Industry Leading Sustainability
We formed Raw Tipis with a purpose to deliver beautiful and indulgent events without a negative environmental impact. We envision a world of conscious event planners, creators and attendees.
Our Commitment
Positive Impact
Raw Tipis is committed to helping pioneer an environmentally sustainable outdoor events industry.
From concept, social and environmental impact has been a part of decision-making. Our Sustainability Manager ensures every partnership, purchase and process aligns with our mission, to be a force for good.
To align with the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, we measure our business’s carbon footprint annually and aim to become net zero by 2030.
To have a positive impact on nature, we offset (more than) our carbon footprint with nature based solutions to remain a carbon-positive business. We also donate 1% of our revenue to 1% for the planet.
purpose
Our Mission
We envision a world of conscious event planners, creators and attendees. We follow our Stakeholder Engagement Plan to make this dream a reality. Raw Tipis is currently applying to become a Certified B Corporation. The B Impact Assessment evaluates how our company’s operations and business model impacts our workers, community, environment, and customers.
Minimising Our Negative Impact
Traditionally the outdoor events industry has many negative impacts on the environment, for example, plastic waste after each event, excessive travel, reliance on fossil fuels, and the mass purchasing of carbon-intensive products. All of these actions lead to more carbon emissions and pollution. To minimise these negative effects on the environment, we introduced a number of sustainable solutions from the very beginning of our journey.
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Waste
To minimise plastic waste we only use reusable velcro cable ties. We request that all new furniture purchased is not wrapped in plastic packaging. We avoid buying plastic products when possible as we know only 12% of plastic packaging is recycled in the UK successfully. Find our Waste Management Policy here.
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Travel
To reduce travel emissions we have capped our event radius at 80 miles, and this is being reduced by 15% each year. We use Google Maps to check out site locations to avoid site visits where possible. We ensure our team travels together to each event. We have KPIs in place to electrify our fleet by 2030.
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Energy
To avoid the use of fossil fuels we provide clients with suggested electric generator and heater suppliers. We do not use any fossil fuel-powered tools at our warehouse. We supply hand-made bioethanol fire pits that release no smoke, 3.6 ppm of CO, and stay warm for 11 hours, being the most sustainable option.
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Materials
To offer responsibly sourced furniture we use up-cycled or second-hand pieces whenever possible, and we make furniture in our workshop from reused or FSC-certified wood. We prioritise the use of natural materials such as rattan and bamboo, with bamboo being a favourite choice due to its lightweight and fast-growing abilities
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Purchases
To buy environmentally-friendly products we conduct extensive research to ensure they are sustainable, durable, and ethical. We consider factors such as the materials used, transportation distance, usage impact, and end-of-life disposal. This approach guides all our purchases, from organic clothing for our staff to bamboo festoon poles.
Suggested Sustainable Suppliers
To help our clients make sustainable choices and to have a positive impact beyond our supply chain, we hare forming a trusted Sustainable Suppliers List. Each supplier is chosen for their quality, design, customer service and unique sustainable or ethical offering.
carbon positive
Our carbon footprint
Climate change is a global emergency. In 2015 the Paris Agreement was adopted by nearly 200 parties to keep the earth’s temperatures well below 2°C. This means all businesses have a responsibility to half emissions by 2030 and reach net zero (90% emission reduction from baseline year) by 2050.
Raw Tipis’ 2021 (baseline) carbon footprint was 39 tCO2e. As our company continues to grow, so will our footprint. However, our sustainable solutions have been able to keep our carbon footprint low from the start. We have set environmental KPIs to align with our ambitious net zero 2030 target.
Carbon offsetting schemes can be ineffective and, worse case, damaging to local communities. We partnered with Earthly to choose Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve project. It protects one of the most highly endangered ecosystems in the world and works with local communities to achieve all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Read more in our report.
