Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Helping ambitious social disruptors develop an impactful carbon neutral plan
Services
- Community consultation
- Virtual event management
- Insights report creation
Their Impact
- Creating an ambitious plan for carbon zero in Liverpool
- Reducing our city region's carbon footprint
- Educating citizens on carbon zero policies
Meet The Client
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority works to create an environment which allows our local economy to thrive for the good of everyone who lives and works in the city region. They work together to make investments in areas that have genuine impact on local communities. These areas include transport, employment, culture, digital and housing. They operate with devolved powers meaning they’re able to make a meaningful difference to local people.
The Challenge At Hand
In order to tackle the global climate emergency, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) set our city region an ambitious target of carbon neutrality by 2040. This target was put forward in LCRCA’s Net Zero Carbon 2040 Action Plan. As part of the plan’s engagement campaign, LCRCA wanted to:
- Bring together a diverse group of socially-driven disruptors to have their say on how the Action Plan will affect their organisations and the region
- Make further developments to the Action Plan
As we are a climate positive company, we wanted to help LCRCA achieve these goals. To do that, we hosted a private event for 30 exclusive guests whose insights would shape future developments to the Action Plan.
What is Firestarters?
Firestarters is a community of values-driven organisations striving to be a force for good in the Liverpool City Region (LCR). Through live events driven by action, insight, and social impact, Firestarters provides private, public, and third sector organisations with the support and resources they need to be the change they want to see.
The Event
Using our Firestarters community, we were able to bring together 30 of the region’s most influential and climate positive organisations. These organisations would help inform LCRCA’s Action Plan by shedding light on the barriers to change, the feasibility of the Action Plan’s proposed timeline, and sustainability in the city region post-pandemic.
Guest speaker
It was important we provided an overview of LCRCA’s Action Plan for our guests so that their discussions were as productive as possible. Our guest speaker, Rachel Waggett, Principal Environment Officer of the LCRCA, had helped put together the Net Zero Carbon 2040 Action Plan, and so was in an excellent position to do this.
She highlighted which sectors would be most affected by the Action Plan and discussed in detail the various ways the Action Plan will impact these sectors. She also drew attention to LCRCA’s vision statement:
By 2040, many more office workers will work from home for at least part of the week, reducing their need to travel, benefitting their family lives. Local businesses will thrive as they are more accessible to people. Every home is connected to fast digital networks which help to connect people and services, reducing the need to work at an office. Certain jobs, e.g. those in heavily polluting industries, will either no longer exist in the same way or will be done differently to how they’re done today. There will be new types of jobs linked to the greener way we will all be living and there will be retraining allowing people to take advantage of these new opportunities.
LCRCA Vision Statement
This let us frame discussions in a constructive way and made sure LCRCA received actionable feedback.
Speaker Q&A and breakout rooms
Our Q&A allowed guests to address the proposals laid out in the Action Plan and Rachel’s speech. They suggested framing the Zero Net Carbon campaign as one that will add to and create within our region’s sectors, not as one that will deprive and take from them. This would help LCRCA frame their Action Plan in a positive and beneficial light.
Our smaller breakout rooms allowed attendees to raise concerns about the effects of the Action Plan to LCRCA directly. This not only provided LCRCA with specific and extensive insights but gave attendees a platform to voice concerns they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Members of our team facilitated and recorded each breakout room’s conversations, using four questions provided by LCRCA’s Engagement Guidance to help get the most out of discussions:
- How do you feel about the vision statement?
- What are the main benefits of the vision statement in your opinion?
- What worries do you have or what do you not like about the vision statement?
- What would help you to overcome these barriers?
Using our market research expertise, we were also able to gather hard data on these same questions through online attendee surveys, as well as information on attendee demographics.
The Outcomes
We provided LCRCA with:
- A recording of the entire event for them to refer back to
- A detailed Insights Report identifying the main barriers to the Action Plan’s proposals
- The results of our online attendee surveys, which revealed useful demographic information and insights into reception of LCRCA’s vision statement
As a result of the event, the LCRCA was able to:
- Host an expertly facilitated conversation
- Engage with purpose-driven organisations
- Gain insights into how leading organisations and individuals feel about the Action Plan’s proposals
- Understand these organisations and individuals’ opinions on the 2040 target and proposed timeline of changes
- Gauge these organisations and individuals’ levels of knowledge about issues related to climate change
