North Star Transition

What North Star Transition does

North Star Transition is a UK not-for-profit founded in 2020 and headquartered in Richmond, with a 14-person team. Its stated mission is to accelerate systems change by helping organisations and communities recognise the interdependence of environment, economy, and society. The organisation operates a portfolio of regional Transition Labs (Wales, Wye-Usk, Fens, Scotland) alongside thematic Labs (Regenerative Investment, Finance), using a facilitation methodology built on listening, dialogue, and systems-thinking frameworks including the Two Loops model and the Cynefin framework. Programmes engage cross-sector stakeholders to identify root causes and co-create solutions; reported outcomes include engagement of 200+ stakeholders in the Wye-Usk catchment, over 50 Welsh leaders across seven sectors, and identification of £900m in potential Fens agricultural investments.

The organisation's revenue model combines grant funding from governmental bodies, environmental agencies, and foundations with project-based consulting for public-sector and utility clients. Named commissions include work for the Welsh Government (Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group), Anglian Water (Future Fens: Integrated Adaptation), United Utilities (OFWAT-funded Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions), and NHS Wales (Cwm Taf Morgannwg and Velindre University NHS Trust food-sourcing studies). Strategic partnerships with UCL Climate Action Unit, Mott MacDonald, Apella Advisors, Fera Science, the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and the University of Glasgow extend its scientific, infrastructure, finance, and agricultural expertise. Distribution relies on Transition Lab events, content marketing (insights articles, video), and The Wider Lens podcast; programmes are free for participants and the organisation is funded through grants and commissioned work rather than fees for participation.

Name

North Star Transition

Legal name

North Star Transition

Website

https://northstartransition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North Star Transition is a UK not-for-profit that runs Transition Labs—facilitated, cross-sector forums applying systems-thinking and dialogue to accelerate environmental, economic, and social change for governments, utilities, farmers, and financiers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability and Systems Change Advisory Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Transition Plan Development & Implementation Roadmapping (EUABAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transition Finance (Hard-to-Abate Transition Strategies, SL Loans/Bonds) (FSAAALAI)

Keywords

• Systems change facilitation
• Stakeholder engagement services
• Sustainability consulting
• Regenerative transition advisory
• Landscape finance advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: As a not-for-profit organisation, North Star Transition operates primarily through grant funding from governmental bodies, environmental agencies, and foundations to support their Transition Lab programmes and systemic change initiatives.
2. Project-Based Consulting: Delivers commissioned studies and reports for public sector clients including NHS Wales, Welsh Government, and water companies. Examples include the Localising NHS Hospital Food Sourcing study (£22m NHS food procurement analysis) and landscape finance assessments.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

North Star Transition runs Transition Labs — structured facilitation programmes that bring together diverse stakeholders from businesses, communities, government, and NGOs to identify systemic problems, understand root causes, and co-create solutions. The organisation operates regional programmes in Wales, Wye-Usk, Fens, and Scotland, and delivers commissioned studies such as the Localising NHS Hospital Food Sourcing feasibility study and landscape finance assessments. All engagement is delivered free of charge to participants, funded through grants, partnerships, and commissioned project work.

Product overview

North Star Transition is a not-for-profit organization that offers its core Transition Lab methodology - a process based on listening and dialogue for systems change. The organization operates several regional Transition Lab programs (Wales, Wye-Usk, Fens, Scotland) and produces The Wider Lens podcast. These programs help participants from businesses, communities, governmental and non-governmental organisations regain agency, build flexibility and resilience, and create healthier, more profitable, and more sustainable futures through collaborative dialogue and co-creation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Wider Lens: A podcast series hosted by Jyoti Banerjee and Jenny Scott exploring what 'transition' really means and what it takes to move from degenerative systems to regenerative ones. Episodes cover transitioning corporations, nations, landscapes, and financing transition.
• Transition Lab

