreen for this award and for consistently championing the people and organisations driving positive change. And thank you to the extraordinary Greenhouse team, past and present, and to our clients, partners and friends who have been part of the journey.

Twenty years ago, I didn't know where that first step would lead. I just knew I needed to do something. If there is one thing I would take from the last twenty years, it is this: don't wait until you have all the answers. Be brave enough to take a risk, lead with your values, surround yourself with brilliant people who care as much as you do, and never underestimate the power of communications and what can happen when a story helps people care enough to act.