The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) appointed Whitehouse Communications to deliver a media and public relations campaign on the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Over six months, at a critical moment in the Bill’s parliamentary journey, the campaign secured more than 30 pieces of high-profile coverage across The Guardian, Financial Times, The Times, Sky News and other leading national and specialist media, embedding environmental scrutiny in the wider public and political debate.
The challenge
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) is the chartered professional body for ecologists and environmental scientists in the UK and Ireland. As a recognised expert voice on environmental policy, the Institute engages regularly with Government and Parliament on legislation that affects the natural environment.
As the Government brought forward the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, a major piece of legislation designed to accelerate planning approvals and infrastructure delivery, CIEEM identified significant environmental risks in the Bill as drafted. The Institute appointed Whitehouse Communications to design and deliver a high-impact media and public relations campaign, to ensure those concerns shaped the political and public debate at a critical juncture in the Bill’s parliamentary journey.
Our approach
With limited time and high political stakes, Whitehouse Communications moved quickly to develop and deliver a robust, integrated programme of proactive and reactive media engagement and thought leadership. The campaign was designed to articulate CIEEM’s environmental concerns clearly, secure authoritative coverage advancing the Institute’s key messages, and build sustained media pressure on policymakers as the Bill progressed.
The campaign focused on:
- Translating nuanced environmental policy concerns into clear and compelling media narratives.
- Securing consistent national and sector coverage at key political moments, both proactive and reactive.
- Positioning CIEEM as the leading expert voice on the Bill’s environmental implications.
- Sustaining pressure on decision-makers as the legislation progressed.
The outcome
Within six months, the campaign delivered more than 30 pieces of high-profile coverage across leading national and specialist media, including The Guardian, Financial Times, The Times, Sky News, ENDS Report, Business Green and the Daily Express, with front-page coverage in the Daily Express. CIEEM’s analysis and commentary featured prominently in coverage examining the environmental risks associated with the Bill, ensuring the Institute’s concerns were part of the wider public and political conversation.
While the final legislation did not fully reflect CIEEM’s policy objectives, the campaign succeeded in raising the organisation’s profile, embedding environmental scrutiny in media debate, and establishing CIEEM and its senior spokespeople as credible, trusted expert voices during a highly contested policy process.
In their words
