What did 2023 look like from our Wilful vantage point? In merger terms, we were toddling, no longer newly formed, but finding our feet to generate additional momentum. The economy had other ideas. Many agencies downsized to combat the impact of economic headwinds on client budgets. In keeping with our B Corp ethos, we fixed on a plan for health rather than prioritising shareholder returns. As a result, we avoided having to make redundancies. Moreover, we pushed forward with promotions and pay rises, partly because it was the right thing to do, but also to help combat the worst cost of living crisis we’ve experienced for years.

Our impact performance is a work in progress. With the help of taskforce expert, Dr. Michael Nates, we are the in final throes of finessing the measurement of our scope 1,2 and 3 emissions. As a service business, there were no surprises that a whopping 99% of our emissions are scope 3. So what does that mean for our plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2030? We can go further with the following:

• Digital footprint: We are reviewing our practices to reduce the amount of file data stored. We already work with a B Corp for IT services and our web hosting is carbon neutral.
• We are engaging more proactively with suppliers to request actual and accurate carbon accounts for services rendered. Our (first) current footprint is based on spend conversion factors that are calculated using sector averages. These factors are not representative of our preferred choice of only using environmentally responsible vendors who operate at better than sector averages.

Alongside working harder on our supply chain, another key insight that has emerged is that there is a ‘Goldilocks’ zone for hybrid working in which it is actually more carbon efficient to have people back in the office. Team members who live close to the office, or who travel in efficiently from a greater distance (by driving an EV to the station to catch a biodiesel powered train for example), actually generate more CO2 if they choose to work at home than if they come into the office if any of their home power is non-renewable. So there’s work to do to ensure hybrid office/home-working is as carbon efficient as possible.

Outside of our environmental footprint, we donated 180 hours to pro-bono client work. This year we are supporting Action for Conservation in its work to focus intergenerational effort on preserving nature and habitat.

We are also taking the long view on our D&I profile. Our diversity went backwards last year, but rather than engage in a tokenistic hiring fix, we are focusing on the root causes. There are not enough people of colour in PR, and put bluntly, it’s all a bit middle class. So we are going into schools in less affluent areas to raise awareness of communications as a career choice in communities where it isn’t very easy to point to someone who works in PR. In this way, we are helping to address the old adage that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ hoping to inspire some young people to pursue a career choice they may not have realised was open to them.

And what better way to finish the introduction than with hope for a better future.

Thanks for reading our 2023 impact report,

Rebecca Oatley & Narda Shirley