Big Interview

Dale with sustainability consultant Sam Wilson.

Meeting sustainability expert Sam Wilson back in 2008 was a eureka moment for Dale.

Her prediction - that ‘going green’ would become key to business success – put DRPG on a journey that saw them become the first creative agency in the world to gain international standards ISO14001 and ISO20121. This year, the team also received their ultimate business accolade – the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development. Now they are working towards the coveted B-Corp accreditation. Dale launched DRPG from a garden shed at the family home back in the 1980’s. Today, it’s a highly influential creative communications group employing over 400 people throughout the UK, the US, Germany and Ireland. The multi-channel teams specialise in everything from video, events and digital, to research and strategy for top clients and brands including BT, ITV, John Lewis and Ferrari. Yet even with this global reach, company HQ has stayed close to Dale’s roots in Hartlebury. Dale explains: “From day one I’ve been passionate about sustainability and supporting the community, but we didn’t have a formal framework in place until I met Sam. She became – and still is – our sustainability consultant. “At the time I was frustrated that green issues were just a tick box exercise for a lot of companies. In fact, there’s still a lot of greenwashing going on, whereby businesses say they have sustainable practices when in reality they don’t. “For me, sustainability has always been about taking action and making tangible change. For instance, we have achieved zero waste for landfill, got rid of single-use plastics in our buildings, and have 100% renewable energy at our HQ.” Dale continues: “Everyone focuses on the environmental aspect, which is incredibly important, but our mantra is the three P’s: People, Planet and Profit. “I use the analogy of three legs on a milking stool. If one is shorter than the others, the whole stool will rock. But if one of those legs doesn’t exist, it will fall over. Large organisations are now being judged on their effectiveness in delivering the triple bottom line. Clients are looking to us and our experience when raising their own profile in sustainability.” DRPG also aligns its working practices with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. However, for the team, it’s also very much about making small, regular changes, whether through better use of resources, reducing waste or carbon footprints, or supporting the local environment. Dale concedes that the Queen’s Award application process was ‘gruelling’. “Our previous entries failed because they were too corporate. So we rewrote our whole bid, focusing on what our people were actually doing and telling the stories around our different goals and objectives.

The DRPG team.

“For instance, our management systems have evolved to show how waste is measured in terms of power, water, recycling and so on. We now have sustainable measurements, objectives and goals for all our working practices.” Even now, while many of DRPG’s industry peers have yet to get a foothold on the sustainability ladder, DRPG is ahead of the curve with the launch of a new app. The app helps the team track the life of a project – based on practical production measures like water, waste and travel – to see where they are doing well and not so well. Reminders are set for targets so that adjustments can be made in real time, and the client gets a complete report at the end, detailing both successes and areas for improvement. DRPG also has its own CSR Charter spelling out its responsibilities and commitments for the next 10 years. “It’s important to create trust and transparency with our shareholders to show how we are doing good business, responsibly and sustainably. “Our first Charter was produced just before lockdown, and the next one will dig deeper into our processes, systems and targets. “Gone are the days of tree-hugging! This is all about hard facts and measurement to benefit our clients, and also our competitors who will hopefully take inspiration from our work.

“I was worried that momentum would be lost with Covid, but thankfully sustainability is still one of the No.1 priorities for businesses.”

Even with last year’s lockdown restrictions, DRPG managed to run 58 community projects, including supporting St Richard’s Hospice, raising awareness about mental health and arranging a virtual music festival.

So what is the future focus for DRPG? Technology and changing working trends are definitely in the mix, with a team dedicated to looking at new ways of global collaboration in these areas.

Dale explains: “There’s been a huge shift and remote working has always been a challenge for effective and consistent communication. So we’re looking at how clients can best connect (or re-connect) with their consumers and their own workforce.

“At the same time, people are desperate to be face to face, and there’s been a huge surge in live events.

“In the long term, I think there will be a continued mix between online and face to face interaction, but technology has got to progress in terms of creating a real experience. Zoom calls are all well and good, but then we miss out on important interaction like body language.

“The metaverse (an emerging technology that combines virtual and augmented reality) can help us feel like we’re in the room, even when we’re not. I think that will become a much more useable and powerful tool in the business world, particularly in helping reduce overseas travel and flights.”

More info at drpgroup.com