A new sustainability consultancy has recently moved into Theale.
Good Management Group is a sustainability, ESG & CSR consultancy working with companies to help them create, implement and manage their sustainability strategies and projects.
Founder Dan Smith said the space in the Arlington Business Park was the obvious place for the firm’s head office.
“The University of Reading has an excellent track record of sustainability and the calibre of graduates is very high, so we expect to benefit from that whilst providing a route for them to enter into the sustainability consulting sector,” he said.
Good Management Group Ltd was founded in 2020 following a merger between the two co-founders’ consulting firms and now counts clients in sectors including Real Estate and construction, professional sport, tech, retail, manufacturing and professional services.
High-profile clients include American Golf, University of London, BNY Mellon, Kings Cross developers Argent, and Unily.
Mr Smith said since re-launching the business as Good Management Group and moving to Theale, the business has gone from strength-to-strength.
“We recently rebranded the company because, to be honest, there is a lot of confusion about what companies need to do to get to Net Zero or to have a positive impact on their people, local communities and the environment,” he said.
“There are dozens of acronyms and terms for what is ultimately the business of ‘doing good’. So whatever you call it, Sustainability, CSR, ESG, Net Zero, Carbon Neutral, Socially responsible we call it Good Management and we’re here to help companies Do Good, Better.”
Mr Smith and co-founder Ian Dodd aim to simplify the way that companies in Reading manage their social and environmental impacts.
“A credible sustainability strategy is vital to future proof every business,” he continued.
“Companies of all sizes often don’t need to hire full-time employees to manage their sustainability strategies, but it’s also not the kind of thing that should just be tagged onto someone’s role. That’s where Good Management comes in.
“We work with our clients to assess their impact performance, create a winning sustainability strategy, write their key policies and compile their annual ESG & sustainability reports.
“It’s really varied work, one day we’re working with a professional rugby team, the next with a £22 billion real estate company or a boutique marketing agency.
“Our clients come in all shapes and sizes, but they recognise one thing – they want to understand and improve their impacts on people and the planet.”
Mr Smith’s background is travel and real estate. Seeing a gap in the market for a cost-effective consultancy solution to the environmental and social issues facing companies in the UK, he joined forces with Environmental Scientist and sustainability consultant Ian Dodd to launch Good Management.
Mr Dodds said: “There is a lot of noise surrounding ESG, CSR or sustainability but until companies put credible strategies into action there will be a significant lack of impact.
“Everybody’s talking about Net zero but what does it mean to your business and how do you actually make a positive impact?
“We founded Good Management to ensure that companies can lean on our experienced consultants with full flexibility.”