Welcome to our Createch sustainability tool
Welcome to this tool for measuring the sustainability status of your business. By answering a series of questions, you can get a better understanding of your business's strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement.
New for 2026: Access to a funding and networking opportunity page, updated quarterly.
Our tool is based on Createch benchmarks and research conducted in 2022 by
Professor Martin Charter
of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and
Dr Trevor Davis
of Trevor Davis and Associates Ltd. This tool was developed as a result of
funding received from the Research England Strategic Priorities Fund. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation,
a public body funded by the UK government. For more information, visit ukri.org or
re.ukri.org.
You can download copies of the report and previous work here:
The Centre for Sustainable Design.
Please take the time to read the disclaimer and privacy notices for this tool here.
Why you should use the tool now
Our survey tells us that Createch companies often
state that they have a sustainability mission such as a net
zero ambition or a positive social impact. However, many Createchs are still start-ups and so unsuprisingly the current
status of Createch in the UK is low in terms of maturity
across the board from specialist terminology and concepts,
relevant laws and regulations, standards, setting
sustainability policies, allocating resources, measuring
environmental and social impact, and understanding how
carbon offsets work. The journey for many is just starting, but the benefits can be significant in terms of winning future business, positive employee relations, etc.
We measure maturity using a scale called ZBIA: zero, basic, intermediate and advanced. More on this later.
Use of technologies such as generative AI and blockchain
mean that Createch is becoming more and more energy intensive.
As an example, carbon emissions due to training GPT-3, used
for generative AI and which involved over 400 years of specialist hardware accelerator time, are over 500t of CO2e! Recent media coverage shows that electricity consumption
in data centres supporting AI can exceed that of entire cities or
undermine climate targets!
Having robust
approaches to developing and deploying technology, and the
evidence to support claims such as net zero is more
important than ever. As an illustration, Createch environmental claims such as "carbon
neutral" typically involve the use of offsets. Did you know that in January 2024 that EU lawmakers
signed off anti-greenwashing legislation? When this directive comes into force, businesses selling in the EU will not be able to make generic environmental claims such as 'eco-friendly'
without evidence to back it up and it essentially bans the term 'carbon neutral' if any carbon offsetting is involved. Others lawmakers will no doubt follow suit.
How does it work?
The tool uses a checklist of 17 questions derived from the research to provide insights into your business's maturity in areas such as:
- Sustainability strategy and mission
- Roles and responsibilities for sustainability
- Environmental and social goals
- Specialist sustainability skills and knowledge
- Measuring and reporting sustainability (e.g. carbon footprint, social impact)
Based on the answers you get a score from 0 to 10 and a classification as:
| Classification |
Meaning |
| Zero |
Well done, you have started your journey but there is work to do in key areas such as documented policies and responsibilities
|
| Basic |
You are underway and should focus on areas such as better documentation, resource allocation, and measurement
|
| Intermediate |
All the basics are in place but there are some gaps that need dedicated resources and effort
|
| Advanced |
Fantastic! You are an example to the rest of the Createch world. Concentrate on continuous improvement and helping others succeed
|
Who is the tool for?
The tool is primarily for founders, CEOs and CTOs in Createch companies. As a reminder, Createch is defined by Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, as the "special combination of creativity and technology in creative industry sectors…".
However, all are welcome to use the tool to help them move through their sustainability journey.
The tool is helpful for all parts of the Creative Industries, but remember the maturity scores are calculated on Createch businesses only.
What are the benefits?
Not only does the tool give you a measurement of your current maturity, but it also includes pointers on how to improve, step by step.
Also, the tool contains all the information you need to understand everything from terminology, through creating a sustainability strategy aligned to purpose, to how to make sure your sustainability credentials help you win every R&D grant you apply for.
I'm ready to start!
To get started, click on the slide image (opens a slideshow in a popup window), then watch the video and click the ready button to begin your assessment.
