20 Weeks to Go: 1% That Changes Everything with Kate Williams

In this episode, we sit down with Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global movement helping businesses and individuals give back to the Earth. She’s smart, steady, and has found a way to turn ambition into action — leading a network that’s reimagining what giving back really looks like.

We chat about how 1% for the Planet works, what impact really means, and how companies big and small can take real steps to be part of the solution. Kate also opens up about her journey from history major to environmental leader, her love of trail running, and why the future of climate action needs stories, systems thinking, and a little bit of stubborn hope.

We’re currently raising money to make this expedition possible. EVERY Pound raised on Crowdfunder gets us closer to being able to reach India. 

Hannah will run 100 marathons in 100 days, covering 4,200 km, to raise £1,000,000 for 1% for the Planet on Givestar.  This journey is a powerful testament to the potential within all of us to make a real difference.

Like the Podcast? Help the project leaving us a review or share with your friends, family and most loathed enemies!

Get in touch at contact@projectsaltrun.com 

Join the Better Business Network 

Visit our Website or betternotstop

In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges, Project Salt Run aims to inspire action through an extraordinary journey of transformation. Hannah Cox, a sustainability advocate with Indian heritage and a first-time runner, will undertake a life-changing challenge across India, following the historic Inland Customs Line. 

This colonial-era boundary enforced a devastating salt tax, causing immense suffering and millions of deaths, but has been largely forgotten from history.
By retracing this route, Hannah seeks to honour its legacy and transform its meaning, inviting others to discover their own version of extraordinary. This journey is not about guarantees of success—Hannah faces the real possibility of failure—but it’s a powerful reminder that taking bold steps, even in uncertainty, can inspire meaningful change.

(You may notice a change in the episode countdown. Due to a miscalculation, the numbering has been corrected to reflect the accurate episode order. Sorry for any confusion!)

Transcript

If you're looking to make a difference in the world, try GiveStar, the fundraising platform or choice for charity runners such as Hannah herself, the hardest geyser, and thousands more. With just a few clicks, you can create a page supporting up to four different charities. Take Tap to pay contactless donations, track your progress, and share your story with friends, all on their free app. Download GiveStar today to help make your fundraising count.

(...)

This episode is supported by 1% for the planet. Our planet gives us everything we believe in giving back. That's why we work with 1% for the planet who support businesses and individuals committed to donating 1% of their revenue to environmental causes. Join the movement and make a difference. Learn more at 1%fortheplanet.org.

(...)

Welcome back to the Project Salt Run podcast.(...) Today is going to be an amazing episode. It's an episode about action and turning good intentions into real challenge.(...) Real challenge? Real change. God, I can't talk. You haven't even introduced me. I'm here too. Well, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Joelle Shaw, yay. I'm Hannah Cox. And today we are talking to Kate Williams, the CEO of 1% for the planet. We've been waiting for her to be on the podcast literally since we started the podcast. I don't want to forget anything Hannah, so back me up on this if I do. But she's been the CEO for the last decade. She is not only a mother, but she's worked in countless different organizations and advocacy groups. She's done a boatload of volunteering all for a conservancy. But yeah, I don't know how she manages to do all this epic stuff and still managed to be a functioning human being and still run. She's a massive runner herself, right? She is, which we didn't really, you know, spoiler alert, we don't really massively get into that on the podcast because we only had so much time and we probably could have talked about running the whole time. But instead we talked mainly about her work with 1%, what they do, how they're changing the game, their big announcement.

(...)

Hopefully in a way that really helps people who are listening to the podcast understand why we are raising money for 1% for the planet and charities involved with 1%. Like that's, you know,(...) I think I, in my sphere, in my like, you know, gang, a lot of people know what 1% is better not stop is better business network or 1% for the planet members. But bearing in mind, there's 5,000 around the world.(...) There are 5.9 million businesses in the UK for context of size. So loads, but in the context of like everyone in the world, you know what 1% are probably not, but hopefully this will make some more people know what 1% for the planet is. I hope for any veteran listeners that we have that they know what 1% of the planet is because I talk about it before the podcast, before we start the podcast. Oh yeah, that's true. So you should probably hear about it already. Or after, or I mentioned it, I talk about it a lot. Okay. So I think they're either listening to that or you're listening to talk about Give Star or they're listening to our quite epic hair metal, weird music that we've chosen for our podcast shoot.

(...)

I like how this has been on your mind for the last two podcasts now. It has been on my... I've been mentioning this a few times. It's because it's just so ridiculous. Do we need to have a vote to change the... No, I like it. No, no, you're like, okay. I like it. I'm there running the canals and I'm like, you better run, you better run.

(...)

And yeah, just if you are listening, that was me singing it. That wasn't actually... Don't get confused. That was different. That was me singing it. That wasn't actually the theme team that we played. That wasn't the real song. I know. No, that wasn't edited. That wasn't edited. That was just me. That was just natural talent. Right. Enough about that. Let's get to cake. Okay, sorry.

(...)

Cue the music.

(...)

And you're the CEO for this massive global movement helping businesses and individuals around the world. But it sounds like you're also really in tuned with your local community around in Vermont and you have your hand in many pies promoting environmentalism and getting people out there. How do you have time for all this stuff?

(...)

Yeah, so I sometimes ask that, but some of it is over the last 20 years I've been involved in this. I have the connections and can weigh in quickly on things. But I would say I think we all... Is my impression, because I don't have any more hours in the day than anyone else. But I think when you care about stuff or when it's important to you, the time appears.(...) And I don't consider myself a workaholic. I get a lot of sleep. I get exercise.

(...)

And I have an awesome team. So I am also able to kind of for the most part focus on what's most important. So I'd say it's a combination of getting up early, being clear about what I need to do in my life to feel like I'm living the life I want to live, which doesn't necessarily happen every day. There are some days that are just like a lot of sitting down and doing the stuff that needs to get done. But staying clear on those priorities and then having great partners and collaborators both at work and at home. I have an awesome partner and amazing kids. And so it's sunny today, so I'm feeling very positive about things. There are definitely days when it feels the weather internally and externally feels more cloudy. But I would say it all seems to work. I've never... And you're in Vermont, correct?

(...)

Correct.(...) Were you born raised there or were you transferred?

(...)

I was born outside of Boston. So just a little bit south of here, about three hours south.

(...)

And then I lived out west for about 10 years after college in New Mexico, which is a beautiful state in the Western US. And then moved back here to Vermont about 20,(...) 23 years ago. Okay. Because Vermont's really well... I've never been there myself, but Vermont's really well known for its nature and hiking and backcountry area. It's a lot more sense now that I knew that you kind of bounced around and went to New Mexico. That's more my part of the country.

(...)

But yeah. Also, can I just point out, this is so American, someone going, "Just down the road three hours away."

(...)

Do you know, that is not...

(...)

You've never been to the UK, guys. I know you both have. But that is like comparing a Northerner to the Sarthener in the UK, which would be a travesty, by the way. I say that as someone that's lived in Manchester for 15 years. Yeah. Isn't it funny? I'd love to be a Northerner, but I'm not... I think it's a very North American thing for sure. Because in the Western United States, three hours is considered like neighbors.

