Agencies Race to Bring Sustainability Efforts In-House

Sustainability is more than just an industry trend. For those companies doing it right, it can prove to be a business advantage. But more than that, it's a looming imperative for the planet: Climate change experts say that carbon emissions must fall by roughly half by 2030 before climate problems become irreversible. The business and agency world is responding with efforts and experts to help change attitudes and business practices. The number of chief sustainability officers at companies jumped threefold in 2021 year over year, according to a study by PwC, and more agencies are bringing sustainability experts into their ranks to meet client demands for sustainable practices and campaigns. It's a sign that the agency world is helping to lead the charge on sustainable business practices, and those who take up the mantle must have authority on the subject to win clients over. Sustainability is now being integrated into agencies’ conversations about strategy, growth and purpose, and it has also emerged as a competitive advantage. Making sustainable efforts core to an agency's business can recruit and retain talent, drive demand and be a source for growth. “Now, successful business leaders and brands are the ones who raise the bar on sustainability. Brands and corporations have a growing focus on climate change and understand that failure to act will cost society, the economy and the environment,” said Allison Dowd, global sustainability senior manager at Wunderman Thompson. Helping brands tell their stories Many changes need to be made globally to slow climate change, but those shifts also need to be communicated—and agencies are specialists in communication. “There's a lot of open questions about how you talk to not just customers, but how you talk to the culture itself,” said Toby Barlow, chief creative officer at Lafayette American, a Detroit agency that specializes in telling the stories of brands as they transition to greener operations, including BorgWarner in the auto sector and manufacturer Owens Corning. “It’s figuring out how to tell those stories that is an ongoing dialogue with employees and with customers … because more and more customers are coming, asking, expecting it—it really is built into the whole purchase cycle,” Barlow said. Anna Lungley, chief sustainability officer at Dentsu, said that to translate a company’s sustainability efforts to consumers, agencies need to teach clients not to talk in science-based terminology. “Sustainability is very complex and not particularly engaging if you're talking about it in technical terms. We try to help brands break that down into something that's accessible, that's aspirational, that's rewarding and fun,” said Lungley. Dentsu helps nudge consumer behavior so people understand the benefits of switching from gas to electric or choosing plant-based options, or with a client like Ikea, opting to shut down its stores on Black Friday instead of running the traditional holiday sales. As Brands Lurch Towards Green Goals, a Booming Business of Climate Change Is Emerging Becoming a sustainability partner Most of the major holding companies have sustainability experts in their ranks, but many independent and smaller agencies are taking a proactive approach to sustainability, with some going through the rigorous steps to becoming a certified B Corp: for-profit companies that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Independent agency Barkley is one of those B Corp agencies, and it got certified because the company had already been making strides in work around corporate social responsibility, crisis and issues management and cause marketing. “It’s been this philosophy within the agency, and we were seeing so much opportunity with our clients and guiding them through becoming a whole brand, meaning they really looked at everything they did as a brand,” which was the impetus for going through the B Corp certification, said Lindsey DeWitte, president, public relations, and evp, purpose and sustainability, Barkley. The B Corp process lets Barkley tell its story to prospective employees and also gives confidence to current staff as a rallying opportunity and a business advantage. How they built this Every agency has taken a different approach to building its sustainability teams and ethos. At Lafayette American, Barlow said sustainability is in the DNA of the agency, which started working with entities that promoted electric vehicles and solar energy. For Barkley, it began with the agency's internal PR firm, which dealt with corporate social responsibility and cause marketing. Over time, the company evolved by bringing those CSR issues to clients as well as a philosophy within the agency. As Barkley guided clients on sustainability issues, it decided to take the next logical step and applied to be a B Corp. Transformation design consultancy Collins’ co-founder, Brian Collins, produced The Ecology of Design, a 1996 book on how designers can use sustainability principles to shape their work, and Collins’ first client was climate activist Al Gore. In 2022, the agency launched its Resilient Futures practice, increasing its partnerships with companies whose core business solves United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Now, successful business leaders and brands are the ones who raise the bar on sustainability. Brands and corporations have a growing focus on climate change and understand that failure to act will cost society, the economy and the environment.Allison Dowd, global sustainability senior manager, Wunderman Thompson Prior to joining Dentsu, Lungley was on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where she and CSOs from major brands including P&G were trying to understand how to shift consumer behavior toward a more sustainable lifestyle. Their conclusion: They had to go through the chief marketing officers. Realizing the impact she could have with a global agency like Dentsu, Lungley was appointed in 2018 to lead Social Impact at Dentsu, a role that includes sustainability and DEI. In 2019, she launched the group strategy and since then has created the Social Impact operating model for Dentsu, which includes the business’ net zero transition plan, global campaigns, policy, reporting and disclosure. It is overseen by a small team of global experts, with regional sustainability directors overseeing implementation into the regions. Major markets have dedicated experts leading implementation supported by more than 600 social impact champions, who activate the strategy throughout the agency network, including Carat, Merkle, Dentsu Creative, iProspect and dentsu X. Today, the strategy is governed by the board with executive incentive linked to ESG, reinforcing Dentsu’s commitment to integrate sustainability at the heart of its business, operations and culture. The sustainability work it does with clients is tailored to their individual needs. Wunderman Thompson's sustainability function integrates sustainable practices into every aspect of its operations, including business strategy, company processes and client work. Housed in the agency’s DEI department, it has four core pillars: people, planet, clients and communities. No matter how they got there, these agencies help businesses understand sustainability issues and protect against greenwashing—making broad sustainability claims without evidence. In the U.K., there is a Green Claims Code, and the European Commission introduced the Green Claims Directive, the first set of detailed EU rules for green claims. To avoid greenwashing, agencies must avoid jargon and stick to precise language, they must be data-driven as much as possible, and be aligned with trusted standards, including being compliant with codes and using trusted sources, which Lungley said builds trust and authenticity. Getting to net zero Aside from B Corp, other organizations also help agencies and companies become sustainable, included the ANA’s Sustainability Collective, the 4A’s Sustainability Task Force, AdGreen, Sustainable Brands and GreenBiz. Trade group Ad Net Zero, which formed in 2020 and describes itself as “advertising’s response to the climate crisis,” has signed on the six biggest ad industry holding companies, including WPP, Omnicom, IPG and Publicis, along with industry trade bodies like the 4A’s and ANA. Its mission is to reduce the carbon impact of developing, producing and running advertising to real net zero. However, a group called Clean Creatives held a handful of social media accounts under the Ad Net Zero name hostage earlier this year in an effort to show that the organization has a conflict between its climate goals and the fact that some of its members retain fossil fuel companies as clients. While Clean Creatives recognizes the good work being done, it wants Ad Net Zero to go further in its efforts. “I hope it was taken in the right spirit,” said Duncan Meisel, founder and director of Clean Creatives, and an Adweek 2023 Sustainability Honoree. Becoming a trusted sustainability agency isn’t easy, but taking steps to get there can be rewarded with more and better clientele. “It’s about keeping this idea of sustainability at the center of our thoughts and everything we do, recognizing the myriad solutions that are out there, leaning into those solutions and telling the stories of those solutions,” said Barlow. This story is part of Adweek’s The State of Sustainability digital package, which spotlights climate-focused marketing solutions across the beauty, experiential and media spaces, and examines how an industry that was built to drive consumption is adapting to reduce its impact. Advertising Drove Consumption to Unsustainable Levels. Can It Reverse Course?

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Inside the Agency Race to Bring Sustainability Efforts In-House

The efforts can recruit talent, drive demand and spark growth

Kyle O’Brien

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