Supporting The Newt to grow its positive impact on people and the planet

“I found [working with The Good Crowd] very motivating and enlightening. It was encouraging to see the engagement you inspired. I felt very positive coming away!”

Zoe Young, Impact Lead for The Newt

About The Newt

The Newt is a stunningly beautiful and historic Somerset country estate. Since opening its doors to the public in 2019, the business has grown quickly. It now encompasses a country house hotel and spa, an RHS Partner garden and acres of farmland and cyder orchards. The estate’s food and drink offering centres around fresh, seasonal fare, including The Newt’s very own cyder brand.

Why The Good Crowd?

The Newt’s Impact Lead asked for our expert strategic support to help the brand’s leadership team define and grow The Newt’s positive impact on people and the planet.

What we did

Working collaboratively with The Newt’s leadership team, we led a deep dive into the estate’s impact. The Newt has a clear mission and purpose. This was our starting point to define what was already working and, crucially, what changes were needed to strongly align every part of the business with that purpose. 

To do this, we considered all the ways, both big and small, that The Newt shows up for important stakeholders, such as employees and guests. We also challenged the team to think more widely about all those the business depends on, and those that depend on it; whether that is the local community, the environment, the workforce, suppliers or visitors.  

Harnessing the team’s fantastic energy, ideas and in-depth knowledge of the business, we came up with an impressive list of all the ways in which The Newt has been a force for good over the last five years. Looking to the future, we helped them to analyse and identify where there are gaps in data and knowledge that could be holding them back. We also guided them through a discussion about motivating the whole team to do even better.

Outcomes

Our tailored support resulted in a strategic roadmap setting out how The Newt can have an even bigger and better impact on people and the planet. The leadership team each agreed to take forward tangible actions for implementation across core areas of the business. This work will be a catalyst for the estate to deliver positive social and environmental impact in everything it does in the next stage of its business development.