Confronting the environmental crisis with a bold new identity

David Wilson

Director of Communications, WRAP

The action we are all taking – governments, businesses, NGOs and individuals - continues to be inadequate to meet the environmental crisis. It's an uncomfortable truth, but one we must confront head-on. 

We need to do more, faster, on a bigger scale. WRAP included.

Rising to this challenge is no small task. In a world where economic and political landscapes are in constant flux, and where sustainability battles for its rightful place on the global agenda, keeping the good fight alive is hard.

We believe the world needs a vision that sustains hope and propels us forward with fresh momentum.

Pioneers in the 1970s inspired such a vision when they introduced the concept of circularity and the circular economy. Now, half a century later, WRAP takes up that mantle with the launch of Circular Living and a new mission to take it to every boardroom and every home.

Circular Living builds on the foundations laid out for the circular economy. It envisions a world where we shift from our current take-make-dispose approach to the food and products we use every day, to a culture of design-make-reuse: drastically reducing waste, water use, and carbon emissions.

It’s about examining sustainability challenges through the lens of people’s day-to-day lives and transforming the systems around them; creating higher living standards through better resource use; and designing a way of life where sustainability isn’t an afterthought but a frictionless habit. It’s about more from less.

With the invaluable support of Among Equals, our creative agency on this project, we have crafted a highly distinctive visual and verbal identity that conveys Circular Living. It is bolder, more contemporary, and genuinely inspiring (at least I think so!). We have moved beyond outdated imagery, old phrases and muddy palettes, and tried to distance ourselves from the clichés that can disengage people.



 

Our vision of “Transforming broken systems to make Circular Living commonplace” lends itself naturally to telling new stories while remaining true to WRAP’s work over the last two decades. The outcome is a refreshed brand for WRAP – one as distinctive and memorable as the concept of Circular Living and as our organisation itself, reflecting the scope of our work and our global reach.  

This is just the beginning. We will apply this new identity across all the work we do, ensuring that the initiatives we are known for—locally, nationally, and globally—are aligned with this bold vision.

We recognise that these are just words and pictures and that what really counts is the impact we have. But how we describe and present what we do matters, because it influences how we and others think, the actions we take and the outcomes we achieve. Making our work as inspiring and as well-understood as possible is a critical part of tackling the environmental crisis. At WRAP, communications experts are working hand-in-hand with WRAP’s technical specialists, systems-thinkers, analysts, and behaviour change scientists to maximise our impact. For the benefit of the climate, nature and people.