(...)

But I think back to the question of how do I manage to do the things that I do. I think a key thing is I do...

(...)

Always top of the list is staying connected to the outdoors. So pretty much every day I get outside either to walk the dog or to go for a run or something like that. And I think I wouldn't have been able to sustain a 20 plus year career had I not sort of maintained that because I would have been too mad that my career had taken me away from what connected me to caring about the environment in the first place. So I do think... And then in an ongoing way, I just get so much sort of fuel and energy from trees and earth and sky and just being really being connected there.(...) And I noticed that you... Because you studied history in college, university for our English listeners, but you studied history, but then you also... You studied a little bit about environmental conservancy studies or...? Yes and no. Most of my studies in university were studies about the American West. Actually, I was super interested in the history of the American West, which is fundamentally an environmental story because it was the kind of an environmental and a social and anthropological story because it was both a move into an arid landscape, which is not necessarily set up to support the kinds of industrialized cities that we have built there in spades.(...) It was also...(...) And that's the environmental piece, so there's endless kind of learnings from that. And then they're very sad in many ways, social story of the displaced native peoples to put those industrialized cities in the arid landscape. So I was fascinated with that. I wrote my thesis on Native American fiction that started to come out in the English language in the 1960s and sort of fit into the civil rights protests of that time. So that was my thesis topic and continues to be something I'm quite interested in today. That sounds super fascinating. That does, yeah. Yeah.

(...)

I grew up in the Central Valley of California, so the history of that ecologically wise, I found really fascinating because the whole Central Valley essentially used to be all marshland, used to be mostly swamps. And now, growing up there, it's just all dry dirt, all agriculture.

(...)

And yeah, it's crazy what we do in the States to a lot of... Well, I don't think it's exclusive to the States. No, definitely not. It's just like what we all do. Like, Kate, we were at the British Library a couple of weeks ago, me, Joelle, and Mike, and we were finding all these old East India almanacs and they say month by month what the environment was like when the hedge was there.(...) And so one of the things we're going to be looking at is when we are in India during those months to see what's changed in the environments to what was recorded 150 years ago, which we... I mean, obviously, we all know that's going to be quite a lot, but it'll be interesting to see actually what that big difference is in temperatures,(...) habitat, all those kinds of things. Because as you know, we're running along an old hedge, which obviously must have housed loads of animals. So like what happened to them when the hedge was gone? So yeah, there's such a difference, isn't there? 150 years doesn't sound like a lot, but yeah, massive changes happening in landscapes and stuff. Well, it's interesting too. I recently read a really good book called Eager about beavers and their kind of role in the ecology.

(...)

It's a great title. I know, it's a great title. And it's a really, really good book. It's very well written. It's by the Sky Ben Goldfarb. I highly recommend it. But he basically talks about beavers as these eager architects of their landscape. So they impound water. They have a very positive impact, but they've been seen as... Not only did we almost push them to extinction for the firs, like back during the fur trading years, but then they are seen as often a nuisance, like flooding those farm fields in the Central Valley and things like that. So I think we have made significant changes on the land for sure. Not all of them healthy creatures do as well. And those usually get to flow into being part of the ecosystem. That is always changing. So would you say studying history, I guess, brought you into the eco warrior world, I guess?(...) Yeah, definitely. Because I think for me,(...) the way my brain works is more of an integrator. I almost was a science major. I could do the science, but I really just was more interested in understanding the narratives that shape us.

(...)

I don't know if it made me into an eco warrior, but it certainly is part of what informs why I feel like I've landed in a great place for me. Because a lot of what I think about in my work and contribute to the work that we're doing is, how do we talk about this work? How do we think about this work? What's our theory of change? What are the forces that are flowing together to create the context that we're in?

(...)

For me, that's kind of, I wouldn't call myself a historian. I was an undergrad history major and came to it with a lot of interest, but I continue to be very attuned to the stories that shape how we understand where we are and who we are and how we show up on the planet. I feel like if you don't understand what happened way back when, and I think that's a big argument that you could say right now, especially with climate,(...) there's the huge argument of like, oh, with climate change, is it natural? Is it not natural? Because there's obviously different terrains change over time, but there's industrial revolution change and then there's... No, there's not an argument. I'm not having this, Joel. I'm not having you add fuel to this fire that there's some sort of argument around whether climate change is happening. Well, no, it's not what I'm saying at all. There's some people who don't believe it, but that doesn't mean it's not true. Yeah, exactly. You don't have to believe in it for it to be true, guys. Climate change is real. But maybe part of... I totally agree and we don't want this conversation to imply otherwise. And I think to the point around history and narrative, I think there's the data of climate science and then there's the historical and narrative understanding of what the data has meant over time and what strands of it are anthropomorphic, what strands of it are climate systems changes, how we make sense of that.

(...)

So I do think I have an interest in we need to be data grounded and have that really solid data understanding and the data doesn't necessarily require one narrative. People make a lot of different narratives out of the same data sets. So I do think being able to be smart and thoughtful about that matters.(...) And just before we hop into 1% for the planet, you're a massive runner, correct? Yeah.

(...)

Yeah, I still am. I'm just getting back into it. Yeah, I know. I'm so excited. That's why... Oh, I love many things about what you're doing, but certainly had that interest.(...) Yeah, I ran a marathon PR at age 50, which I was excited about. Wow, that's incredible. I didn't know you were the old Kate. I thought you'd say it made you me.

(...)

Yeah. Oh, well, thank you. That was a while ago now, actually. And I was very surprised by that.(...) Well, I set out to run a PR, but I did quite well. And so that was exciting and fun.(...) I have had some runner knee injuries, but I'm getting back into it. But yeah, it's always been my favorite thing. I love just going for a run. Where we live, I can run on a lot of trails and dirt roads and just really...

(...)

It's just the most physical, meditative, mind-body spirit. And I know you've been a big hiker and been out and about since you were quite young, but have you always been running or is that something that you picked up later in life? I picked it up as the central thing later in life. And in fact, I think in high school, I was quoted to say... Because I played sports, I played team sports with balls in them. And so I said at one point, "I'd only run to chase a ball." Which is funny to me now because I love to run so much and we would do... In any of the training runs when I was in high school and college, I really enjoyed those, but I really... For me, it was about the team sport, which I'm glad about because I think it's been fun to have running be something that I don't have a narrative to that history point again. I don't have a narrative of agonizing cross-country experiences in high school or whatever. Running, for me, has always been my thing, not the team sport or any of those sort of stresses. But yeah, I love it.(...) This past week was traveling or past two weeks was traveling, so I got to do some beautiful runs in Scotland.(...) I was up in the Hebrides and in Paris, which was fun. I love whenever I'm in a new place, the best thing is to be able to go out and run and just get to experience the early morning in a place. It feels like such a great way to get to know it. Yeah, I have to say, Angie, that's probably... Because I travel a lot for work as well. That's probably one of my favorite things about being a runner now is the opportunity to explore a city or a place, first thing in the morning or in the evening, just getting to kind of strow her up and just finding a route and having a bit of a discovery tour. I really enjoy that. That's the thing, because I've picked up running three or four different times. I don't know.(...) Maybe it's an 8080 thing. I just don't have the attention span to stick with it for long periods of time. It's horrible. I keep wanting to get back on board, and then I have great stints, especially if I'm somewhere beautiful where I can be on the beach or something like that.

