Green Investment Bank
We were appointed by the CEO of the Green Investment Bank, Shaun Kingsbury, and worked closely with him and the chairman, Lord Smith of Kelvin through the launch of the bank in 2012 to its eventual sale to Macquarie in 2017.
Our advice extended from the start-up phase, during which we advised on – among other things – the transparency of company information such as salaries and expenses and the recruitment of an in-house communications team.
Beyond the early stages, we provided hands-on support to the organisation as it explained its purpose and mission to the media and political stakeholders.
The Bank was headquartered in both London and Edinburgh, and we worked across both on a UK wide brief.
The Robertson Trust
The Robertson Trust, as Scotland’s largest grant-giving trust, works to end the negative impacts of poverty and trauma on people and communities across Scotland. Charlotte Street Partners has worked closely with the chief executive and Board of Trustees for a number of years, supporting them to develop the organisation’s ten year strategy and the communications approach for the whole organisation.
In addition to supporting the day-to-day communications handling, we are part of the Trust’s crisis response team. This includes mitigating risks for the organisation itself, but also the charities and communities it funds.
Northland Power
We were retained advisers to an international corporation bidding for licences that form part of the ScotWind offshore tenders undertaken by Crown Estate Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government. We developed an overarching communications, PR and public affairs and stakeholder engagement strategy for the client, and supported the implementation of that strategy, leading to a positive response from local stakeholders. The overall engagement approach, with strategic MOUs signed with key parties to underline bid commitments, led to a successful bid outcome
Openreach
We were appointed by Openreach to provide support around its engagement with the media and other stakeholders across Scotland, including local politicians and business and civic groups.
UNCRC campaign
Our co-founder, Malcolm Robertson, chairs the Scotland advisory board of Unicef UK and enlisted the pro bono support of colleagues to work with children and young people charities in Scotland, including the Together Alliance and the Children’s Parliament, to hold the Scottish government to account on its promise to incorporate the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law.
We offered public affairs and media handling support during the successful campaign that led to the passing of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill in March 2021.
Our involvement included securing coverage of the #MakeRightsReal march in Edinburgh and placing op-eds written by children and young people across Scotland in national newspapers. We continue to provide strategic advice and media relations counsel to the alliance with a focus on making the voices of children and young people heard and to ensure the UNCRC Bill is understood and applied widely across Scotland.
I’m really impressed with the Charlotte Street Partners team. They don’t seem to be phased by anything. They’re a resourceful, industrious team who quickly got up to speed with my issues as their new client. The work they have produced has been first-rate. They’re a joy to work with.
Mike Kelly
External affairs director, Bacardi