LettUs Grow’s Annual Impact Report has landed
LettUs Grow’s 2020 Annual Impact Report has landed
Introduction written by Charlie Guy, LettUs Grow’s co-founder and CEO.
Welcome to LettUs Grow’s first Annual Impact Report.
If you’re familiar with who we are and what we do, then you will probably already know that impact is something that I, along with the rest of the LettUs Grow team, feel passionately about. Positive impact on a global scale is one of the key reasons for LettUs Grow’s existence. Our impact is about more than just developing exceptional products that empower growers to be more sustainable, it encompasses how we treat each other, our planet and our communities. I am honoured and very lucky to work day-in-day-out alongside people who share this passion for the future of our planet and the sustainability of our food systems.
The year 2020 will be one to remember for all of us. We have seen how Covid-19 has brought the importance of our food networks (along with many other aspects of our lives!) into clearer focus and food security is now a regular part of the public discourse. As a company, we have continued to grow through the pandemic, bringing on 12 permanent staff and 3 placements, to push the boundaries of growing fresh produce and challenge our existing food systems.
Alongside everything we achieved in 2020, we also set ourselves the ambitious goal of becoming a certified B Corporation (B Corp). B Corp is in essence a way of doing business that treats triple-bottom-line thinking seriously and holds businesses to account on social and environmental performance, transparency, and legal accountability. We have structured this report to reflect the main B Corp pillars as this represents where we are on our journey to define our own sustainability frameworks and processes.
With everything else going on in 2020, we didn’t quite hit our ambitious B Corp target, but it’s an ongoing process and we have made great strides forward. It is not an overnight process, especially for a fast-growing company and I say this to hopefully help others to understand that the road to certification can take time. There is no question in my mind that it is time well spent and I am proud to say that we’re on track for certification in 2021.
This report will be the first of many. It will not be perfect or entirely comprehensive yet, but we hope that it generates discussion, thought or inspiration. Our aim is to be transparent about where we are so that we can measure what matters and create real, effective change in our business and beyond.
I would like to thank you - our customers, team members, partners and supporters - for joining us and championing us on what will be an exciting ride to build food systems fit for the future, that have a net positive impact on our planet!
Charlie is co-founder & Chief Executive Officer at LettUs Grow. With a background in renewable energy consultancy & engineering design, Charlie is a proponent of tech for good & passionate about all manners of sustainability, whether in food, energy, resource efficiency or waste valorisation. Charlie is also on the UKUAT (UK Urban AgriTech collective) advisory board.