C3 Christmas Countdown 2025

2025 has been a big year for us, our second full year as C3 Communications, so we’re wrapping things up with a reflection on our 12 highlights of the last 12 months. 

Saranne and Pippa on site together at STEP

12 months of being bold

We’re kicking off our highlights of the year starting with our word of 2025.  

This is something we have done each year, giving ourselves a kind of 'north star' to aim at during the course of the year. 

Last year we chose 'momentum' and then 'consolidation' to establish ourselves during our second full year of business.  

And this year we felt ready to take the next step so chose the phrase 'Be Bold'.  

We've used this in all kinds of ways during the year including: 

• Pushing ourselves on new and chunky projects 

• Supporting ourselves when we've (inevitably) had moments of self-doubt 

• Becoming more active on social media  

• Making the decision to grow the team 

We haven't yet decided on a word for 2026 - let's see what comes up! 

11 times more people reached

This year we've been better at shouting about our work and our mission.  

That’s meant putting ourselves and our work out there more on LinkedIn to showcase what C3 is all about, examples of our work, where we’ve been and project milestones as well as reflections on industry news and events.  

As a result of sharing more, our LinkedIN posts have had 11x more impressions in the last six months and we’ve had a 75% increase in followers. 

10 site visits

Getting out and about on site with projects is crucial to what we do.  

It’s so valuable for getting to know the teams we work with, as well as the people and places where major developments are happening. Understanding the communities, their concerns and the potential benefits is critical when it comes to engagement and consultation. And sometimes you just can’t beat a face to face conversation!  

Over the course of this year, Saranne and Pippa have covered a lot of miles across England and Wales.  Where will C3 be going next year? Watch this space. 

9 blogs published

Over the last few months, we’ve been growing our online presence, including expanding our website with this new blog section.  This is our place to share more of what we do and why we do it through articles and case studies. We’ve reflected on some of our biggest projects to date, including STEP Fusion, Mona and newcleo, as well as sharing our thoughts about how to deliver real, honest and successful engagement in our sector.  You can also find out a little bit more about the personalities behind C3 if you want to get to know us a bit better. 

8 Suppliers supporting  

While Saranne, Pippa and Annabelle may know communications, community engagement and consultations, they would be the first to admit that areas like accounts, graphic design, HR law, IT etc are not their forte! So, over the last year, they’ve been working with a great team of other small businesses to ensure C3 is in a good position to expand.  Huge thank you to our army of suppliers and supporters who keep us on the straight and narrow and have put us in a great place to launch into 2026! 

7 Days in Spain  

Every year our Co-Founders Saranne and Pippa take time away to review and reset - it just happens to be in Spain.  This year was a big year to reflect on, as we reviewed where we had come from since the beginning of C3 as people and as a business, before looking ahead to 2026 and our growth plans.  Reviewing our business strategy and goals, while mapping the pipeline of work into the future, is only possible with a clear head. So, we recognise the importance of finding those moments to sit reflectively and breathe. 

Some important time to review and reset in Spain

6 days at DCO hearings  

Pippa is fond of saying that a development consent order (DCO) is a team sport, and nothing is truer then when in the midst of an examination hearing.   Over the past year Pippa working with JERA Nex bp, spent 6 days just outside Blackpool managing the DCO hearings for the Morgan and Morecambe Transmission Assets (MMTA) team.

Examinations are the culmination of many months, often years, of hard work, collating information, analysing it, developing proposals and management plans, all with the aim of submission and scrutiny.   These weeks are often high energy with teams pulling together to prepare for and then respond to questions from the Examining Authority. And while many thrive in this environment being able to showcase the immense amount of work that they and their teams have undertaken, for some it is highly stressful. Not everyone is confident in these examination arenas, and a solid team works together to bring the best out of the experts while providing support both in the hearing room and behind the scenes.   

Behind the scenes of an examination is often the forgotten place, but so important to be a safe space for all involved, away from public eyes, allowing the team a moment of down time, to research, reflect, prepare for the next session and, importantly, to eat.   No one thinks straight on an empty stomach, so food is a crucial ingredient for examinations and while the quest was always for healthy options – less beige buffet – a cheeky coffee order arriving in the morning was always well received!  The MMTA team worked really hard to provide that supportive team environment and while we still await the decision it was a great team to be part of. 

5 big clients  

It’s been a big year for C3 working on some major projects with key energy and infrastructure businesses.  This has included coordinating the DCO Examinations for big offshore wind projects, leading internal communications for a major transformation programme and leading the first consultation in fusion in the UK.   We might be a small business, but we bring BIG experience from our many years working in nuclear, renewables and infrastructure communications and engagement. That’s why our clients trust us. 

So thank you to  STEP Fusion JERA Nex bp newcleo  Cadent Gas Limited  Fermi Development.

4 members of the team

C3 was founded in 2023 by Pippa and Saranne. As our business grew in 2024 we brought in Annabelle as our Communications and Administration Officer, bringing a wealth of experience in both private and public sector, managing processes and systems to make sure the business runs smoothly and efficiently.   This year, we’ve added extra support from Joanne Ford, to help tell the C3 story and share our mission through regular communication.   Both Annabelle and Jo have been invaluable in enabling us to develop as a business, supporting our bids for bigger projects, managing multiple clients, and raising the profile of the work we do.  Even more exciting, as we continue to grow, we have another new team member joining us in the new year. 

The C3 team (L-R) Saranne, Annabelle, Joanne and Pippa

3 industry memberships

This year, C3 got more involved in our industry by committing to memberships of three key bodies:   Wales Nuclear Forum  Nuclear Industry Association National Infrastructure Planning Association.  

These key industry bodies are a fantastic opportunity for us to be part of discussions about what’s happening in their sector, now and in future, to make new connections and to catch up with familiar faces.   Membership also gives us the opportunity to bring our unique perspective and wealth of experience into conversations about energy and infrastructure communications.   Watch out for more of the same in 2026! 

Pippa and Saranne at the Wales Nuclear Forum event

2 DCOs granted

C3 has been part of not one but two NSIPs to have been granted consent this year.   First was Mona Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea.

Pippa was the DCO Coordinator and Examination Lead working closely with consents, legal and environmental teams to prepare the DCO submission. Her role was central through the examination, working closely with multi-disciplinary colleagues across JERA Nex bp EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG  

And Gatwick Airport Northern Runway for which Pippa also played a key role in supporting the pre-application statutory consultation process with JTRB Communications.   DCOs are huge, intense pieces of work requiring a full team effort but hugely rewarding to see them achieving consent. 

1 C3 mission – Redefining Engagement!   

C3 was set up by Pippa and Saranne to bring together their combined 40+ years working in energy and infrastructure comms and engagement, with a clear mission to redefine what engagement means in the sectors.  

Over the years, we have pretty much seen it all – the good, the bad and the ugly - when it comes to stakeholder and community engagement.  We’ve noticed that projects often fall short of the mark in terms of genuine engagement, which should be designed and delivered to enable communities and stakeholders to influence the design and scope of projects (or indeed the organisations leading them).   

Very often, activity billed as ‘engagement’ is, in fact, ‘communication’ – a one-way broadcast, telling stakeholders what has happened, or is planned. At its very worst it feels like a box-ticking exercise.   Real engagement is about building strong, trusting relationships with communities and stakeholders from the get-go, right through project concept to construction and beyond.   

Why?  Put simply, because it’s the right thing to do.   Genuine engagement builds trust between the project and stakeholders, increasing the likelihood of community acceptance and, therefore, successful delivery of the project. 

So that’s our wrap up of 2025. We can’t wait to see what 2026 brings!