(...)

Hebrides would be amazing. Did you guys have any tricks on how you kept yours going since we're on the subject? I think for me, I've definitely had seasons of it. A lot of my adult running career has been while I've been here in Vermont, and it's really beautiful. I get to go out on trails.

(...)

For me, the biggest seasons were when I was still aspiring to be fast.

(...)

I never was competitive fast, but I was a reasonably fast masters runner. That was a good chapter while it lasted, but then I had knee stuff. That really shifted my mindset. Now I'm strong. My knees are great, but I'm just so psyched to get out and be able to experience a beautiful place. Letting go of speed or competitive metrics and thinking more about, "I want to go explore London," or, "I want to run in Paris." I was like, "I want to run from the Arc de Triomphe to the Grand Palais and the Plastilla Concorde at sunrise." Just because that's a cool, awesome experience. It was.

(...)

For me, it's like putting the adventure back in it, I guess. All about the adventure,(...) but not the speed bit.

(...)

You have this pretty big start career. You're jumping around the states for a while. How did you come to be with 1%?

(...)

I would say it was a combo of serendipity and planning.(...) The planning part was that I've been in the environmental space for my whole career. I was an outdoor educator first, and then I switched to working for environmental nonprofits and was for 10 years prior to coming to 1%. I was executive director of another nonprofit, a recreational trail nonprofit, a paddling trail, really cool organization.(...) It was based here in Vermont. At that time, 1% for the planet was actually not only based in Vermont, but based in the tiny little community where I live, just by chance. Then CEO,(...) when 1% was still quite small, had moved to this town. I knew him and our kids were friends, that kind of thing. When I was, as I said, I was 10 years at this other nonprofit and it was great, but I realized,(...) looking back now, I used the term burnt out. I didn't use that term then because I didn't really know that that's what it was, but the language I used then was when the normal problems of running a nonprofit that are always there would come up. I would have an internal eye roll instead of a like, "Oh yeah, okay, we got to solve this."

(...)

I realized, "Okay, that's not good for me or the organization, so I need to make a change." Among the many conversations that I had, I talked to this friend who's the then CEO of 1%.(...) At that point, that's where the serendipity and planning came together because I was able to step into a new role that they created as the director of partnerships. I was curious, do I want to continue to run an organization again now, seeing like, "Okay, I think it was a little burnt out." I stepped over into the 1% for the planet role as a lateral move, bigger organization, but not the head of the, not the overall head. It was a great move for many reasons among them. I mean, A, it got me to 1% for the planet, which I'm so thrilled about, but it also, by making that decision not to immediately just go be an ED executive director somewhere else, it gave me a chance to realize that that's what I really want to do. I did the director of partnerships role for, I was in it for about three months when I realized like, "Yeah, this is what I want to be. I want to run the, just the way my brain works, the way I operate, the understanding that I have of how organizations work."

(...)

Again, serendipitously, the then CEO had made the decision to leave at that point, so there was about a year-long search period, and at the end of that, I became CEO.

(...)

I had just like, from the year of stepping back from that, I had such clarity of like, "Oh yeah, this is what I want to do," which is good because it's been hard and lots of good challenges, but I have not had that internal eye roll feeling. I've had more like, "Okay, this is the hard work that I get to do, and I'm really psyched to do it because I know what it's like to step away from it." That was about 10 years ago, right? You've been doing this for a little over a decade?

(...)

Yeah. Well, I've been CEO for a decade. It was 11 years ago that I came to 1% as director of partnerships. You must like it. I know. I love it. I love it. Again, that's not because it's been easy, like, better roses, everything's always going our way. It's because I like figuring things out, and I like people, and I like coordinating with people, and I like being on a team.

(...)

I continue to feel like there's a lot to figure out, a lot of team growth and engagement that we get to do, and it's just like an amazing network. I get to sort of be in community with really, really inspiring people. I wanted to ask you, since I have the opportunity,(...) having you in front of me, can you give me a brief description of how exactly 1% for the planet works, contributes to the world, and what exactly it does? What's under the hood of 1% for the planet that makes it a force for such good?

(...)

The way our model works is that we have businesses who join, and they join to become members. As members, what they have to do annually is give 1% of their revenues, not profits, revenues, turnover for UK audience, to environmental partners.

(...)

The work that we do is to engage those members. We vet the environmental partners, and we advise the businesses on giving strategies that would work for them. We don't operate as a foundation, so we don't take all the dollars in and then distribute them on behalf of the companies.(...) We do that advising piece, and then the companies give directly, and then we certify at the end of each company's fiscal year.

(...)

The opportunity that 1% creates is that we direct resources from the business or commercial or market sector, whatever language you want to use, to the nonprofit sector, which is typically operating where there's not a market or not yet a market. It's a really powerful way to leverage different sectors to add value to each other. What I mean by that is a lot of times in philanthropy, there's a perception that the power and currency lies with the donor.

(...)

The way we see it is that in our model, the power and currency is shared because the businesses are allocating resources from where they operate to the nonprofits.(...) The nonprofits are driving impact.

(...)

They have power and are allocating the resource of impact into this relationship.(...) What we measure each year is the number of dollars that are certified going to these environmental partners who are operating in four different impact areas that we've determined, and that's the framework that all of this happens within. Our four impact areas are just economies,(...) resilient communities, rights to nature, and conservation and restoration. I was going to say, because I feel like the word impact is such a buzzword. I feel you hear it in a lot of organizations these days, but not very often do you get people to define it, being specific. That's awesome that you could provide that. As far as when you get an organization involved and they're participating, is there a specific way that you can measure or track the results of what they're giving and where it goes and how it's distributed?

(...)

Yeah, absolutely. Every year, they're making their donations directly to environmental partners and they have to certify it with us. We have very good information on where all the dollars are going, to which nonprofits they're going, to which impact areas, because every environmental partner, which is what we call our nonprofits, because there's different language in different countries to describe charitable entities.(...) That sounds like a nightmare.

(...)

It's fun.

(...)

Everything is categorized into those four impact areas. We're able to, at the end of the year, not only really clearly communicate how many dollars

(...)

and we convert everything into US dollars, just not because the US dollar is better than any other dollar, but just to have one consistent way that we can have it be an apples to apples communication of what impact. The certified impact is what we talk about that as, and then we're also able to communicate the percentage across the different impact areas.

(...)

For context, Joelle, better not stop the 1% for the Planet member. In the UK, we have to literally share our annual accounts, the ones we file with Companies House and with 1%.

(...)

Then we have to show what our turnover's been. Then we literally show the receipts of how we've donated that money to the 1% partners. It's all through a platform.(...) You can search for the environmental partners on the 1% for the Planet directory that you want to donate to. You can literally search for people, whether they're UK based or based on what problem they're solving. There's loads of different ways you can filter the directory to decide where you want your money to be focused at. Then you literally just give the money straight to them, get a receipt, and you almost upload the receipts along with your accounts.

