Primer to
Sustainability Agencies An R3 Report
DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
1 WHAT DEFINES A
SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY? Defined By Capability, Ethics & Ethos
What sets sustainability agencies apart from other agencies is capability, ethics, and ethos Sustainability agencies are specialists in communicating issues related to sustainability because they have principles of sustainable business embedded in their organizations. It is in their mission, their values, the people they hire, and how they do business. Sustainability is in their DNA.
How do you identify a sustainability agency? Aside from having experience working with socially and environmentally conscious companies and brands, some traits of sustainability agencies include, but are not exclusive to: • Believe that interconnectedness drives value and this is visible in their value drivers
and what they see drives value creation • Environmental stewardship • Inclusion of sustainable metrics when measuring business results • Use of profits to support social enterprises and/or micro- business
Can mainstream agencies do the work of sustainability agencies? Not all agencies that are able to produce impactful, environmentally-friendly and socially conscious work will categorize themselves as specialist sustainability agencies. These agencies might market themselves as generalists, so it is important for marketers to have a clear idea of what criteria they are looking for before they seek a sustainability agency.
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?
Question to ask:
What must our sustainability agency be able to do that our existing partners cannot?
DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FOR MARKETERS & THEIR AGENCIES
What Do They Do? The capability of sustainability agencies can be divided into three broad categories:
Creative & Media This is inclusive of producing creative work with a sustainable approach (i.e., smaller carbon footprint), and specialist capability in messaging that speaks to issues of sustainability.
Communications Due to the social-political nature of sustainability, agencies that specialize in public relations and strategic communications in this area will have expertise in reaching relevant audiences and liaising with subject-specialist media. Issues related to sustainability might also require government liaison or lobbying.
Strategy Sustainability agencies with this expertise will be able to provide C-suite and board-level advice on how a company can integrate sustainability principles and frameworks into its overall business. There are agencies that not only advise on branding and strategy, but also provide training and internal change management.
Experience Production Content Digital Media
PR Lobbying
Communications
Creative & Media
Strategy
Governance Branding Training Change management
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Primer to Sustainability Agencies
Examples of sustainability Agencies
Minute Works Graphic Design
Independent
Minute Works is a creative partnership that offers services suited to crowd-funded campaigns, cultural institutions, non-governmental organizations, social enterprises, and startups. Clients include Conflict and Environment Observatory, Bournemouth University, and Greenpeace. www.minuteworks.co.uk
Wholegrain Digital Digital
Independent
Wholegrain Digital is a digital agency that provides strategy, front-end development, design, and web performance support to positive organizations. One of their areas of specialization is decreasing average CO2/page views and increasing use of web hosting powered by renewable sources. Clients include Oxfam, Media Defence, and London School of Economics. www.wholegraindigital.com
Empower
Republic of Everyone Strategy
Independent
Republic of Everyone is a sustainability, purpose and impact specialist. They provide consulting around sustainability strategy and run impact programs and internal engagement. They only work on projects that create clear benefit for people and planet. Some of their clients include Ben & Jerry’s, UNICEF, Unilever, and Coca-Cola.
Content & Media
Independent
Empower is a sustainability communications agency that specializes in digital. They draw their expertise from an understanding of what supporters value and oversee strategy, content marketing, paid media, and training. Clients include Twinnings, Bang & Olufsen, and Amnesty. https://empower.agency
https://republicofeveryone.com
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MullenLowe salt Strategy
ELVIS Creative
Holding Company
MullenLowe salt is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) and is the sustainability practice within MullenLowe Group. The practice specialises in sustainability strategy and articulation; purpose development and execution; business case and leadership engagement; campaigning platforms; and Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) advisory.
Independent
ELVIS is a creative agency specializing in FMCG brands that follows best practice in running its business ethically and sustainably. They follow principles of Ecoffectiveness and is a B-Corp certified company. Clients include Doritos, Cadbury, Paco Rabanne, and Budweiser. www.elvislondon.com
mullenlowesalt.com
The Terrace Strategy
Independent
The Terrace is a sustainability agency that helps marketers with sustainability strategies and reporting, branding, communication and stakeholder engagement. Clients include Danone, ASICS, AkzoNobel, and A.S. Watson Benelux. www.theterrace.nl
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Grey Group Creative
Holding Company
Grey Group (AMEA)’s sustainability practice focuses on ideas that help brands and NGOs further their sustainability goals. This follows from Grey’s global work with the United Nations, World Wildlife Fund, and Volvo. www.sustainablygrey.com
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Setting KPIs with Your Sustainability Agency The standard rules apply When you work with a sustainability agency, performance should be measured in the same way that you do any other agency assignment. Set the KPIs from a business perspective and keep your agency accountable to deliver what you have hired them to do.
Use the opportunity to add sustainability metrics Aside from standard KPIs, work with your sustainability agency to decide what can be measured during the partnership that could contribute to your brand’s sustainability metric. Some areas to consider: • Carbon Footprint • Energy Consumption • Product Recycling Rate • Saving Levels (due to conservation and improvement efforts) • Supplier Environmental Sustainability Index • Supply Chain Miles • Water Footprint • Waste Reduction Rate • Waste Recycling Rate
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