Three years of Climate17

David Blake, Director & Co-Founder

For over a week now, I have been trying to decide how to approach writing a short blog about Climate17 turning three years old…a task I’ve kept putting off until the very last minute in truth.

Ever since Stef, our Marketing Manager, asked me if I would write something to share about the “event”, I found it hard to even see it as that, let alone a milestone of any sort.

It got me thinking as to why I thought that way. Quite often you see companies making it to various ‘years in business’ milestones and celebrating the fact. I understand that every business absolutely has the right to do this… maybe now so more than ever in the current climate. Staying in business is a feat that should not be underestimated; however, I couldn’t decide if it should be something that I/we celebrate.

It got me thinking…

Maybe it was more to do with me having many other barometers by which I typically measure our success.

For example, the number of people we have helped to find a new job and whose lives we have positively impacted, the number of clients we have supported who deliver projects which green our economy, or indeed, the number of staff we employ who succeed in what they do and improve their lives as a result …all things that are much higher on my agenda than how long we’ve been operating as a company.

I have always considered myself ambitious, wanting to achieve high standards and to demonstrate to others the values Tom and I initially set out when we formed Climate17 back at the start of 2018: to be Effective, Genuine, Passionate and Knowledgeable. These were statements of intent from us to deliver a service we felt would stand us apart from our competitors, and simply being three years old as a company is no signal that we are achieving this.

The more I thought about it however, the more I started to question myself… why isn’t it up there with these other measures of success?

Ultimately, I concluded that the answer is simple…I wouldn’t allow it to be.

There are many other daily distractions which tend to get in the way of reflecting on our journey so far. January in particular is a busy month. Targets, activity numbers, all start back at zero, and we are busy talking with clients about their plans for the year ahead. Vacancies on our books rise and we are busy trying to tempt in demand candidates with a range of opportunities to step outside their comfort zones and consider something new. January is full of everything and anything going through my mind, except the fact that the business is another year older.

Ultimately however, I think I was wrong to dismiss the milestone, and actually accept the fact that Climate17 (along with anyone else in business currently) should, in no matter how small a way, celebrate every milestone we get to.

It’s sobering to think that now nearly a third of our time in business has been during a pandemic, however, through effective collaboration and hard work, we have still met and exceeded expectations.

I don’t want this to come across as self-aggrandising, however, during my short time of reflection writing this, I get a sense of pride and confidence that what we are doing is making a difference; for our candidates, clients, each other and the broader effort to do our bit as an SME to help tackle climate change.

I could not possibly write this without mentioning that growing a business has been, is, and I am sure will continue to be tough, and I am grateful to those around me for their support. To my wife and family, Tom, the amazing team we have assembled, as well as to our candidates and clients who have given us a chance to prove our value…thank you.

Looking back, we have come a long way from Tom and I sat in my converted garage, to the 11 of us now. But I also know we have a long way to go from where we are. Milestones don’t come around too often, so I will toast to this one and promise myself to continue to do so from here onward.