(...)

There's more intricacies to that, but that's the basic process as a business to do it. Then also, if you've got a non-profit or a charity that's not a 1% for the Planet partner that you are like, "Well, they fit all the criteria," you can nominate them to become one.(...) For example, if you're a business that's already donating money, 1% of your revenue to a charity, but they're not a 1% partner, you can nominate them to be a 1% partner and get them on the directory. That's how it works. Does that make sense?(...) You can't lie about your company accounts.(...) As a UK business, and I'm sure it works different in every country, that's how it happens. You basically have to be like, "Here are my accounts, so you know how much money I've made, which I fire with the government. Then here are the receipts from the charities I've supported with this money." That's Hannah A+.(...) That's awesome. It is consistent across all countries. The documentation might have slightly different names, but everyone has to provide that same level of information for certification. That's the thing I want to focus in on a little bit, is the international aspect of it. That's huge.(...) Instead of just ... Most people would just focus on one country because they could follow the rules and they understand it a little bit better. Going international sounds like a huge minefield. Do you have any idea how many countries, business-wise, you work with? Yeah. We're in about 60 countries.

(...)

The majority of our network, that's like if you look at where every single company is, the main clusters are US, Canada, UK, Europe,(...) Australia, Japan. We have some satellite little clusters in other places like South Korea.(...) But then it's pretty spread from there.

(...)

You're not wrong. It does definitely make it more complex just to understand the different regulations, charitable structures, et cetera, et cetera.

(...)

From the get-go, we've been international. It's one of those things that by the time I came in 2014,(...) we were already managing global. At that point, it was more like 80% US, 20% global. We're now about 50% outside of the US. We've really grown significantly more outside of the ... Our growth has accelerated outside the US.

(...)

For us, again, it does make it more complex, but it feels really appropriate because if we're really trying to focus on global issues for planet and people,(...) have to be able to be investing in impact around the globe.

(...)

Are there particular industries or sectors that are more represented or less represented?(...) Is there a general you find it's mostly this type of business regardless of what country it's in?

(...)

This country, it's actually low to this type of business, but in another country, there's hardly any of that type of business anymore. What are the trends you're seeing with 1% about the types of businesses that get involved in it? It's a good question. I don't have top of the head, the breakdown of the industries within by country, but I can say that overall, we're in about 65 different industries.

(...)

It is interesting that the biggest ones, the biggest industries are not necessarily what you would expect. The number one industry right now is professional services, which is lawyers and marketing strategy agencies and financial services and things like that. Then housewares, health and beauty,(...) food and beverage. It would be interesting to know because I imagine it does tip a little bit different by country, but that's the overall.(...) Yeah. It's similar with the B Corp movement. It's really hard to get the stats for the different countries and then the UK, but we found it's actually quite similar. Lots of professional services and I wonder what the crossover would be there.

(...)

It's funny because even though there's from what I've seen on 1% and B Corp, even though there's quite a lot of B to B, almost like low to B to B services involved, the brand awareness comes from obviously the B to C services.

(...)

Even though there's almost less than you think of those,(...) but you hear about obviously Patagonia being the headline one that everyone thinks of when they think of a 1% for the Planet partner.

(...)

It's those brands that give the recognition to then the B to B brands to then come on board. It's quite cyclical in the promotion of the movement, I guess. Yeah, that's a good observation. I guess under all the ... because you have so many different partnerships. Are there any particular partnerships that I guess are extra meaningful for you or something that just sticks in your head, some organization that's just fantastic or horrible?

(...)

She's not going to say the horrible ones throughout.

(...)

I wanted an opportunity to slack these off in public. Yeah. I will say I don't have a horrible and that's because remarkably given the scale of our operations we have mostly really positive experiences and see mostly just these incredibly positive partners. I would credit that to our vetting process. We do select the partners who are going to be able to not only deliver the impact, but be good partners. With that said, in terms of favorite,(...) I don't have a favorite because really almost every day I feel like I'm learning about some new nonprofit. I'm like, "That is just so cool what they're doing." Let's see. What's the learning of the day?

(...)

What I would say right now, maybe instead of one specific one, is the thing I'm most excited about is those impact areas that I mentioned because what we've done is created a definition of environmental through those impact areas that really doesn't just say we're intersectional with social issues. We really figured out how to create a way that nonprofits that are working on issues that are both for the environment and for people are fully included. I feel like we've enabled ourselves and I totally credit my team with thoughtfully creating this framework that enables us to really be supporting nonprofits that are working for the benefit of people in ways that are to the benefit of the environment and vice versa. An example would be food banks, which may have as their leading impact indicator feeding people who are food insecure.

(...)

If they're doing that by diverting food from the waste stream, then they're also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It's like this both and, and in the past actually, if they...

(...)

We didn't have a way to look at both of those and so we weren't counting, we weren't making food banks eligible and now through the way we've sort of expanded our impact areas, we're able to do that. Yeah, that's cool. I don't know if you know, Joelle, we have at BBN, we have a member called Open Kitchen and they have a catering company and they divert food waste and then turn it into like office catering. So we have them do our catering and our Manchester breakfast networking. So you just never know what you're going to get breakfast, always pastries, but you'll always get like random stuff. Like this morning we had like frittatas with like hot sauce alongside like that. So obviously they've kind of got a glug of, you know, eggs and potatoes or something from somewhere and then, but you're right. This is the thing about 1% that I like that it's the, it's the understanding that everything is kind of the same.

(...)

It's all the same problem and therefore it's like so many different solutions are needed to find it. So it's, it's almost like there's the one level of 1% which is here's a really simple way to help. 1% of your revenue, prove it, give it to these people. So it's a really easy, when I'm talking about it with businesses, it's just really easy for them to understand because it's like commercial, they get it,(...) they can put data on it. They can choose their, you know, choose their partner based on what aligns with their values as a business and as a person.(...) But then on the other hand, so you've got this kind of really simple concept there, but then on the other hand, it's recognizing the complexities of the solutions that are needed by social and environmental with those, with those kinds of for impact areas and allowing businesses to choose based on those impact areas, but also based on location and you know, all these other, all these other factors you have, how they're supporting different UN SDGs, all that kind of stuff and allowing businesses to have a proper relationship with those organizations where they can say, right, well, if I give you a hundred pounds, 50 pounds, a thousand pounds, could you tell me how that money's being spent and being able to see the real impact of the, of the money that they're giving, which is what I, which for me is like, what's great about 1%, because it's like super simple, but then you make it super specific to what works for you and your business in, in how you support and help some of the challenges, which, which therefore makes it easy for any business to see the value in it because there'll always be a particular area that business owner is like wanting to help on. So yeah, I love that. That was my little two pence on. That's awesome. Hannah, you've like just nailing it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I'm up to set guys. I'm a fan. Back up career after the run. Is that, is that what you're aiming for there, Hannah?

(...)

