Linklaters has partnered with Pilotlight to support the UK’s first social impact programme for climate action. 

The programme aims to enhance the effectiveness of charities tackling climate and sustainability challenges by bringing in skills and expertise from businesses to assist. The initiatives included range from Pilotlight Impact Day, a high energy event where teams of professionals take on specific, strategic challenges that charities face and provide suggested solutions, to Pilotlight Insight, in which teams are matched to emerging and aspiring leaders of environmental charities to provide them with analysis and support on strategy choices over a three-month period.

Matt Sparkes, Sustainability Director, Linklaters LLP commented:

At Linklaters we've always had an extensive volunteering programme using the skills of our people to effect change in not-for-profit organisations, but that's been mainly about the social. Environmental volunteering has tended to be the gardening and painting, litter picking... We wanted to bring the two together.

The environmental agenda is much more important than it's ever been, including on the volunteering side, and skills based volunteering is where it matters. We know that not-for-profit organisations in this sector are a crux now of opportunity but need that business related experience and support to grow and make the most of those opportunities. That's where Pilotlight came in with their expertise and long standing knowledge of how senior people and business can help senior leaders and not-for-profit organisations take advantage of those of those opportunities. At Linklaters, we're delighted to be supporting Pilotlight with this new initiative.

Pilotlight Impact Day for World Environment Day

The first initiative of this programme was Pilotlight Impact Day held on World Environment Day in June 2024. We worked with North Wales Rivers Trust and NBN Trust, helping to unlock fresh thinking on challenges including developing new income streams, and looking at accrediting biodiversity data flow. The participants, or Pilotlighters as we call them, came from across Linklaters but also Dual Group and Visa. 

Laura Owen Sanderson, CEO at Pilotlight Partner Charity North Wales Rivers Trust commented:

It's a brilliant opportunity for me to bring members of our team to sit in front of experienced people. I really care to get new ideas and fresh thinking to enable us to grow and to have more impact in our region.

Pilotlighter Matthew King, Associate at Linklaters LLP commented:

Being challenged with issues of a charity that is in a small like remote part of Wales is pretty different to my day job. I think really open my eyes to the challenges that they face.

Pilotlighter Rayanta Rana, VP for Client Success, Europe at Visa commented:

I've learned that I am very capable of taking a step back and listening before I go into solutioning mode. It's interesting because when you are heading up a large organisation, as I do most of the time, you get problems are brought to you or requests are brought to you and you need to kind of just jump in and provide solutions. it's been quite therapeutic today to take a step back and listen and let other people come up with the ideas before you launch in.

Together for climate action

There are around 16,000 charities and social enterprises in the UK working for a sustainable future. They are catalysts for action and are full of innovations for turning climate ambitions into reality but as our new research shows they lack the capacity, skills and resources, to do so. 

Our research shows that 100,000 skilled “climate volunteers” are needed to accelerate environmental action in the UK.

This programme is highly flexible, depending on the needs and priorities of partners. ​The core purpose is to develop a climate change capacity building programme, including test projects of pro bono support.​

Business benefits include:

  • Contributions to net zero action through domestic action in line with thought leadership around a Just Transition ​
  • Lower risk forms of corporate engagement with environmental charities, with a focus on organisational support​
  • Employee engagement and wellbeing​
  • Learning and development, including around soft skills and climate risk​
  • Giving staff an opportunity to do something practical and positive through the firm on climate action. ​

If your business is interested in partnering with Pilotlight to deliver pro bono support to environmental charities to drive climate action, please register your interest.

For more on our partnership with Linklaters

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Preview The Conservation Collective charity

Together for climate action

There are around 16,000 charities and social enterprises in the UK working for a sustainable future. They are catalysts for action and are full of innovations for turning climate ambitions into reality but as our new research shows they lack the capacity, skills and resources, to do so.