A new brand for a bold new chapter

In this blog post, Claire Jacob, Head of Communications and Partnerships, outlines the reasons behind Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership’s rebrand and our ambitions for this new chapter in the Partnership’s journey.  

Bristol Green Capital Partnership is newly named as… Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership. Complete with a shiny new website, logo and look-and-feel. I’m thrilled that after a lot of thought and work behind-the-scenes, we’re now able to share this with our members and supporters and explain the story behind the change.

Acting together for fast and fair change

I’ve worked at the Partnership for seven years and in that time the organisation, and the context in which it is operating, have changed significantly. I was the third member of staff to join at the start of 2017, we are now a team of nine. Tracing back even further, the Partnership was originally formed in 2007 by a group of pioneering organisations and individuals that believed in collective action towards a more sustainable Bristol, before the CIC was founded in 2014. I wonder if they ever imagined it would become a network of over 1,100 member organisations?

Our ambition, membership and breadth of activity have grown significantly, increasingly focusing not just on the changes needed, but HOW these changes take place. We believe climate, nature and social justice are inextricably linked, and we are committed to progressing all three in tandem towards our vision of a zero-carbon, nature-rich, socially-just Bristol. The scope, and audience, of our activities has broadened as a result, seen through our work on just transition, our collaboration to deliver the Black & Green Ambassadors project and the Community Climate Action Project.

During this time the climate and nature crises have become much more prominent in public consciousness and political debate. The sense of urgency has also been ever increasing, alongside the here and now impacts of a changing climate in all corners of the globe. The need for transformative change, and our understanding of the consequences if change does not happen, has never been clearer.

Embracing hope and discomfort

In this context the Partnership has solidified who we are, what we do and what we stand for. Our core values Impact, Collaboration, Courage and Wellbeing guide our work and behaviours. We enable change by collaborating on projects, leading conversations, creating opportunities for action, and supporting organisations to deliver on their ambitions. We embrace both hope and discomfort, calling for and enabling difficult but necessary action. We don’t have all the answers, but we strive to move forward with positivity, inclusivity and determination.

A shared vision and collective strength

Our brand needed shifting in line with the shifting times. We want to stay relevant and for our brand to communicate our values, our level of ambition, and our dedication to the three pillars of climate, nature and people. We want to ensure we can engage across the city with organisations of any sector and size, policy makers, community organisations, the public sector, local businesses, charities.. We want to ensure our brand is meaningful and accessible to more, and more diverse people. And we want to remain firmly rooted in Bristol, albeit with our branches stretching into the wider region and beyond, as a partnership that is built on a shared vision and belief in our collective strength.

We believe our new brand will help us to do this and more. We love it! It feels positive, inclusive, modern and bold, and marks an exciting new chapter in the Partnership’s story. There is a lot of difficult, important work to do in the months and years to come, and we hope this new name, website, look and feel will help us to do this with hope and courage, together with you, our members and partners.

We would love you to join us on this journey. Get involved with our work, help spread the news about our new brand with colleagues, clients, collaborators and communities that might be interested, and share your activities with us so we can celebrate and amplify progress.

Finally, a huge shout out to Bristol-based brand and digital studio, Fiasco, who were brilliant partners to work with throughout the rebrand process.