After 25 years in humanitarian work, operating in more than 60 countries and running some of the world’s largest NGOs, Mike Penrose had a lightbulb moment: businesses continuing to justify doing ‘bad’, by giving to charity to do ‘good’ was not enough. Neither was the classic model of businesses simply having the goal of ‘not being bad’.

Surely we should aim for better?

His work as an advisor to FTSE4Good, with investment firms, family offices and global conglomerates led him to the realisation that sustainability had become, at worst, a badge of honour for the already super sustainable; and at best, a world of complex terms, confusing information and something prohibitively expensive to implement. He founded The Sustainability Group with the sole aim of democratising sustainability and addressing the imbalance.

On this journey of recognition, Mike worked on a commercial project with Alex, who was then focused on sending everyday humans on extraordinary journeys across the oceans. Whilst a global pandemic put that project on the backburner, they decided that not only did they work well together, but on turning his back for 6 weeks whilst leading the UK response to Covid in the world’s largest refugee camps, Alex had seemingly taken over the business. 

This is how our ‘take over the world’ plan started. As co-founders we are passionate about making sustainability accessible, affordable and achievable, and we immediately got to work on developing FuturePlus.

FuturePlus is the answer to the question all businesses have: How do you know if you are sustainable?

But of course, there are more questions: How can business prove it? Tell the right people? Showcase all their ambitions to become better and, of course, be held accountable for those goals?

It took 18 months post launch, but with global clients like DLA Piper and Soho House to incredible and innovative start ups such as Oxwash, Handle and Sipful we believe we have answered those questions and have developed a whole host of new ones to answer, positively changing how we approach and apply sustainability into business practices. As we grow we are helping to build a more sustainable and equitable future for all - and this is what makes it so exciting!

There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?

The first lightbulb moment was at the very beginning and realising that we needed to find a way for businesses to know how to understand and value being sustainable. 

When we started The Sustainability Group, we also knew that we wanted to find a way to measure sustainability that incorporated ambition and intent. This meant measuring where you want to be and getting the support you need to get there, which is more valuable than measuring what you have done. There have since been a few moments which we think we would call lightbulb moments..! FuturePlus is built on these moments.

While we developed the foundation of our core product FuturePlus, which is a measurement, management and sustainability improvement platform - when we cracked the algorithm for the platform was a lightbulb moment for sure! 

We realised that by giving companies the ability to score both where they were now and where they wanted to be with their sustainability enabled us to offer a real world view that showcases the ambition that so many organisations have to do better to increase their positive impact. 

Not only were we able to score what was traditionally measured by markets, the algorithm also allowed us to both quantitatively measure intent, and give a valid score for some of the more qualitative aspects of sustainability. This has enabled us to combine social and economic impact with diversity and inclusion as well as climate and environmental impact. The five pillars (Diversity and Inclusion, Economic, Social, Environment and Climate)  make sustainability extremely accessible, affordable, accessible and achievable. We know we have something unique and very different to anything else we have seen -  and our clients know so too.

How do you prepare for all the unknown obstacles when running your business?

As we all know there are the known “knowns”, the known “unknowns” and unknown “unknowns”. We manage the business through a lens of risk management, and with a focus on long term sustainable growth. The known “unknowns” can cause a lot of worry and are generally those things that keep the mind ticking in the early hours of the night. 

However, to combat that we plan as best we can and create a redundancy in our systems where we think they are required. For example, we anticipated that we will need additional time for development and testing, that continued training will be needed for the team as we develop the project and everything we build is with one eye on scaled growth so it will work both now and in the future. 

The unknown “unknowns” have been a whole different game, and the global pandemic has been an incredible example of that. Throughout the last two years we have been in and out of lockdown, unsure of working patterns and when the world would open up again. 

Having worked in this unusual environment has meant that the team now has an awareness and understanding that there may be situations that call for a sharing of responsibilities to stay ahead of our goals. A little uncertainty will always be involved in the development of a ‘first of its kind’ project, but building a team dynamic that is comfortable with that, and ensuring we approach all things with a risk based mindset, has allowed us to embrace the possibility of unknown obstacles. 

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

That trust in your business partner and your team is key. Trusting each other, the process of development, our team, our suppliers, and that it also helps to have  a touch of defiance in the face of difficulty. There have been numerous decisions that we have not agreed on since the start, issues of moral subjectivity (which is so important when you are ‘scoring’ what are, in effect, moral issues), strategy and processes. But each one has been debated and considered with trust in the other that we would find the best solution. Sometimes it has been a compromise and other times a confidence to follow the other’s lead. We have replicated this when growing the team and working with new suppliers where we encourage everyone to positively challenge our assumptions, and problem solve with a diverse mindset. 

Working with a co-founder can be tricky, so understanding and compromise is important. How have you both found the process of building a business together? What makes it work?

I believe we would both say that we couldn’t have done it without the other.   Building something from scratch during a pandemic has meant that we have had to do so in a relatively extraordinary and intense environment. Because of that, each piece of what we have is because we decided that's how it should be, and we can pretty much finish each other's sentences now!

As co-founders, we have very different backgrounds and past experiences. Mike has spent 25 years in the humanitarian sector, leading global organisations such as Unicef and has been on the ground for nearly every major environmental and human disaster in that time. He is a wealth of socio, political, economic and geographic knowledge backed up with a passion for long term sustainable change. On the other hand, I have spent the majority of my career on the commercial side, in hospitality, events, and sport, with sustainability running through each role. 

We may make an odd team to some, but it has created a balance that has meant we have approached all issues from multiple angles. We have drawn from our experiences before, and since setting up the business, which I think has provided a strong foundation for all the challenges that you come across as a start up.  

