Introducing ADLIB's impact focused meetups

ADLIB, a Technology, Data, Marketing and Creative Recruitment Agency, has taken initiative in creating, nurturing or supporting the existence of these groups. ADLIB has a mission and impact that goes beyond recruitment, and their involvement in these meetups demonstrates this proactive approach to building a community that serves people & planet alike – so we wanted to shout about a few of them during Impact Month here at TechSPARK.

Green Tech South West, MotherBoard and Tech Ethics are all affiliated with ADLIB in different ways, but all contribute to their commitment to creating a positive impact. Nick Dean, Chair of ADLIB expands, “Our people, we’re a collective with a shared purpose and vision. We’re constantly pushing ourselves, internally we strive to be the very best we can, externally we’re there within our communities, supporting industry, social enterprises and championing D&I.”

This meetup is all about sharing insights on how tech can both heal and harm our planet – and with nearly 1500 members, the team “think they might be on to something.”

The vision behind the meetup was to create a consistent, friendly community with curated events to deliver expertise on the most relevant topics to help drive climate action. GreenTech South West is a community/people-focused group with an open and inclusive ethos. They run regular meetups, both physical and virtual, with a range of lightning presentations, round-room debates and panel discussions from those working or researching green technology. They’re here to provide you with expert insight and thought-provoking discussions on how technology can improve our physical environment and battle the massive, urgent issue of climate change. 

GreenTech South West was founded by two ADLIB employees – Mike Harley and Ellen Davies – alongside freelance WordPress developer, Hannah Smith. The trio were driven to find a way to highlight how those in the South West were using tech to tackle the ever-deepening climate crisis, and since 2020 they’ve been doing just that. 

Mike gives us a flavour of the discussions the group has, “We feature speakers from inside and outside the South West working in or researching green technology methods and their impacts. Locally we’ve had fantastic talks from Ecologi, Greener, Sustrans, Project Vana, Albotherm, Spherics, Greener Hours, Karshare, Lettus Grow, Cistor and many more.

“Our aim is to help educate, inspire and connect people to work on projects to accelerate net zero and we’ve been delighted to hear a number of examples of where this has been achieved on our 2 year journey so far.”

The community is currently implementing an impact measurement report that will evidence tangible change created within the community in direct response to GreenTech South West’s existence, activities and events.

If all of this has piqued your interest, you can keep an eye out for their next event here. This meetup is sponsored by ADLIB and supported by Future Leap Network and Climate Action Tech.

MotherBoard is a Charter, Community and Event Series that has been created to drive positive change throughout the UK Technology and Data sectors. Creating environments that support the inclusion of working mothers offers a significant solution to the shortage of talent across the Technology and Data sectors. They’re here to educate, challenge and create that shift. They’re not here to berate, They’re here to connect, embrace and champion positive change makers.

Created by ADLIB, and sponsored by Not on the High Street, MotherBoard has 6 main objectives: 

• Improve gender balance within technology and data teams throughout the UK.  
• Champion part-time and flexible working across all levels of seniority, enabling the advancement of women’s careers in technology and data-led roles. 
• Increase the % of working mothers holding leadership or board level positions. 
• Close the gender pay gap. 
• Educate organisations on how they can support mothers throughout their careers.
• Improve maternity and return to work policies.

MotherBoard emphasises that it is a community open to everyone from mothers working in tech to organisations that are up-skilling returners back into work, as well as employers that are consciously looking to create inclusive programmes to attract mothers into their Technology and Data teams. They actively encourage females, males and non-binary folk to join us and to get involved. 

Sophie Creese, Founder of MotherBoard tells us more: “Our meetup series offers a safe place to discuss taboo topics around motherhood and a career in tech whilst the MotherBoard Charter delivers significant impact long-term for working mums. Through the charter, businesses take accountability for producing tangible change within their own organisation, and are part of the MotherBoard revolution to create a more gender balanced industry.”

You can find out more and sign up for future events here.

Tech Ethics Bristol is organised by a team of volunteers who are passionate about building a fair and equal society where technology is a catalyst for positive change. Designing a better future is everyone’s responsibility and we want to create a space for the local and global community to discuss, learn and exchange ideas in an open and inclusive way.

​​Alex Cosgrove, Co Founder of Tech Ethics Bristol explains, “Tech Ethics Bristol is a Meetup Group and online resource hub to raise awareness of the ethical implications of applications of technology.

“Exploring areas such as data, AI, machine learning and general technology development, we aim to connect academics, students, business owners and technologists together to help everyone learn about how we can ensure that technology is developed with bias, fairness, explainability, sustainability and most importantly protection of vulnerable people in mind. Tech Ethics Bristol was founded by volunteers of Collective Intelligence and ADLIB Recruitment.”

Technology is deeply embedded in our society redefining our social interactions, healthcare, education, public policy, jobs and every aspect of our lives.

The use of AI and emerging technologies brings an array of benefits, but this also comes with challenges and raised ethical concerns about the social implication and potential unintended consequences these technologies can have in our society.

They value a multidisciplinary approach and we welcome businesses, academics, students and people from diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise. If you’d like to get involved, come along to the next event.

The B Corp Certified recruitment agency has had some exciting news recently that we wanted to share with you. 

Firstly, their very own Steve Kay has been promoted to MD of ADLIB. 12 months ago, they set out to achieve a lot in preparation for this move. The result of which has seen the delivery of their best ever financial year, the development of the ADLIB x enable group proposition, organically growing a group headcount of 55 talented and lovely people, all which comes without any need to scale and sell. Best of al, they’ve built an infinite business model that opens career opportunities without ceilings and a stakeholder profit model for all to enjoy. 

Steve’s been with ADLIB for 9 years and instrumental to their growth and success from the day he joined. Alongside Steve is an incredible management team that have stepped up to support him in realising ADLIB’s future ambitions.

Next up is enable. Sabrina Walls, Marketing Director at ADLIB says, “It’s taken time to pull together the perfect leadership team that balances energy, opportunity and structure, but we now have it, and it’s been well worth the wait. 

“Tim Macmillan, enables Founder, brings his unstoppable energy and the ability to create opportunity, Oliver Howson has been promoted to be our new MD. Olie flips seamlessly between the vision and driving the team’s success, whilst Shannon Matthews rejoins the business to bring the structure that underpins everything. enable is bursting with energy and opportunity, the team is growing fast, B Corp is underway, we’re excited for how the next 12 months will unfold.”

As for Nick, he’s here to help the new MDs and leaders to be the best the business has ever had (his words).