Episode 98: Protect the Planet One Square at a Time - Driving nature based impact with transparency and fairness …with Rob Cobbold, Founder and CEO, Native

“It’s fair and square - every square essentially helps you hit three ESG metrics with a single product.”

In this episode of the Can Marketing Save the Planet podcast, we are joined by Rob Cobbold, Founder and CEO, of the brilliant organisation, Native - a platform which allows people, groups, communities and organisations of all sizes to protect the planet – one square at a time!

The platform enables the purchase of ‘squares’ from a range of terrestrial or marine habitats including rainforests, mangroves or coral reefs.

Rob talks us through why he founded Native, “we’re an evolution I suppose on binary one-dimensional carbon markets. We're trying to do things with a bit more transparency, a bit more holistically, and a bit more fairly as well.” We discuss the fact that when it comes to protecting the environment, how we are all responsible.

We discuss the importance of decarbonisation, but also the reality that carbon isn’t tangible, you can’t see it and you can’t connect to it and this creates a challenge when it comes to understanding and engagement. Rob tells us that we, (humans) have a very ‘left-brain bias’, “we like to break things down into their parts so that we can manipulate them, control them and make use of them.”

We talk about the unique features of Native and the fact that you can view your square(s) in real time, watching them grow and evolve. However, Rob also talks about the fact that you can also see the reality of what is happening in the places you’re investing in… - “in the map of our first project in the Solomon Islands, you can see the forest, and you can also see active logging, just 50 kilometers away.” It’s both exciting and sobering.

Rob has so may plans for Native when it comes to how people and organisations can get involved; from everyone being able to drive positive impact and take action - seeing the impact of their investment in real-time, through to employee engagement programmes, gifting, gamification and overall creating a big talking point - bringing friends, family and partners on the journey with you.

From as little as just £3 per square - there is no way you won’t be motivated to buy a square or two (or more) by the end of this episode. Indeed, we’re already ‘in’ –and so if you invest, do let us know!

Tune in and listen as we talk to Rob about:

• Native – the platform, it’s purpose and why it’s truly ‘fair and square’

• Why it is so important that we all take responsibility about protecting the planet

• How Native enables organisations to hit the environmental (E), Social (S) and Governance (G) all in one solution

• Why transparency and fairness is critically important

• How going beyond carbon brings impact to life - (literally)

• The need for better stories and engagement

• The need to measure impact in different ways

• The need for better more accessible funding across a broader range of projects

For more information about this nature based solution visit Native

And to connect with Rob to find out more and discuss your ‘squares’ - connect via LinkedIn.

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Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.