Category Archives: News

Africa Net Zero: Dr. Wolfram Schmidt on ‘green’ cement

Did you know that cement production is responsible for 8 – 12 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions?

In fact, if the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world with up to 2.8bn tonnes.

As part of our #AfricaNetZero series, we spoke to @Wolfram Schmidt about his research into alternative materials like cassava and other agricultural residues as a source of ‘green’ African-made cement for future sustainable construction on the continent.

Thank you, Wolfram, for sharing your insights with us!

Royal Academy of Engineering appoints Gong for Africa grants programmes brief

2nd March 2021, London: The Royal Academy of Engineering has appointed Gong Communications to support its sub-Saharan Africa grants programmes: Higher Education Partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Africa Catalyst.

Following a public request for proposals and a competitive tender, Gong was awarded the brief to increase visibility and awareness of the Academy’s grants programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and to amplify its role in helping to build sustainable societies and inclusive economies.

Gong will deliver the work from its offices in London and Nairobi, working with its partners in other countries in Africa where required.

Meredith Ettridge, Head of Sustainable Development at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said, “As an international programme working in sub-Saharan Africa, it was important to us that the team we engaged with had strong local expertise and knowledge. We were also impressed by Gong’s experience in diversity and inclusion, a key pillar of our 2020-2025 strategy, and its commitment to diversity in its own team.”

Commenting on the appointment, Gong’s Director, Nikki Francis-Jones said, “The Royal Academy of Engineering’s brief combined everything we are passionate about. Its mission to build sustainable societies and inclusive economies that work for everyone spoke to our B Corp values and we are incredibly proud to have been appointed to work on the project. We are looking forward to telling the stories of these fantastic sub-Saharan African programmes.”

Gong Impact Report

As the year draws to a close, we’ve used the opportunity to reflect on the year we’ve had and the impact we have made. Labelling 2020 as ‘turbulent’ would be an understatement at best. Yet for all the wicked problems that have faced our society and our planet this year, there have been many brilliant lights that have shined brightly and given us reason for hope. At Gong we’ve been fortunate to have been working with many of those bright lights, which we see to be our clients solving some of the world’s most wicked problems. For our part, we’ve used our expertise to accelerate their impact and help them shift the needle through communications.

As a B Corp, we are required to report on our impact. This report reflects the impact we have made this year, both through our client work and through our own commitments to society, environment, our suppliers, our people, and how we operate as a business – our governance.  We hope you enjoy reading what we’ve been up to as much as we’ve enjoyed doing everything in this report.

If you’d like to get in touch and find out more about our work, get in touch info@gongcommunications.com

Africa Net Zero: Elizabeth Chege

To kick off Gong’s new #AfricaNetZero series, we talked to Elizabeth Wangeci Chege @Betz99Kesh CEO and co-founder of @WEBLimitedGroup who was recently honored by @WorldGBC in recognition of her 20-year commitment to green building in Africa and her pioneering work in the sustainable construction sector in Kenya. 

Following World Green Building Week 2020, we caught up with Elizabeth to hear her thoughts on green building in Africa and the Africa net zero conversation. We talked about the influence of Covid-19 on future green building, diversity in the sustainable construction sector, regulation and financing and public vs private net zero commitments. 

Thank you, Elizabeth Wangeci Chege, for sharing your views with us!  

Carbon transformation leader Puro.earth extends brief with Gong Communications

 

After a successful project in which we helped announce its commercial launch and global rollout, carbon marketplace Puro.earth has extended its brief with Gong.

Puro aims to scale carbon transformation by matching companies looking to achieve NetZero, such as SwissRe and Shopify, with innovative climate tech businesses that capture and store carbon for the long term, effectively removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Gong is working with Puro to increase brand awareness by building on coverage already achieved in international business press (such as Forbes) and sustainability trades (such as Greenbiz), as well as through a targeted social media campaign.

