Our Clients

Our clients include a wide range of leading global and British companies. They each have great potential to generate the solutions essential to meeting the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental needs. We support organisations whose purpose is not only to make a profit but also to make a difference to the lives of their customers and employees and to support the communities in which they exist.

Over the last few years our clients have included:

• Procter & Gamble (2012 on-going)
• WWF International (2011 on-going)
• Lend Lease (2007 to 2012 on-going)
• Lafarge (2012 and on-going)
• Budgens Supermarkets (2010 on-going)
• PepsiCo (2012 on-going)
• Exeter University Business School (2009 on-going)
• CocaCola (2012)
• Devon County Council (2009-2010)
• General Mills (2013)

Four recent and continuing client projects 

Procter & Gamble

In 2011 one of P&G’s senior marketing managers attended our public programme, The Journey. Following this we received an invitation to participate on an external advisory panel focused on issues around sustainability and culture change. A further invitation has led to our involvement in a second external advisory panel, together with our participation as joint facilitators of a culture change workshop. We have reason to be optimistic about further and increased engagement with this very successful and innovative organisation.

WWF International

Embercombe is developing a close association with WWF. In the spring of 2010 we joined the WWF team delivering aspects of their celebrated One Planet Leaders programme in Switzerland. This work is now being extended and deepened as we contribute to the new Exeter University Business School / WWF One Planet MBA'. In November 2011 two of the WWF International team experienced our flagship open programme The Journey with a view to exploring the possibilities of co-designing an exclusive programme for the boards of large organisations that allows them to experience a deeper personal journey towards authentic leadership.

For more informationa about our collaboration with WWF International, click here.

Lend Lease

For the last five years we have been designing and facilitating a leadership programme for Lend Lease's newly recruited graduates. This programme has a strong emphasis on sustainability and the need for each of the participants to identify their own values, vision, and commitment to self-leadership. Several small construction tasks that have real significance and importance to Embercombe's charitable work are undertaken by the Lend Lease teams. The projects are unachievable without the involvement of Embercombe's transient volunteer population, and most of the materials used are recycled and unfamiliar to the graduates. Each time we run this programme all manner of unexpected things happen, and from this we weave a rich tapestry of learning that is then carried forward into their professional lives. This programme was selected by Ashridge Business School as one of several leadership programmes placing sustainability at the heart of the development experience. We are now part of their research into this topic and expect the results to be published later this year. In October 2010, together with Michelle Palin (Lend Lease Graduate Recruitment & Development Manager) we presented our case study at Ashridge's Leading Organisations of Tomorrow Symposium in Westminster.

"The Embercombe Leadership Development Programme that the Bovis Lend Lease graduates attend at Embercombe during their first year, is a top class programme that has been designed to meet the needs of our business. The quality of the programme and facilitation is second to none, and the feedback each participant receives enables them to focus on what they should continue to do, and what they need to do in the future."
Michelle Palin, Graduate Recruitment & Development Manager, Lend Lease

Budgens Stores

Embercombe has recently designed and facilitated two courses for the management teams of Thornton's Budgens in North London. Having created a new vision and charter for these businesses based around "a passion for food", Andrew Thornton, the owner of both stores, has recently implemented a number of initiatives that focus on sustainability issues. With very culturally diverse teams managing both stores, a wide range of experience, and the challenges of a highly competitive high street environment, Andrew wanted a programme that would:

"build strong, resourceful, innovative, and cohesive teams that would enable the Thornton's Budgens stores to achieve their commercial targets within a culture of cooperation, shared values, empowerment, and innovation."

Each team visited Embercombe for two days where they negotiated a learning journey that embraced and celebrated good food, necessitated negotiation with independently minded suppliers, and brought them ultimately face to face with real customers with high expectations.

"I write as I return from my fifth visit to Embercombe. The Journey programme so inspired me I really wanted to bring my team to experience Embercombe in person. For me it's the combination of the team building work we did with making a connection with the land and food. The experience of working the land, harvesting, preparing, cooking and serving wonderful fresh food was an amazing experience for our team, one which really helped deepen our connection with food.  The programme also helped us build our personal relationships with each other and encouraged a much greater amount of honesty between us.
Inspiring, deep and life changing!"
Andrew Thornton, Thornton's Budgens

Click here to read Fresh ways to engage customers from Grocer Magazine, featuring this programme at Embercombe