Rocking Horse Pictures is known for turning complex ideas into engaging, award-winning video content for B2B brands on a global scale. As a London-based production company specialising in video and animation, Rocking Horse recognised the environmental impact of media and digital industries and has been dedicated to ensuring sustainability aligns with its values, client expectations, and the future of responsible business. We recently sat down with Nick Loe, Director at Rocking Horse to learn more about how the company is delivering sustainability success in the media and digital industries.
The Challenge
As a business committed to maintaining its forward-thinking reputation, Rocking Horse has been reporting organisational emissions since 2017 but lacked the credibility of a structured science-based carbon reduction plan verified by a third party. What’s more, sustainability reporting proved a complex, resource-intensive task for the busy team at Rocking Horse, prompting the business to explore sustainability partnerships to optimise its resource usage.
As well as reducing pressure on internal resources, external expertise also appeared to be the solution to the carbon accounting challenges Rocking Horse faced. Understanding and calculating emissions across different scopes, particularly Scope 3, was complex, and Rocking Horse recognised the need for clear expert guidance on effective measurement and reduction targets to advance its sustainability progress and make a meaningful difference.
The Positive Planet Solution
Rocking Horse reached out to Positive Planet for support to bolster its existing actions. Through the partnership, the company was able to set a clear emissions baseline, identifying key contributors and practical reduction strategies. Positive Planet’s structured approach made the process clear and manageable, reducing the burden on the internal team. Positive Planet developed a clear carbon reduction plan which established tangible short and long-term targets, ensuring Rocking Horse stay on track towards Net Zero with assurance from experts. The increase in expertise has also allowed the company to uncover areas for cost and efficiency improvements by better understanding its carbon footprint.
Rocking Horse also used the collaboration to strengthen its CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) disclosure, aiming to improve its previous C and D scores and reinforce its commitment to transparency. Notably, this was the first year CDP introduced an SME-specific questionnaire and prior to this, Rocking Horse had been completing the generic questionnaire for all business types. With expert guidance from Positive Planet throughout the new submission process, the company achieved a B score, the highest possible for SMEs in that reporting year, underscoring its dedication to responsible business and continuous improvement.
Driving sustainability was an integral part of Rocking Horse’s strategic business goals. Clients, especially in corporate and education sectors, were increasingly prioritising sustainability-conscious suppliers. To stay competitive, the company recognised the need to adapt to remain competitive, and they did just that.
“Positive Planet took what felt like a daunting task and made it clear, manageable, and genuinely impactful. Thanks to their expert guidance, we’ve not only measured our carbon footprint accurately with expert verification but have a concrete and workable plan to reduce it. Achieving a CDP ‘B’ score is a big milestone for us, and we’re excited to keep moving towards Net Zero with their valuable support.”
Nick Loe, Co-Founder, Rocking Horse Pictures
The Benefits
Rocking Horse’s dedication to building a better business has already delivered a range of positive outcomes. Achieving a ‘B’ score has been a significant milestone. It has validated the company’s sustainability efforts and positions them as a responsible industry leader as well as supporting employee engagement. The score reinforces Rocking Horse’s commitment to continuous improvement and opens doors for collaborations with sustainability-conscious clients and partners, helping accelerate growth.
Rocking Horse has been able to pinpoint key emissions drivers, helping them make more informed decisions that have led to cost savings, greater efficiency, and more structured reporting. By acting on these insights, they’ve streamlined operations. On top of that, Positive Planet’s hands-on support has made tricky Net Zero terminology much easier to understand, helping the company communicate its sustainability efforts more clearly to stakeholders.
Future Plans
For Rocking Horse, the work does not stop here. Thanks to the carbon reduction plan developed with Positive Planet, the company has several short and long-term plans in place to continue to build momentum on its sustainability journey, including:
- Seeking to work with their landlord to expand renewable energy use: Aiming for a transition to 100% renewable electricity for office spaces.
- Supplier engagement: Seeking to implement a sustainable procurement policy and prioritising low-carbon suppliers.
- Sustainable travel policy: Reducing business travel emissions by favouring digital meetings and optimising trip logistics.
- Internal engagement: Planning for roll out of Carbon Literacy training for staff to further embed sustainability into the company culture.
- Emission Reductions: Reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 35% between 2025-2030, with a 90% total emissions reduction goal by 2040.
As the company remains proactive in its bid to achieve Net Zero, Positive Planet will continue to support it in the development of further carbon reduction initiatives, sustainable business practices, and CDP reporting to ensure future plans and milestones are achieved.