I wanted to ask you, Kate, so what, you know, obviously, cause you've been with 1% for so long now, what was the original vision when you started, has that evolved over time and what's been the biggest challenge that you've had since you've been there?

(...)

In many ways, no, it hasn't evolved, but in many ways it has. So the ways in which it hasn't, you know, in which it has, like we've stayed the course is that our, you know, goal of engaging businesses to allocate 1% to drive impact has stayed consistent. Like that's what we've been focused on.(...) And we've grown a lot. So we were, we've grown, we were like a thousand members when I started. We're now about a thousand, 5,000 members.

(...)

We, when I started, we had lifetime. At that point we were 12 years old. We had certified a hundred million U.S. dollars. Last year alone, we certified a hundred million and we've certified a total of just over 700 million at this point. And we're on track to get to 1 billion in lifetime giving and to get to the next billion faster from there. So, you know, we've definitely accelerated, but the like core kind of purpose and model have, you know, been pretty consistent. We've made some tweaks and then some more kind of material growth changes. So the more material ones are the impact areas. So that's been one evolution that I think has been really valuable. We have created a little more flexibility in terms of how members can allocate the 1%, meaning they're able to use volunteer time in kind donations as a way to attain that 1%. So at least 50% of the 1% has to be cash.(...) And most members give 100% of their 1% in the form of financial support, but the other, you know, 50% can be allocated across volunteer time and in kind donations as well.(...) So that flexibility, we've kind of sort of evolved that a little bit. We have also created a kind of companion product as it were. So membership, business membership, the 1% business membership is sort of our core impact product as it were. The other thing we've created is called the Planet Impact Fund. And this is a,(...) we have something in the US called Donor Advised Funds, which are basically a way that a donor can put money in one place and then grant from there. And so we've sort of built on that model to create this Planet Impact Fund, which is actually a pooled fund.(...) And so anyone can donate into this fund.(...) And then those dollars are invested for positive impact.(...) So... So those for specific items or sorry, specific projects, or are they more open? Well,(...) sort of yes and no. What we're trying to solve for is a few things and that may not be explaining this super clearly. So let me just like back up. We had our membership model, which is great and growing and we love it. And we're still all in on that. And the nature of the model is fundamentally incremental, right? It's 1% by 1% by 1%. And it, you know, if we bring in more members or members with a bigger revenue base, it grows. But it's always just by those 1% increments.(...) And it's only accessible to members. So you have to make that full 1% commitment.(...) What we were trying to create was something that could grow more exponentially.

(...)

And was not limited to 1% because we would hear from say individuals who are like, "I want to participate."(...) And, you know, getting certified as a 1% donor doesn't really work. We tried it and, you know, people don't like, people don't sort of run in that way. And the benefits are not, you know, of like brand and communication and B2C, as you were saying, Hannah, are not there for individuals. So we created the Planet Impact Fund to be an opportunity for donors outside of our member base, although it is open to members as well, and also to be able to, you know, scale exponentially. And so the way it works is that donors of any size, members, non-members, individuals, companies can all donate into this fund.(...) The dollars drop into an investment pool, and it's invested for positive impact.(...) So, you know, a lot of investments, you know, when dollars are or, you know, euros or pounds are sitting in a bank or in an investment pool, they're getting used to fund things. And a lot of times what I think environmentalists are realizing more and more is like, "Wait a second. I want those dollars to be invested in things I care about, not in things I don't care about." And in fact, you know, many nonprofits and others have found that like, "Oh, I donate and buy and do all these things with my dollars when I'm paying the bill." But then where my money is sitting in the bank, it's actually funding like things that actually might run counter to that. Like the fossil fuel industry. Yeah, exactly. So our fund is invested for positive impact. And then annually we grant 10% of it to a portfolio of nonprofits, which we have one each in each of our impact areas, and we've selected those through an application process. And so when a donor makes a donation, they know what that portfolio is. They know what our investments are or what our investment thesis is. So they can feel like, "This is so cool. I get to have sort of the dual benefit of both a long-term positive impact through the investment and then an annual allocation to these great nonprofits."(...) So the Planet Impact Fund is another way, you know, thing that we've grown over the last 10 years. We launched it in 2022 and we're, you know, really working towards just continuing to grow it now. Now, that's great. And I think there's so many people who would identify and be interested in that. I know quite a few people actually, some close friends who they've made a lot of investments, if it were just purely off of that idea of, "Well, you know, if I invest in a green company that I believe in, you know, even if I lose it all from there, at least I gave it to something that I cared about, you know, so I could definitely see a lot of the interest in that, which is amazing."(...) But I wanted to ask, what was, you know, on the flip side of everything, what's probably one of the toughest challenges that 1% faced or you guys have as a team?

(...)

Probably, I'd name two things. You know, one is that because we work across sectors and because we work in the world.(...) And it may be really mainly because we are focused on, our model is focused on deriving impact dollars from revenues where we're, you know, pretty macro-economically influenced.(...) So, you know, when times get tight for businesses,

(...)

either in a particular industry or globally,(...) you know, that has an impact on us. I don't know of any entity that's not affected by macro-economic, but like because our model is so directly like 1% of revenues, like we do see that impact. And so we just have to be really, you know, smart and creative and continue to be really focused on, you know, the value of 1% for the planet as not only like it's the right thing to do to support these causes, but it's a good business choice because it signals really clearly to consumers that the company stands for something and is doing something about it. And it's certified by us, so they're not just saying words, they're actually doing the thing.(...) So, you know, as with most challenges, like I think knowing that that's, you know, one of the things that we always have to be aware of, I think it just(...) strengthens us and keeps pushing us to get stronger in like how we make the case for what we do. So that's one challenge and we're experiencing some of that right now. I mean, it's the last 18 months have been just such an interesting, uncertain, you know,(...) kind of, you know, teetering on the edge of is it a recession? Is it not a recession? Are we doing okay? Are we not doing okay? What's going to happen tomorrow? You know, all of that kind of thing that, you know, that affects things because I think businesses,(...) like, you know, most people, but businesses certainly are need to plan. And when things are uncertain, it's hard to make a plan. So, you know, we try and create a stable context in which businesses can plan for their impact, but, you know, we're not the only factor.(...) The other thing is just managing a growing organization. So the other kind of challenge, and again, it's like challenge opportunity. We grew a lot from 2020 to 2022 and had to sort of catch up our staff size with that and to, you know, grow a staff

(...)

rapidly and in a kind of dynamic context. You know, we are a like growth organization, like that's what our model is. And so, you know, huge credit to our awesome team and, you know, recognition that, you know, staff at 1% for the planet get to be really adept at navigating change and transition because that's kind of what we do. And, you know, we have done a lot of it over the last few years. And shout out to Kieran C.T.

(...)