GONG SUPPORTS LLOYD’S ON THE CREATION OF ITS ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE REPORT

 

 

October 2020: Gong supported Lloyd’s on the creation of its Ethnic Diversity in the Workplace report, a culmination of an 18-month exploration into racial and ethnic diversity in the Lloyd’s market. It is part research report and part practical blueprint for change. Using personal stories and data collected from over 900 employees market-wide, it highlights the experiences of black and minority ethnic colleagues in the market to bring different perspectives into focus. Data and real experiences grounded the report in the current reality and helped Lloyd’s to set a benchmark from which to measure future progress.

We are proud to have produced this report for the Lloyd’s insurance market and want to say a special thank you to ad agency Quiet Storm for agreeing to contribute by sharing the experience of its founder, the Creative Director, Trevor Robinson OBE. The Create Not Hate movement that he founded is particularly inspiring for us as a comms agency. Read the full interview with Trevor here.

GLIDE APPOINTS GONG COMMUNICATIONS TO GLOBAL COMMS BRIEF

 

13 October 2020, London and Abu Dhabi: The Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) has appointed Gong Communications to lead its communications effort.

Based in Abu Dhabi, but with a global mandate and ambition, GLIDE was launched in November 2019 to help accelerate progress towards the elimination of diseases including malaria, polio, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis). GLIDE was established through a partnership by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gong will lead the work from its London office HQ, with regional expertise from its Nairobi office and from partners Seven Media in the UAE and Comunicandes in Latin America. The appointment was made following a public request for proposals which resulted in a competitive tender.

GLIDE’s Advocacy and Communications Manager, Priya Kanayson, said, “Communications is one of GLIDE’s key pillars, so we are eager to amplify our voice and ramp up our impact with the addition of our new agency partners. Health has never had more attention, but we need to keep the focus on these specific preventable diseases to drive progress towards their eventual eradication.”

Gong’s Director, Nikki Francis-Jones, said, “GLIDE’s mission could not be more urgent at a time when the end is so nearly in sight for diseases such as polio and with resources for preventable diseases affecting vulnerable communities under pressure due to COVID-19. We feel very privileged to have been chosen, along with Seven and Comunicandes, to help intensify the impact of GLIDE’s work.”

VISIONABLE PICKS GONG FOR CORP COMMS

 

Visionable, the rapidly expanding British health technology company, has extended its contract with Gong on a corp comms brief.

The company is experiencing increased demand from the public and private sector for its advisory services on health system design and for its own technology, which includes a video collaboration platform designed specifically for clinicians and patients.

Gong will be providing counsel and support to increase Visionable’s profile amongst key audiences. We’re delighted to be working with a company making great strides in improving health equity, more on which you can read in this recent coverage we secured in Forbes and Maddyness.

www.visionable.com

KINA ADVISORY CHOOSES GONG AS COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR

 

Africa-impact specialist Kina Advisory has appointed Gong to support the growth of its brand internationally. Kina is best known for advising boards on key ESG issues affecting business and investment in Africa, which for those in the know, is the proving ground for ESG best practice. Building on decades of experience, Kina is repositioning its offering on a global footing.

Founder Rosalind Kainyah MBE is a lawyer by profession with extensive experience in government relations, political risk management, social investment and corporate and environmental law. She is also a regular on the conference circuit as an experienced moderator and chair.

kinaadvisory.com

INVEST IN AFRICA TAPS GONG FOR SECOND TIME

 

In April, we were delighted to be invited back to work with Invest in Africa (IIA) following our initial efforts to help capture the challenges SMEs faced when working with large corporations in Ghana in this report: David & Goliath: Creating a level playing fled for SMEs In the intervening time, IIA has grown from an initiative with offices in London and Ghana to become pan-African with a presence in Kenya, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique and Zambia.

The idea for Invest in Africa grew out of the desire of a multinational corporation to use its buying power as a force for good. Despite the positive economic impact and jobs it creates, IIA is a private sector-led initiative focused on growing local businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, albeit with a mix of donors, many in the development finance sector.

Our brief includes supporting the rollout of IIA’s Covid-19 SME toolkit and advising on some new research that will be useful for stakeholders, but we’re keeping the precise details under wraps until we are ready for the big reveal. Needless to say, it’s going to focus on supply chains and positive purchasing power.

www.investinafrica.com