What does your business offer its target audience?

The Sustainability Group itself is focused on offering support to organisations of all sizes to achieve greater environmental, social, and financial performance through becoming more sustainable. 

We work with everyone from startups to global organisations, investors, family offices and foundations to help them to play their part in the creation of a profitable, just, and sustainable world.

To support companies doing that we developed FuturePlus which is a SaaS based model. FuturePlus helps companies to understand, measure, manage, improve and report their sustainability. We provide both an Actual and Ambition score that is broken down into five pillars: Diversity and Inclusion, Social, Environment, Climate and Economic Impact - these encompass all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The five pillars are inextricably linked, and have compromises and consequences associated with each of them that are connected. 

We provide ongoing support with FuturePlus advisors to help companies reach their ambitions. 

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

We set ourselves apart, with ambition, both in how we approach the business, but more importantly, that ambition is at the core of what we have built which is a quantitative measurement of an organisation's intent to do better and have a positive impact towards a more just and sustainable world. 

So many certifications are based on qualifying a company as sustainable based on its historical data, and whilst it is important to understand how a company has been operating, this approach gives little guidance to how a company can improve. 

Our aim is not to create a small, ‘certified’ cadre of the super sustainable, but to give companies of all sizes from one person start ups through to global organisations the knowledge to understand their own sustainability. We give them a solid plan to improve, and the confidence to communicate their ambitions to their employees, investors, consumers and more. Guiding and consulting our clients through that process is key - and this encompasses all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

What plans do you have for FuturePlus over the next two years?

Having launched FuturePlus in November 2021, our plans for the next 24 months will be focused on growing our brand awareness, increasing our client base and expanding the team to meet those requirements. 

We are currently funding our next round of investment which will give us the resources required to build solid marketing and partnership plans and fuel our anticipated expansion. 

We are ambitious and our plan is to grow sustainably and to be the standardised benchmark for sustainability and ESG reporting. Regarding the technology and products we offer, we currently have a roadmap of developments through the next five years, with three more additions to the platform released before the end of 2022. 

We are also excited by the data sets that we are compiling so that we can help companies by using this information to benchmark performance and create predictive models. 

We built the framework to be suitable for all markets - not just the UK - and FuturePlus, currently has clients in the USA, UAE and on mainland Europe. At the end of this year, we will start to open offices internationally.

Describe your business in three words.

Democratising Sustainability. 

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Research, research, research. If you know your market, and the requirements for your product, you will be successful.

From what I understand, regardless of our environmental choices, the earth will bounce back - with or without us. What advice would you give to consumers to place more pressure on their favourite fashion brands to choose sustainability?

There are different points here. The world will continue without us, because a few hundred million years in planetary terms is nothing for its recovery. The question is whether the world will continue with us as inhabitants. 

Human activity is fundamentally affecting our climate and that is having a significant effect on weather systems, ocean currents and biodiversity. There is also the danger of tunnel vision when thinking about sustainability, because it is more than environmental concerns. 

We view sustainability across five pillars: Diversity and Inclusion, Social and Economic Impact, and Climate and Environment -  and these encompass all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The five pillars are inextricably linked, and have compromises and consequences associated with each of them that are connected. 

All brands and businesses should be under pressure to understand and report their impact on people and the planet. The fashion industry in particular needs to ensure it is part of a just and sustainable value chain - that there are well known child and workers rights issues, emissions through transporting goods, water scarcity, waste issues and environmental concerns -  to name but a few. 

Consumers should look for brands that are measuring, managing and reporting their sustainability, and have communicated plans to increase their “positive” and reduce their “negative” impact. Be cautious of grand claims with little detail and look for long term commitment across a breadth of issues. Also, if an item of clothing, or any product, looks like an unbelievable bargain, there is probably a reason for that. Buy once, buy well, and prioritise quality and durability over volume.  

Are you a non-tech founder? If yes, how did you overcome the obstacles whilst building your business?

Both my partner and I are non-techies building a tech platform which has its own challenges and opportunities. We haven’t at any stage felt constrained by ‘what should happen’ or the capabilities of a piece of tech. We work with a brilliant data scientist, solutions architect and web development team who have been very patient with us in the development processes, but also hugely helpful in challenging us and expanding our knowledge to ensure what we do is efficient and structurally sound. 

By not being techies has meant that we have built an algorithm, platform and product that is focused on the user and not the developer.  We have always had a focus on driving value for our clients, ensuring it is simple to use, easy to understand and as accessible as it can be.  

Where do you draw your inspiration from to continue pursuing and innovating in the tech space? 

We draw inspiration from numerous places. There are creative and innovative solutions being developed by brilliant entrepreneurs everywhere. We also draw a huge amount from our clients, many of whom have proven to be amazing pockets of innovation. From a female led team revolutionising how we reduce waste in construction in Qualis Flow, to a Nasa Scientist and an Oxford Engineer revolutionising sustainability in laundry and dry cleaning in Oxwash, through to the Sustainable Spas Association, making beauty and wellness more sustainable. We have some amazing clients.

Why do you think now is the right time for the world to begin exploring and adopting technology that aids sustainability?

Technology allows us to make our solution to being a better business affordable, accessible and achievable, and it also makes it available globally with the click of a button. Whilst technology isn’t the solution in itself, it is a fabulous way of democratising approaches and solutions that would otherwise cost a lot to develop and deploy. 

With FuturePlus, we view sustainability across five pillars: Diversity and Inclusion, Social and Economic Impact, and Climate and Environment -  and these encompass all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The five pillars are inextricably linked, and have compromises and consequences associated with each of them that are connected. 

We think technology and sustainable tech allows every business to get the support it needs to be better, and progress faster.