Absolutely.(...) The best ones. I don't know any of the others. So they're my favorite.(...) They're awesome. And, you know, really anyone on our team that you would talk to, I would feel quite confident that you would say they were the best. Yeah, honestly, like, but that's the thing for me as always being because I've been part of 1%, you know, since 2021, I think. So four years.(...) And yes, speaking just the team are also enthusiastic about trying to make a change and make a difference, but also just, yeah, I've just the experience of them, especially Kieran, like she's always just being like so ready to listen, up for talking, ready to help, signpost support,(...) you know, help make things happen. And it's like, and that's what I guess that's what you need. We're a small team here at Project Sort1 and at Better Not Stop and the network, like it's having people that totally get the mission of what you're trying to do and then just like run with it. So, yeah, it's cool.

(...)

You touched on, you know, how chaotic things have been within the markets the last couple of months, you know,(...) that must be really, really difficult to handle.(...) And especially when you have businesses that you're trying to work with that are trying to predict the future and so much chaos, I can see how it would rattle a lot of cages.(...) And I guess how do you stay positive in the light of all this chaos and up and down? What is it that keeps you, you know, kind of moving forward and hopeful for the future? Yeah. I mean, fundamentally, I really, really believe in what we're doing. And so that, you know, just, you know, keeps me, gives me, energizes me for the work.(...) And then I think,

(...)

you know, a couple of other things keep me positive. One is just the interactions with members and environmental partners. So any of our stakeholders, you know, they're,(...) you know, on the member side, they're making this huge commitment and they're making the choice to allocate the resources and to be part of this community. And they're so willing to sort of share what they're learning. And so, you know, that is,(...) I feel such a like, sense of, like, positive responsibility to them that that, and such a like, level of inspiration from them, that that is, you know, keeps me going. And then on the environmental partner side, like, ditto, you know, they're doing this incredible work and, you know, helping us to, you know, hone our understanding of that work. So all of that is positive. And then I think I'm also just, I have a belief that the reason we're doing all of this work is this, and I always have a little struggle a little bit to figure out how to say this. Like, basically today was my, the day I was like aspiring to 10 years ago. Like, you know, you talk about planning, you set your 10 year goals. So, you know, I happen to be talking to the two of you today. I didn't know that exactly, but in some way I had hopes and dreams and goals to be engaged in positive work for a better future 10 years from where I was 10 years ago. And now I'm doing that. And we are where we are, but like, this is the day I aspired to in some way, right? So I might as well, like, give it all my energy,(...) recognize, you know, that I can, I can choose to make this day a positive one. And in so doing, like create that sort of future that I had aspired to. And I also sort of think about like, what are we doing this all for? We're doing it in my mind to ensure that there's a thriving future for planet and people. And so to live as, you know, in a way that is thriving and connecting and bringing positive engagement to people is part of creating that future. So that also keeps me going. Because I really do believe that if I were to mope around and I, you know, I get down sometimes, like stuff gets hard. I'm not like false positive all the time. But if I were to sort of mope around

(...)

all the time, which there's ample reasons to do that, I would essentially, I would, for me, and I'm not judging anyone else, for me, I would then feel complicit in, you know, the sort of downward slope. Whereas if I, you know, can sort of show up differently and appreciate in a deep way the work, the connections, the conversations, the hard things that I get to do every day, then I'm actually sort of part of creating the better future.(...) Yeah, definitely. Create, create, don't consume.(...) But there is, yeah, we were talking about it actually on a podcast the other day, weren't we, Joelle, about being able to show up and do work that you're,(...) you feel is moving the dial and is making a difference. There's, it's, for me, that's like the best thing about my job. Just feeling that what I'm doing is having a positive impact. And I actually really struggle to understand how people don't have that as their like number one factor in the reason that they want to do a job.(...) But yeah, I tightly resonate with everything you're saying on that.

(...)

One thing too that I would add is just,(...) you know, I'm also pretty aware, and this, you know, I think this is somewhat just come through living on Earth for a while.(...) The things that I'm heartbroken about,(...) I'm heartbroken about because I love them.(...) And so I'm so aware that when I have the opportunity to be in relation to things that I love, which are people who are doing the good work,

(...)

you know, our team, the people who are trying so hard,(...) you know, it's so like closely, like, I just feel like there's like a hair's breadth between the heartbreak and joy. And so like,(...) kind of being able to recognize that. And so then I don't feel that it's like a false positivity because the reason I'm so motivated is like it, you know, just, it is heartbreaking to think about species extinction happening because of human development or, you know,(...) the central valley, like the ways in which it has gone from being a healthful to a struggling natural environment. And I'm not saying that with, you know, I don't know enough about central valley to make like a proclamation about it, but more just thinking about our earlier conversation, like places that we have made,(...) we have damaged or made less healthy. Like it is, it's truly heartbreaking. And there are places that I've traveled to that it does like, you know, make me feel that. And so then when I'm able to be in relation to the work and the people in the communities that are trying to create a different path forward, you know, I feel like I am all in and I am so inspired and that is, you know, that makes me very positive.(...) Nice.(...) So there's a couple of things we want to talk about before we let you go.(...) One is us, obviously, because we are narcissists. And the second one is we want to talk about a really cool partnership that you've just announced in the UK, which we think is an absolute game changer. And we're really excited about as well because they're a business and an organization that we think is incredible. But again, like I said, it's all about us. So we're going to talk about us first. So me and Joel really want to know, what did you think when you heard about Project Sult 1 for the first time?(...) So pumped, like truly, like CT and Kira can tell you, but they're like, "Hey, do you think you'd have time to do a podcast, you know, in this great project?" And I was like, "Oh my gosh, that's so amazing." Because it's such a huge unreasonable in the best sense of the world word goal.(...) And I love that. And it's, you know, to me, it kind of embodies what we were just talking about a little bit of like, show up in the world with like strength and power and joy and service of the things you care about. And so I love it. And a little jealous, I was like, "How could I join that? Maybe I could do it." Yeah, maybe you can come out for a bit. Come out for a bit. I love that. We would love... I'm gonna like, yeah, I'm gonna be sick of Joel by like probably day three.(...) I'll come out and be a therapist in between you guys. Yeah, that'd be great. That's it. Yeah, because I mean, it's all, you talked about it earlier, it was all serendipity though, because, you know, I have been obsessed with the hedge for years, kind of really different kind of reasons. And then I got into sustainability and, you know, obviously working with 1% for like years and it really felt like when I was like, "Right, I'm gonna, you know, I want to do something big. I want to do something bold. I'm gonna, I want to try and shift this conversation about business taking responsibility." And that's exactly what 1% do. So it was just so aligned when we were talking about like, how will we raise money? What will... What like, what are we doing it for to amplify the impact and the message of people we think are doing great stuff? And I was like, "Well, it's obviously got to be 1% because we've been working with them at the network for so long. Obviously, you know, we put nature on the board. We have 1% for the planet.(...) Organizations come to our business roundtables, speak at our conferences."(...) I do have to say though, that the £1 million we did kind of pluck out of the earth as just like, it sounded like a good number.(...) Like many good goals. Yeah, I think we're gonna smash it though. I think it's because someone just asked me like, "How much are you trying to raise for 1%?" And I was like, "A million pounds?" Sounds like a big number.(...) But yeah, I don't know if you remember meeting me, Kate, like maybe three or four years ago at the 1% for the planet conference. Was it at our like sessions event that we did? Yeah, sessions event. I do remember. We didn't talk for that long, but I do remember meeting you for sure. Yeah. And I got called out, Joelle, I got called out on stage by my co-host for driving to London in a petrol car, like tried to slag me off on stage and I was just not having it at all.

