Interning at Carbon Jacked

Life works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? As a maths fanatic and an actuarial science student, I never imagined myself working in the environmental/climate change field. But now that I have, I’m starting to see how every field should have climate change policies at its core. Carbon Jacked has revolutionised my perspective on how climate change should be approached and the last couple of weeks working with the Jacks were nothing short of amazing. I have learnt a tonne and had so much fun doing it.

I’ve been involved in almost every aspect of the Carbon Jacked business during my placement, which has ranged from their work with businesses to how they engage members on social media. Having managed to navigate yet another video conferencing system in Microsoft teams, my first task was to carry out a piece of market research on the alternative and plant-based meat industry. This was something I knew very little about, so my task was an opportunity for me to get up to speed. It’s a sector that’s growing rapidly with brand new companies and existing brands all producing their own alt meat products. The emissions resulting from traditional meat and agriculture are huge with eat and dairy accounting for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization. Alt meat products have huge potential to reduce these, with recommendations and advice around this becoming a core aspect of the advice CJ provides. While many alt meat brands naturally put sustainability at their core, it was interesting to see that very few actually measure their carbon footprint or put in place plans to reduce it (yet!).

One of CJ’s core services is to provide a tailored carbon footprint assessment to businesses that are looking to measure and reduce their carbon footprint. This is all based on the framework of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and so at the start of my placement, I attended an introductory webinar on it. I then put this to use when the Jacks got me involved in some emissions calculations for a cool new sustainable brand, which involved me grappling with emissions factors and excel formula. Needless to say, my Excel skills are shooting through the roof right now.

The team also got me involved in cool social media tasks on Instagram and TikTok (the Jacks need all the help they can get with TikTok...). We aim to collaborate with people who promote environmental sustainability through fun outdoor adventure activities such as trail running and wild swimming. Identifying the best and most fitting influencers to collaborate with was my main task. The best part was that I got to meet with Jessie, CJ’s Creative Cat, to discuss some of my social media ideas. It was fascinating learning about all the cool and amazing stuff she does for the team. She deals with anything from social media and business brand to merchandise sales. She also gave me an opportunity to pitch in some ideas about how the team can involve LSE students in their mission of combating climate change.

My placement took place over Earth Day, which saw us make a major announcement about our latest partnership with the independent record label Dama Dama, co-founded and run by Maribou State. Our team calculated their carbon footprint and made them carbon neutral, which we announced on social media and via press release. My task was to analyse the music media landscape and create a list of outlets that may be interested in the announcement. I am delighted to add that after discovering them through this task, Maribou State’s music has been added to my Apple Music playlist and on repeat ever since.

I’d start each day by reading the latest climate change news and then discussing interesting stories during my morning catch-up with the Jacks. I have learnt more in the last couple of weeks than I could have thought possible. My relationship with Jack and Jacques has been one that is very relaxed and rewarding. We once met up for coffee and took a walk around the London Bridge area. They helped me with my now booming LinkedIn profile and I will forever be grateful for the experience of being part of this amazing team. My experience working with the Jacks serves as a testament to their motto, "saving the planet shouldn’t be boring.”

By Kago Rantsho