Using Carbon Intelligence’s cutting-edge remote emissions monitoring systems, HeadOn PR brought the shocking data of buildings’ substantial energy wastage to public and industry attention – positioning Ci’s at the forefront of the challenges facing businesses as they strive to be carbon neutral.
Our Client
Positioned as innovative sustainability experts, Ci’s mission is to be the market leader in helping business play its part in building a zero carbon world. Focused on the commercial real estate, legal, retail, technology, and hotel sectors, they provide the roadmap and actions to support organisations in achieving ambitious carbon reduction targets as part of a net zero pathway.
Ci brings together a world-class team of strategists, technologists, data scientists and engineers to deliver fresh thinking and evidence-based programmes that connect sustainability with business value, and sees them leading at the forefront of environmental progress.
Raising Ci’s brand nationally and in CRE
To facilitate Ci in achieving its mission, HeadOn PR was given the key objective of building brand awareness in their primary industry sectors, with a particular focus on increasing media coverage within commercial real estate. Raising the brand profile on a national level would also support Carbon Intelligence in activating the positivity of businesses, and using the power of their data to create long-term sustainability change.
Businesses failed to switch off
As the UK went into lockdown on the 23 March 2020 and we were all encouraged to work from home wherever possible, offices across the country shut and 60% of the UK’s adult population continued their job remotely. Assumptions would suggest that the energy savings for businesses would be massive, with heating, lighting and IT systems being switched off in offices on a national scale.
CI’s data uncovered a very different story.
Using Ci’s smart building technologies to remotely analyse 300 buildings from 25 to 31 March 2020, it found that there was only a 16% average reduction in building energy use since the ‘stay at home’ orders were issued.
Where buildings were performing the best, the findings revealed a 54% reduction in energy usage, and this resulted in a saving of £4,200 per week for a large office building. At a time when businesses’ financial prospects were worryingly uncertain and the potential to reduce greenhouse gases greater than ever with lockdown, remote energy monitoring and control was an ever more important message to communicate to help save costs, keep emissions down and improve the planet.
With the end date for the lockdown unknown, these insights into energy savings were time-sensitive in their potential for helping businesses make change. Swift action was required to effectively showcase Ci as the leader in strategies for cutting building emissions and supporting businesses to become more cost and energy-efficient.
HeadOn PR devised the idea for a story, supported by Ci’s buildings’ data, and launched a PR campaign, working with our media contacts to gain national and industry-specific traction. At the centre of the campaign, Cian Duggan, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Ci, provided further insight into the data and how smart buildings technology could help businesses have greater control over their building’s performance and make substantial savings at a time when it mattered most.
Grabbing media and customer interest
As the campaign launched on the 21 April, interest was generated both nationally and within the industries targeted.