(...)

And I was just like, I had loads of stuff to go, I have a dog. Like how was I supposed to get here? The train costs like five times more. Like this is the problem.(...) That's the worst part. Yeah. The train costs about 20 times the amount. But yeah, projects, projects all run wise. I guess for us, we're really trying to amplify the message of 1%. We're wanting to get more businesses on board. We're wanting to use it as an opportunity, hopefully to highlight some of the stories of the kind of environmental partners

(...)

out there. But I mean, it seems like obviously our thoughts is, you know, regular people doing bold things, trying to shift conversation.(...) For you, what would be kind of when it comes to projects all run, I guess is like, what would you like to see? For me, it's to try and get out of the echo chamber, I think, the sort of the sustainability community and people starting to hear about 1% in a different way. Kind of really,(...) we've just had the hardest geezer here in the UK ran around the length of Africa. And we've had Deo Kato on the podcast who's run Cape Town to London.(...) And they're definitely in the UK at the moment, there's this whole thing around like long distance endurance.(...) People are getting obsessed with it. Kind of what your thoughts around kind of just approaching fundraising in a slightly different way. I mean, I think it's great because it does create a way to

(...)

just like glance off people's brains differently. You know, it's not just, you know, sort of the usual words or which we need to share and they're important and people do a good job with those more or less.(...) But I do think it creates a great way to just invite people, I think, less challenge people, but more invite them into, you know, kind of a different way of understanding it. I think for you, it also creates such an incredible storytelling opportunity. Because for me, like my history as a runner is so useful to me on a daily basis when I'm not running, because it's kind of like the muscle memory and metaphorical framework for navigating things. So it's like, you know, an understanding of like disciplined training and preparation and understanding of, you know, some days for no reason, you feel crappy and you have to still keep going. You know, that, you know,(...) people emerge to sort of support you out of the blue. And I do think

(...)

there is something to that, like having run the Boston Marathon and the last year I did it was the worst weather. It was like 33 degrees Fahrenheit and like headwind the entire way and like this rain snow mix. I mean, it was really the worst. And all these people were out, it was so bad. All these people were out on the course cheering us on. And I was kind of like, okay, so this is horrible as a runner, but what are you guys doing on the, like, why are you standing out watching us? But there's something about like,(...) I think in a way there's like a(...) doing a hard physical thing is a simpler version of the hard non-physical things that we have to do. And we can sort of get that and relate to that as humans. So I do think it creates that, like just powerful way to build connections that can then expand into the more complex things that you're running for.(...) Yeah. Thanks. That's really nice to hear. Which segues nicely into other relationships because you guys have just announced a relationship with some of my favorite people here in the UK who we'd been really lucky to be doing stuff with for the last couple of years.(...) The guys at Blue Earth Summit,(...) which is incredible by the way. I'm sorry, it was so pumped to hear about this.(...) I'm going to say I heard about it yesterday, like everybody else, but I had a bit of a sneak preview. I'm not going to say who from or when, but when I did hear about it, I was like, oh my God, this needs to happen. It like makes so much sense.

(...)

And you've got some leaks. It wasn't Kate's cap.(...) But yeah, for, you know,(...) I, a guy, guy will in lead like the whole team, like I've, I met them a few years ago and I've, there's just something about them generally, Baz as well. Like there's just a really great energy of that team of focus, solution, get stuff done. You know, we're identifying the problem. We're going to be really good at solving and we're going to get on and do it. And they just do not think small at all that team.(...) And while doing that, they have been so incredibly supportive of me and my business and like helping out on stuff when we're kind of really, really small fight compared to like some of the other like massive partnerships and like opportunities and stuff they get involved in. But yeah, I'd love to hear about,(...) cause you met, I think it changed now, didn't you? And then that's kind of where the conversation started. So yeah, could you just, and Joel probably is like, what are you talking about Hannah? But yeah, if you could let Joel and the podcast listeners know a little bit about how you met the guys at Blue Earth Summit, I guess we can talk a little bit about what Blue Earth Summit is and what the partnership now means for 1% for the planet.(...) Yeah. That's so, so great to hear your connection.(...) I met Guy a change now a year ago and I think Kira had had some prior connections as well, but that was really like when we kind of started zeroing in on a tighter partnership. And then Kira, who you mentioned earlier, who's awesome,(...) has been really stewarding that relationship. And I think, you know, what we see in them much along the lines of what you just said is, you know, think big, think in terms of abundance, think creatively and, you know, things that are possible or things that you would not have thought are possible become possible when you are interacting with people like that. So, you know, we see this really nice kind of Venn diagram with them that there's a lot of overlap, but also a lot of sort of areas where we each bring value. And so the partnership,

(...)

again, like so much credit to Kira and others on my team and to Guy and his team for, you know, just kind of starting with a like, this would be the best case scenario and then figuring out like, how do we put all the pieces together? And it's, you know, it's ended up as this really creative opportunity. And we have a pretty big membership base in the UK. So it's also reflects a really nice way for us to show up in a more consistent way with a group of members and environmental partners that we really care about a lot and value and, you know, who inspire us and are just a big part of how we, you know, show up in the world. So for Contextual, you don't, obviously don't know the guys at Blue Earth, but they have their, I kind of feel like saying they're an events companies, like really undervaluing all the like amazing work that they do, but they, you've spoken about them before. Yeah, I was talking about them before. So they, they started putting on a like a conference events summit in Bristol. It's now moved to London.(...) They do a lot in the space of investment for future driven sustainability impact driven businesses. So there's a lot around, you know, make, not just like highlighting businesses doing good, but really like getting businesses doing good investment, getting the investors to see the businesses that are doing good, seeing the commercial value in that.(...) They have, they have like pitch events at their, at their, at the summit. So not only are you hearing like existing stories of change makers, disruptors in all different sectors and industries, but it's also offering a platform for businesses who are like seed series A series B, which if you know anything about investment, there's kind of different stages and stuff to have that opportunity to like speak to their audience and also have investors hear about them. And I would say like in the UK, like they're probably like the standout biggest event that's happening and the one that you don't want to miss being at. It's happening in October this year, but they're also doing some events at London climate action week in June with the guys at 1% and also they do like nights as well, like investor nights and pitch events.(...) Yeah, I just think what they're doing is they're like, there's a lot of, I mean, we run the Better Business Summit. We're much more community focused. I feel like Blue Earth is like really using the existing system and like really challenging how we, where the money goes and how, how the money's spent and how we view how to use that system in a positive way. And yeah, I think 1% hooking up with them and being in partnership and then these events now having the real integral 1% like(...) kind of foundation through everything they do is going to, I think it's going to be really exciting.

(...)

