Yes, you’re concerned about the climate crisis and want to do more, but life’s incredibly hectic and it’s difficult to know what actions you take will really have an impact. Billed as smart climate action for busy people; The Every One Club may just be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Going beyond good intentions, and towards sustainable change that lasts, members receive an email with one informed action a week that allows them to amplify their impact in tackling climate change – it’s a bit like having a gym membership for the planet.
Actions range from making smart lifestyle choices, to getting their voice behind the big issues, and a third of the £3 a month membership fee goes directly into an altruistic fund; members vote on how to use the donations on selected green projects each year.
A not-for-profit Community Interest Company, The Every One Club was founded in October 2020 by Sonia Lakshman and Aimee Higgins, two women who met when Aimee was a director at global powerhouse KPMG and Sonia, who had previously been a director at Decca Music Group, was her executive coach. They mutually agreed that their calling was something different. Creating a business devoted to saving the planet, they forewent their city salaries and self-funded the project, and neither will draw any salary for at least the first year.
The founders scout, curate, and research the most impactful ways every one of us can help fight climate change and send out one action a week that members can do from home. All projects for funding are voted on by members and all funds are taken from the membership fee.
This altruistic fund will support grassroots UK enterprises working to be part of the climate solution, from biodiversity, to tackling waste and food. Members are encouraged to make a new habit, a switch, a choice, and the vision behind the club is to make it easy for everyone, no matter how busy, to join the fight to preserve the planet. Examples of the weekly actions range from seeking out water-saving options, to providing ready-made emails designed to lobby MPs.
With a goal of mobilising 100,000 Brits by 2022, Aimee said: “Before this awakening, my lifestyle couldn’t have been worse for the planet; plastics and convenience foods were the norm and I thought little of jumping on a long-haul jet for a weekend getaway. My work now is centred around giving everyone the tools they need to make a difference. It takes just a few minutes a week to do this one thing after you get your Friday lunchtime email from us, whether it’s swapping to a product you wouldn’t normally buy, or making your voice heard, or voting on which project we should fund.”
The club’s first cheque was written this month to Make It Wild, a rewilding scheme run by a husband-and-wife team in North Yorkshire. Criteria for eco-funding is that the project is run by small innovative businesses in the UK dedicated to earth restoration and climate solutions. Until membership reaches 10,000, the team will work without a salary so that every resource can go towards the growth of the community. Any profits will be redirected to the fund.
Sonia added: “Our beautiful planet is on a cliff edge and it should be on the news every day. I am genuinely worried that if we don’t turn things around there will be a climatic catastrophe, causing devastation and food shortages. We need to move away from all this consumption and waste and recognise the impact we’re having on the environment. We do have the power to turn things around and our intention is to inform people and show them how small decisions and changes can lead to great things.”
To reach 100,000 members in the next two years, the club has its sights set on finding partners and funding to fight the climate and ecological crisis together. Aimee explained: “As a not-for-profit, we’re looking for philanthropic investment to accelerate our growth so we can have maximum impact in the timescales we have to turn things around. We’re talking to companies of all sizes, who want to take their CSR strategies beyond carbon offsetting. The attraction is a company-wide membership of the club to engage their workforce in an exciting, enduring and accessible way, that makes everyone proud.”
And there’s no time to waste. Aimee added: “These next 10 years are the ones that count. By December 2022, our aim is to galvanise 100,000 ‘Planeteers’ to join The Every One Club. That’s when we’ll start to have serious clout as a community, driving industry through our buying decisions, getting debates tabled in parliament and funding impactful projects with £2 million every year.”
Far from being something only large corporations, manufacturing businesses and airlines need to address, The Every One Club really is about each of us. Sonia explained: “So many people feel they can’t make any difference, but when you think that 40 per cent of UK emissions come from households, far from being insignificant, it can’t be done without every one of us. We can’t outsource this – carbon offsetting is only part of the solution, it’s not the answer. We want people to know that they’ve got stronger planet muscles than they think.”
If you want to take part you can sign up for membership at The Every One Club and gift a year’s membership to a friend, family member or employee this year. The Every One Club Membership to The Every One Club is £3 a month (£36 a year).