Products and services

• Transition Lab A facilitation process based on listening and dialogue that helps different players in a system identify their problems, understand root causes, and co-create solutions. Used with governments, utilities, financial institutions, and farming organisations to accelerate systems change.
• Wales Transition Lab A nation-scale programme that reconnects food, health, and nature to address root causes of wellbeing decline, bringing together over 50 Welsh leaders across food, farming, environment, water, business, education, and health sectors.
• Wye-Usk Transition Lab A catchment-scale Transition Lab bringing together system participants across the Wye and Usk catchments to transform the landscape into healthy places for people and nature.
• Fens Transition Lab A landscape-scale Transition Lab across the Fens aiming to realise transformative change towards a regenerative system, identifying £900m in potential agricultural investments yielding £5.7bn in co-benefits alongside two new reservoir developments.
• Scotland Transition Lab A Transition Lab bringing together leaders, researchers, and practitioners to explore possibilities beyond organisational and sectoral boundaries in Scottish agriculture and land use.
• The Wider Lens A podcast series hosted by Jyoti Banerjee and Jenny Scott exploring what transition really means and what it takes to move from degenerative systems to regenerative ones.
• Regenerative Investment Lab A programme supporting business and investment communities to work together on system change, in partnership with Apella Advisors, constructing new ways to finance landscape transformation through blended finance and nature-based solutions investment structures.
• Finance Transition Lab A programme focused on dialogue and co-creation within the finance sector to align capital with systems change, including the Dreel Burn Investment Readiness partnership funded by FIRNS.
• Localising NHS Hospital Food Sourcing Study A commissioned feasibility study analysing £22m of annual NHS food procurement for localisation opportunities, delivered for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Velindre University NHS Trust to support local, healthy, and sustainable hospital food sourcing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Wye-Usk Transition Lab: Over 200 stakeholders engaged, landscape transformation plan developed for Wye and Usk catchments.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Fera Science LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2025Fera Science Limited and North Star Transition partnership addresses urgent environmental and societal challenges by uniting Fera's deep scientific expertise and evidence-based rigour with North Star Transition's pioneering approach to systems change. Together they aim to co-develop scalable solutions closing the gap between leading-edge science and practical implementation, delivering resilient, regenerative strategies across industries and sectors.
• Apella AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2023Apella Advisors and North Star Transition partnership supports business and investment communities in working together on system change to create a more regenerative world. Initial collaboration centres on constructing new ways to finance landscape transformation. The partnership bridges finance, business, and environment by encouraging previously disconnected stakeholders including farmers, financiers, environmental activists, utilities, and corporates to unite around shared ambitions.
• Mott MacDonaldcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2022Mott MacDonald and North Star Transition partnership aims to develop collaborative initiatives addressing social inequality and climate and biodiversity crises. The partnership combines North Star Transition's Transition Lab capability with Mott MacDonald's infrastructure, environmental and digital expertise. Joint work includes landscape finance assessments and integrated approaches to systems thinking across water, environment, and infrastructure sectors.
• UCL Climate Action UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2020University College London's Climate Action Unit partners with North Star Transition to bring systemic change approaches to climate action. The partnership provides specialised facilitation support for cross-sector collaboration, combining climate science, engagement, communications, neuroscience and psychology expertise. UCL's Chris Rapley and Kris de Meyer have been instrumental in connecting unlikely allies across multiple domains, particularly in Wales Transition Lab.
• Royal Agricultural Society of EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Royal Agricultural Society of England and its sister organisation Innovation for Agriculture to spark development and widespread adoption of resilient and profitable farming systems across the UK. The partnership addresses challenges facing the current farming system including environmental degradation, climate change, volatile markets, and economic pressures on farmers.
• University of Glasgow (Global Soil Health Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScotland Transition Lab launched in collaboration with the Global Soil Health Programme at the University of Glasgow. This initiative brings together leaders, researchers, and practitioners to explore possibilities beyond organisational and sectoral boundaries in Scottish agriculture and land use.
• Environment AgencysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Environment Agency supported North Star Transition's 2023 work on aggregation and investment in nature, exploring what financial sector participants would need to invest in nature-based solutions at scale across landscapes. North Star Transition is continuing the development process for landscape finance with institutions engaged through this initial work.
• Anglian WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Anglian Water on Future Fens: Integrated Adaptation programme. North Star Transition is working with Anglian Water and the Environment Agency to investigate how a Fens Transition Lab would work across the East of England, with the reservoir development as an anchor for wider landscape transformation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• World Resources Institute: Global research organisation working at the intersection of environment, economy, and equity through policy, finance, and convening. Comparable as a systems-change intermediary producing research and convening stakeholders, with much greater global reach.
• Carbon Trust: Established UK-based climate and sustainability advisory working with governments, corporates, and investors on decarbonisation and nature. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the same advisory space, with much greater scale and a wider service portfolio.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the world's largest environmental NGOs working on landscape conservation, nature-based solutions, and policy advocacy. Comparable in landscape-level, multi-stakeholder conservation and NbS work, but at much greater global scale.

Direct peers

• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability consultancy advising corporates and governments on Net Zero, nature, and ESG strategy. Comparable as a service provider to similar enterprise clients (utilities, food and agriculture, public sector) on transition roadmaps.
• SYSTEMIQ: Systems-change advisory firm focused on land use, climate, circular economy, and nature-based solutions across Europe and emerging markets. Directly comparable in approach — multi-stakeholder convening and transition pathways for landscapes and industries.
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation: UK-based charitable foundation driving systemic transition to a circular economy through business, government, and education partnerships. Comparable as a thought-leadership-led, partnership-funded entity catalysing systemic change.
• South Pole Group: Climate solutions provider offering advisory, carbon credit origination, and nature-based solutions financing to corporates and investors. Directly comparable in addressing nature-based solutions, climate strategy, and landscape investment.
• Forum for the Future: International non-profit that works with business, government, and civil society on systems-change programmes addressing climate, nature, and social challenges. Closely comparable to North Star Transition in mission, methodology, and stakeholder-convening model.

Emerging players

• B Lab UK: Non-profit network certifying B Corps and promoting regenerative business models across the UK. Comparable in building a community of businesses moving from degenerative to regenerative practices, with overlapping stakeholders.

Others

• Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community and knowledge hub funding and convening systemic climate solutions across sectors. Comparable as a funded, partnership-driven ecosystem actor catalysing climate transition programmes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@northstartransition
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-star-transition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 North Star Transition