One just quick build on that is I do think a great sort of alignment and partnership is that in our different ways and you know, back to that sort of Venn diagram and our different ways where both Blue Earth and 1% are both kind of using capitalism in different ways, still capitalism, but we're, you know, we're asking questions about how can we do this differently? So what if every business invested 1% in the planet in addition to investing in rent and staff and you know, whatever underlying assets they're investing for, for their business. What if that was just a thing that would unlock, you know, so many resources for the planet? What if every investor thought differently about what a successful investment or the timeline for investments or whatever looked like and found that, you know, in fact, in the long term, the investments that are good for the planet are also going to have the better return on impact and return on investment as well. So I do think that that like kind of core curiosity around how can we use this system differently toward the goals that we care about is a really interesting overlap for us. Yeah, nice. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be ace and it's going to be the last party before we leave, Joelle, so you better be there.

(...)

Looking forward to it. So what's next for 1% for the planet? What are you guys's next big objectives that you're aiming for?(...) Our big objective is really to keep growing. So we're aiming for that 1 billion US dollars in lifetime impact in the next two years plus. And we're aiming to do that through growing the number of members that we have, the size of those members. So continuing to work to engage some of the, you know, some bigger companies. We have a, we talked about sort of industry and geography. We didn't talk about the fact that our members are all sizes and we really value that we're a community across, you know, the business sector and, you know, an area where we do really want to sort of grow in an intentional way as engaging more bigger companies. Grow our planet impact fund. Not to cut you off with that.(...) I was going to say, because that's something I wanted to ask with it was like, if there's somebody who's, they're not part of a big company, but they, you know, maybe they know mom and pop shop that runs a coffee shop down the street or something like that. What would be your advice to hopping in or like your advice to get them getting started with something? Do it. I think that's like, that's my simple advice. And I do think for, you know, we see a number of companies who join when they're tiny and grow with us. And sometimes for tiny companies, they're able to access things like our brand awareness, which is going to be bigger than theirs at the outset. And so they can really grow sometimes to the beauty of a smaller company is they may have a really local, more local or regional footprint. And so they can be really well known in that locality or region. And so that can be, you know, just a lot of value, which is sort of outsized to the size of the company in terms of the consumers that they connect with in their area. So all to say like, start small, start big. It's a, every member is taking the same proportional step. And so we really do value that, that kind of diverse community across all the different dimensions. And, you know, it honestly is easier to make the decision when you're smaller, because, you know, the layers of decision making are simpler, the dollars, you know, proportionally the same, but the dollar amount. You can integrate it from the beginning into your kind of cashflow forecast and your planning. Exactly.(...) We have actually, when we started BBN, Joelle, we, and we did a survey, about a fifth of our members have turned into 1% of,(...) this was a couple of years ago, had been signposted to 1% by us and then turned into 1% members. And actually at that time, we had lots of small business owners. So, I actually know lots of freelancers,(...) you know, not even a small business owner, someone that's just like a contractor, freelance kind of, uh, copywriters and graphic designers and stuff, who just integrate it into their kind of planning. And when they're invoicing people for their work, it's like, you know, like this much, you know, £99 going to me, £1 is going to 1% for the planet and this is what the money's going towards. So it can be like a good way for them to be involved. So yeah, I just, you know, just my experience as well, Joelle, like literally you can be a member from like the mini, like however small your business is right up until these kind of larger companies that, that you kind of would, would see on the directory and stuff.

(...)

So if you're, if you're the mom pop shop, where do you, how do you get involved? What's the starting process? Yeah, it's super easy on our website. There's, which is 1% for the planet.org all spelled out in letters,(...) um, or you could just Google 1% for the planet. Um, you, there's a join link and you can just click there and then fill out a really simple form. It doesn't commit you to anything, but it gives us the basic information that we need to be able to follow up and share with you the information that can help you determine if you want to take that step. We'll have the link in the bio. Super, super easy. I wanted to ask you if there was one specific thing you could think of or something that you're most proud of, um, something tangible that you think you and the team at 1% were able to achieve, or I guess, or working with partners or something like that, that comes to mind.

(...)

I would say that what I am most proud of is the sort of confidence and trust that 1% for the planet has built and maintained,(...) um, over the years. Um,(...) and I know that you maybe were wanting something like splashier and more tangible, but truly for me to be as big a network as we are

(...)

spread out around the whole world. Um, and you know, and I travel quite a bit and, you know, I, I know that people are honest with me because I also hear their complaints, but like, so, so I, you know, I have some verification, but like I'm blown away by the degree to which the credibility and, um,(...) just, uh, the credibility of our model is something that people really believe in and the work that we're doing and the, the way that we are, um,(...) you know, showing up is, um, is trusted. And, you know, we really believe that we're in the relationship business, which I know a lot of people say, but truly like what we're doing every day is building relationships between businesses and nonprofits between us and our businesses and our nonprofits, you know, sort of all around that. And, you know, just Hannah to hear you saying like the relationships you've had with Kira and CT have been so positive. I just, you know, there are many, many touch points where that could go awry. And the fact that we have, um, just continued to build strong, positive relationships is something that I'm, you know, beyond proud of and grateful to my team for and grateful to our members for, because in that context, so many next steps and next goals become possible.

(...)

So, I know we've just talked about it for the last, you know, however long, but for those of you that are interested in 1%, really simple concept, as we've discussed, businesses, um, commit to giving 1% of their revenue, their turnover, not their, not their profits, but their actual sales to, um, one of the 1% partners, uh, you do that through their platform, uh, super easy to get involved in being a 1% business or also to nominate a nonprofit or a charity partner to become a 1% for the Planet Partner. Um, everything is on the website. Link will be in the show notes. There's also more intricacies to that because businesses can do like half of it, can be monetary value, half of it can be voluntary, but we're not going to get into the specifics on this particular podcast. Um, but I would happily answer any questions, especially if you follow me on Instagram because, uh, I need, uh, people to talk to me on there and some more followers.(...) The big takeaway that I loved, uh, well, that I thought was really interesting. It was also really cool. It's just how I did not realize how international 1% was. I mean, and that's really mind blowing and I, and I have to give credit, you know, having, having worked, you know, in between multiple countries and trying to figure out laws and sort, you know, jumping in between legal districts just in general in the United States or Europe could be a nightmare, let alone trying to cross, you know,(...) anywhere else. I don't know. It's crazy. And then dealing with all the taxes and charity. I don't know. It's crazy. It's, it's, it's a lot of work and it's really cool that they, they do it. They do so well. Yeah. And heading towards a billion pounds worth of giving, like that's, that's cool.(...) That's a big number. So it's nice to see that there's billions of pounds being funneled into good stuff, not just Katy Perry in space, which is that still a relevant joke when this podcast comes out? I'm sure it will be. Has it been forgotten in the zeitgeist?

(...)

God yeah. Whatever. Talking about, yeah, talking about the chaos with the markets and things, but whatever. And as it goes, but yeah, once again, Kate, thank you so much, uh, for being part of the show. It was really phenomenal if you're listening and, uh, and yeah, that's been, that's been our show for this week.(...) Have a good week.

(...)

Until then,(...) enjoy yourselves. Right. Until then, we will, we will catch up. Until then guys, you better run.(...)