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Company's founder and CEO Hermione Taylor confirms plans to close down in the face of challenging economic conditions and increased market competition
Green behaviour change platform Do Nation is to cease trading after 14 years in response to challenging economic conditions, increased market competition, and a failure to secure fresh investment, the company's founder and CEO Hermione Taylor has announced.
Writing on LinkedIn last week, Taylor said she had made the "sad decision" to enter the B-Corp - which works with companies to engage their staff in efforts to meet corporate sustainability and net zero goals - into voluntary liquidation.
Since it began more than a decade ago, the company claims to have worked with 500 organisations across 100 countries, securing sustainable behaviour change pledges from nearly 60,000 people and saving 16,500 tonnes of CO2 annually in the process.
Companies to have previously used Do Nation's platform have included Siemens, Network Rail, Innocent drinks, ScottishPower, and Reckitt.
However, Taylor - who was inspired to start the company after encouraging her friends and family to support a sponsored bike ride from London to Morrocco - said market conditions had made it difficult to keep the business going.
"We're not the only company to have found the last few years particularly challenging; the weak economy has led to a slowdown in customer demand, coupled with a very tough fundraising environment," she explained. "Despite all of our best efforts, we failed to secure the investment that we needed in order to keep Do Nation evolving alongside the changing market, pioneering and pushing for ever greater change."
Founded by Taylor in 2010, the company was initially created as a platform to allow people to ask friends and family to donate climate actions instead of cash to support sporting events such as marathons and celebrations like weddings and birthdays.
However, the firm's offering evolved and expanded to also help engage staff at companies and organisations in making everyday lifestyle changes to improve their health and wellbeing, as well as reduce their impact on the planet.
Do Nation went on to win App of the Year at the BusinessGreen Technology Awards in 2015.
"It's no secret that we've been on the brink of closing down before, yet each time the support from our community and my belief in our mission spurred me on to battle on," Taylor wrote in her LinkedIn post last week. "However, this time around there is one key difference: the market is filled with brilliant alternatives to Do Nation."
Taylor highlighted how a raft of other companies and services were now aiming to encourage sustainable behaviour change - including the likes of the Carbon Literacy Project, OnHand, and AimHi Earth - adding that "I no longer feel that Do Nation is filling such a critical gap in the way it was in 2017".
"Over the last few weeks I've spoken to all of our competitors, and have been struck by the gratitude they've shown for how Do Nation paved the way in creating this industry," she added. "So perhaps, in that respect, I could say we have achieved our mission."
Thanking the team at Do Nation, Taylor did not reveal any future plans, but said she planned to "share more reflections on our achievements and lessons learned over the coming weeks, recognising the funders, advisors, customers, champions".
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