Running our impact workshop for The Newt

“I found the afternoon [with The Good Crowd] very motivating and enlightening. It was encouraging to see the engagement you inspired. I felt very positive coming away!”

Zoe Young, Impact Lead for The Newt

About The Newt

The Newt is a stunningly beautiful and historic Somerset country estate. Since opening its doors to the public in 2019, the business has grown quickly. It now encompasses a country house hotel and spa, an RHS Partner garden and acres of farmland and cyder orchards. The estate’s food and drink offering centres around fresh, seasonal fare, including The Newt’s very own cyder brand.

Why The Good Crowd?

The Newt’s Impact Lead Zoe Young reached out to us, on behalf of the leadership team. They wanted our expert support to better understand The Newt’s impact on people and the planet, and to set out a plan to grow its positive impact.

What we did

We designed and ran a tailored impact workshop for The Newt’s leadership team. They took much-needed time out from their busy schedules to dig deep into the estate’s impact. We structured a half-day session to inspire and give practical guidance on how to better understand the business’s impact on people and the planet. 

We started with their mission and purpose as an organisation. By asking simply ‘what do you want to be known for?’, together we defined what was working and what needed to change to align to that purpose. To do this, we considered all the ways, both big and small, that the Newt is having an impact on important stakeholders. We thought about all those the business depends on, and those that depend on it; whether that is the local community, the environment, employees, suppliers or visitors.  

Working together, and harnessing the team’s fantastic energy and ideas, we came up with an impressive list of all the good stuff The Newt has achieved over the last five years. Looking to the future, we also identified where there are gaps in data and knowledge and focused on priorities to motivate the team to do even better.

Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, we had agreed a clearly prioritised plan that the whole team can get behind. The plan sets out a list of tangible actions for the Newt’s leadership team. This will be a catalyst for the estate to have even greater positive impact on people and planet