One of the UK’s fastest-growing manufacturing membership groups has teamed up with Ecologi to help British businesses tackle climate change.
The Made in Group, which includes Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire, has partnered with Ecologi, an innovative organisation helping businesses to become climate positive.
Set up to champion and promote UK manufacturing, the Made in Group (MIG) is a peer-to-peer membership association with more than 500 members representing all sectors of industry. Approximately 85% of members are owner-managed small and medium-sized businesses.
In April, MIG launched Backing Britain 3.0, a hybrid festival combining three in-person networking events in Wolverhampton, Derby and Leeds with a year-round online exhibition.
The online exhibition reflected the Group’s aim to encourage manufacturers to utilise digital capability more effectively and assist them in taking their next steps toward a net zero future.
As part of that mission, members who exhibited at Backing Britain were asked to make a pledge to work towards becoming net zero. The commitment included learning more about sustainability, implementing this knowledge into their organisation and sharing best practice with fellow Made members.
More than 140 businesses made such a pledge. For each one, MIG has donated £15 to help fund Ecologi’s tree planting and carbon offsetting projects.
Made in Group’s first donation has funded the planting of 5,000 trees across several reforestation projects. The largest of these is 1,800 mangrove trees planted in Madagascar where vast areas of the island’s original forests have been destroyed.
These mangrove forests are not only crucial carbon sinks, they also provide habitats for a wide range of marine species and vital coastal protection from floods and storms.
Ecologi has supported mangrove planting in Madagascar ever since it was founded in 2019, and the organisation estimates that during the project period, its community will have funded the planting of 13 million mangrove trees here alone.
Through its support of two Ecologi climate projects, a wind power project in South Africa and a solar power project in Vietnam, MIG has so far offset 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), equivalent to 77 long-haul flights.
Jason Pitt, CEO of the Made in Group, commented: “The effects of climate change can be seen all around us. Managing and minimising our carbon footprints is crucial in helping to reverse the impact of global warming.
“We firmly believe that the future of British industry lies in becoming a sustainable industry. We are excited to partner with Ecologi because, like the Made in Group, they are an innovative organisation using digital tools to disrupt the status quo.
“Through this partnership, we are helping manufacturers visualise their carbon footprint and understand how seemingly small acts can make a big positive impact. As we look to build on our first donation, we have committed to funding further tree planting for every new member who joins the Made in Group.”
He continued: “We are an agile organisation continuously seeking ways to provide greater value for our members through digital innovations.
“Our virtual factory tours and powerful digital collaboration platform, for example, enable Made members to engage meaningfully with customers and other members, achieve much greater online visibility and build resilience in their businesses. All while reducing their carbon footprint.”