Whitehouse Communications runs the Secretariat of the Nappy Alliance, a coalition of manufacturers and providers of reusable nappies that promotes the economic and environmental benefits of reusables and greater consumer choice for new parents. Through an integrated political communications campaign and a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and political monitoring programme across Westminster, central government, the devolved administrations and local government, the firm has helped the Alliance influence key sustainability policy at regional, devolved and national levels, including local authority reusable nappy schemes, the Scottish Circular Economy Bill and the Welsh Beyond Recycling Consultation.
In the previous Parliament, the firm helped the Alliance gather cross-party support for the Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill sponsored by David Linden MP, and secured commitments to promote reusables in post-election waste strategies from candidates during the 2019 General Election and local government elections, including the election for Mayor of London.
The challenge
The Nappy Alliance is a coalition of manufacturers and providers of reusable nappies which promotes the economic and environmental benefits of reusable nappies and greater consumer choice for new parents.
The Alliance appointed Whitehouse Communications to run its Secretariat and drive support for reusables through an integrated political communications campaign. The brief covers a sustainability policy landscape that spans Westminster, central government, the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, local authorities and elected mayors, and calls for both sustained stakeholder engagement and political monitoring across all of these tiers alongside targeted campaigning around key legislative moments and elections.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications runs the Nappy Alliance Secretariat and delivers the Alliance’s political communications campaign as an integrated stakeholder engagement, political monitoring and legislative campaigning programme working across every tier of UK policymaking.
The work focuses on:
- Running a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and political monitoring programme targeting influencers in Westminster, central government, the devolved administrations and local government.
- Nurturing and strengthening the Alliance’s relationships with key decisionmakers in Parliament through regular briefings, meetings and events, including party conference roundtables, to push the Alliance’s asks up the political agenda.
- Working closely with David Linden MP in the previous Parliament to put together the Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill and coordinate its launch, gathering cross-party support for a Bill which sought to establish environmental standards for nappies and promote reusables.
- Running targeted election campaigning during the 2019 General Election and local government elections, including the election for Mayor of London, to secure commitments from candidates to promote reusables in post-election waste strategies.
- Engaging in the devolved and regional policy processes, including the Scottish Circular Economy Bill, the Welsh Beyond Recycling Consultation and local authority reusable nappy schemes.
The outcome
Through the campaign, the Nappy Alliance has influenced key sustainability policy across the UK’s regional, devolved and national levels, including local authority reusable nappy schemes, the Scottish Circular Economy Bill and the Welsh Beyond Recycling Consultation. The Nappies (Environmental Standards) Bill sponsored by David Linden MP gathered cross-party support in the previous Parliament, and candidates in the 2019 General Election and local government elections (including the election for Mayor of London) made commitments to promote reusables in their post-election waste strategies.
For the Nappy Alliance, the sustained stakeholder engagement, political monitoring and legislative campaigning has translated a coalition of reusable nappies businesses into a working policy voice across the UK, moving with the shifting geography of environmental policymaking between Westminster, the devolved administrations and local government.
