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Sustainability, green development and the push to achieve Net Zero targets are a vital consideration for planners, developers and anyone working in the built environment sector.

The Government’s proposed new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which will set the course of all UK development for decades to come, underlines national targets to reach Net Zero – a perfect balance between carbon produced and carbon removed from the atmosphere – by 2025.

With Net Zero and green issues at the top of the agenda for local planning authorities, banks and financiers and awareness of sustainability higher than ever before among the public, developers and planners need to demonstrate that they understand the importance of carbon mitigation and are taking action.

Accusations of ‘greenwashing’ can be damaging – it is vital to back words with action.

A Polymedia campaign for planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore communicated this message to developers and other built environment sector businesses in a playful, engaging and memorable way.

Working closely with the team’s planning consultants and Barton Willmore’s talented graphic designers, Polymedia developed the PR strategy and concept of a Better Developments pack of cards divided into four suits – Lower Carbon, Beautiful Places, Healthy Communities and Creating Communities.

Each card contained an idea, fact, inspiring quote or statistic designed to inspire thought and debate. The digital cards were then “played”, one a day, with team members posting them on LinkedIn along with relevant links to Barton Willmore’s work, or existing developments that demonstrate the concepts involved. Meanwhile physical decks provided a memorable conversation piece and corporate gift at business events.

The campaign drove increased engagement in LinkedIn while putting Barton Willmore’s specialists at the heart of the conversation over the built environment sector’s role and responsibilities in tackling climate change.