URGE Collective

Name

URGE Collective

Legal name

URGE Collective

Website

https://urgecollective.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

URGE Collective is a London-based creative industries collective advancing sustainability and circular economy practices in design. It delivers bespoke training, educational products, and thought-leadership content to designers, cultural institutions, and sector bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Training and Education

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Sustainability training
• Circular economy education
• Green skills development
• Design sustainability consulting
• Climate action workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Training Programs and Consultancy: URGE Collective generates revenue through bespoke sustainability training programs for design teams, such as the nine-month Green Skills training programme delivered for Casson Mann. Programs include carbon literacy, materials impact, specification writing, and client/contractor communication modules.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

URGE Collective is a London-based creative industries collective that designs and delivers bespoke sustainability training programmes and educational content for design teams and creative professionals. Its core offerings include Green Skills Training (carbon literacy, materials impact, specification writing), the Design Skills for Embedding Circularity pilot programme, and a fortnightly newsletter on sustainable design and circular economy topics.

Product overview

URGE Collective is a creative industries collective dedicated to system change, offering sustainability-focused training programmes and educational content for design teams and creative professionals. The core offerings include bespoke Green Skills Training Programmes, the Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme (developed with CIWM, Design Council, and WRAP), and a regular newsletter. These services help designers and creative teams build capabilities in carbon literacy, circular design, materials science, and regenerative thinking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Green Skills Training Program for Casson Mann A tailored nine-month Green Skills training programme focused on Reducing Emissions, Evaluating Green Impact and Influencing Green Behaviour, delivered through five monthly sessions including Carbon Literacy, Materials Impact, Specification Writing, and Conversations with Clients and Contractors.
• Sustainability Capacity Training for Design Teams Bespoke training programmes building practical green skills across carbon and materials literacy, circular design principles, supply chain understanding, and regenerative thinking, embedded directly into the creative process, starting with a diagnostic survey and delivered through modular facilitated workshops.
• Design Skills for Embedding Circularity A pilot programme developed with CIWM, Design Council, and WRAP that brings together industrial product designers, design engineers, and design researchers to connect with the resources and waste management sector through immersive waste site visits, expert sessions, and a design sprint focused on end-of-life challenges.
• URGE Newsletter A regularly published fortnightly newsletter delivering curated content on creative responses to the climate crisis, including inspiring provocations, innovations, events, courses, guides, competitions, and projects for the creative industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 249 posts published covering climate and sustainability topics for the creative industries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CIWM (Chartered Institution of Waste Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIWM, together with Design Council, WRAP, Circular Economy Institute, and URGE Collective, developed Design Skills for Embedding Circularity—a pilot programme testing new ways for designers and waste professionals to share skills and knowledge.
• Design CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign Council partnered with CIWM, WRAP, Circular Economy Institute, and URGE to develop Design Skills for Embedding Circularity. URGE co-founder Alexie Sommer also contributed to the Design Council's Skills for Planet Blueprint content.
• WRAPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRAP collaborated with CIWM, Design Council, Circular Economy Institute, and URGE to create the Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme. Sophie Thomas also serves as a trustee of WRAP.
• World Design Organization (WDO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerURGE joined the World Design Organization, the international institution representing the field of industrial design. Membership connects URGE to a global community of over 200 organisations exploring how design can address pressing social and environmental challenges.
• Circular Economy InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Circular Economy Institute partnered with CIWM, Design Council, WRAP, and URGE to develop the Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme.
• Design DeclarescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerURGE co-founded Design Declares and co-created Climate Action Cards with Design Declares and the Design Council, produced by Morrama with GF Smith using renewable energy and zero waste to landfill.
• etsaWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartneretsaW is a venture founded by Sophie Thomas continuing her work on transforming waste into resource and supporting early-stage ventures developing new materials and systems. Bengt Cousins-Jenvey is Entrepreneur in Residence at etsaW.
• Spot MaterialminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRob Thompson from Spot Material co-delivered the Materials Impact session as part of the Green Skills training programme for Casson Mann.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RSA (Royal Society of Arts): UK social-impact organization whose Great Recovery project (co-led by Sophie Thomas) pioneered circular design research. Directly comparable as a thought-leadership and practitioner-focused design and sustainability organization.
• Design Declares: Co-founded by URGE, this is a design-industry climate action initiative. Comparable in its mission to mobilize design professionals around climate emergency and in its co-creation of educational tools.
• Design Council: UK's national strategic body for design, which co-developed URGE's Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme and publishes sustainability skills frameworks. Directly comparable as a design-focused education and skills organization.
• WRAP: UK climate-action NGO working on circular economy and resource efficiency. Co-develops URGE's Design Skills for Embedding Circularity programme and shares overlapping focus on design-sector sustainability training.
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Global charity driving circular economy education for designers, businesses, and policymakers. Comparable in its mission to embed circular economy principles into design and its educational/training programmes.
• Circular Economy Institute: Professional body and education provider for circular economy practitioners. Co-develops URGE's Design Skills for Embedding Circularity and overlaps directly in circular economy training for designers.
• CIWM (Chartered Institution of Waste Management): UK professional body for resource and waste management professionals. Co-develops URGE's circular design training and shares the practitioner-education mission for sustainability skills.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with a sustainability practice. Comparable in offering design-led sustainability training and consulting to enterprise clients, though much larger and broader.
• Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community and education provider. Comparable in its climate-skills training and systemic-change mission, though broader in scope beyond design.

Emerging players

• Biomimicry Institute: Education and consulting organization advancing biomimicry in design and engineering. Comparable because URGE co-founder Michael Pawlyn is a leading biomimicry architect and the two operate in adjacent biomimicry/circular design education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urgecollective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about URGE Collective