Corporate responsibility report

Progress and Performance. The Future Proof framework defines five distinct areas of activity.

Environment /

In 2008, we set a target of 20% reduction of our 2008 carbon footprint per average full-time employee by the end of 2010.

We decided to address our two largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and business travel, first. We developed a network of environmental champions, Green Beans, across our businesses. The Green Beans are responsible for monitoring and reporting our environmental performance, as well as identifying where savings can be made and how sustainable lifestyles can be encouraged.

What went well?

  • We were rated 64th out of 350 organisations on our carbon management strategy by the FTSE Carbon Disclosure Project Carbon Strategy Index. We punch above our size in this respect

  • We continued to expand the activities, tools and guidance for Green Beans. For instance in 2010, for the first time, our offices participated in Earth Hour with local activities around the theme of “Give 1 Hour to the Earth” reaching thousands of employees worldwide

  • We achieved the environmental management accreditation standard ISO14001 in the United Kingdom.

What did not go well?

  • We do not collect sufficiently detailed evidence about our greenhouse gas emissions to have our environmental data assured independently

  • We did not achieve our 20% reduction target. There are several reasons why we did not achieve our reduction target:

    (i) the limited control we have to make changes to the environmental arrangements in our office locations

    (ii) the relative absence of dedicated facilities managers due to our policy on leased and managed office locations

    (iii) the tight deadline on the reduction target, which is not mirrored by our peers and competitors.

We will modify our environmental strategy to reflect our missed reduction target. We will re-set our targets, base-line year and approach in this area in 2011. We consider the Green Bean network and ISO14001 accreditation key aspects of this revised strategy and will expand their remit beyond greenhouse gas emissions from energy and business travel.

Total Carbon Footprint / (in metric tonnes CO2)

Community /

In 2008, we set ourselves a target to coordinate community initiatives across Aegis Media and Synovate.

We addressed this area by developing a network of community champions, Aegis Media and Synovate CARES Champions, across our businesses. They are responsible for monitoring and reporting community data, as well as delivering engaging locally relevant community initiatives in the form of fund raising, volunteering or pro bono projects. In addition, we initiated a partnership with GlobalGiving UK to develop a global community initiative.

What went well?

  • We achieved a very high level of employee participation in 2010 through the Aegis Media and Synovate CARES programme with 7,246 employees involved (representing 47% of our workforce in 2010)

  • We donated the equivalent of 1% of pre-tax profits in 2010 through financial, in-kind and time donations across our businesses, representing a total value of £1.59m

  • We completed a successful pilot project around online volunteering with GlobalGiving UK, which is being rolled out globally (see case study 05).

What did not go well?

  • We do not collect sufficiently detailed information about our community activities to have our community data assured independently

  • We have not yet expanded our internal community initiatives to involve our clients and suppliers.

Reflecting the successful achievement of our target, we will continue growing our Aegis Media and Synovate CARES network. We will provide further thematic support for our champions to organise engaging community activities. We consider our GlobalGiving online volunteering platform a key part of that strategy and are committed to rolling it out globally in 2011.

Total Community Investment / (in £m)

Market place /

It is crucial our organisation offers innovative products and services that meet clients’ needs.

We addressed this area of Future Proof by focusing on the integration of sustainability considerations in our product and service delivery. This required a flexible approach, reflecting the specific clients and business model of each of our businesses.

  • We encourage employees to think creatively in response to clients’ requests and their potential link with corporate responsibility and sustainability. This can lead to interesting collaborations, such as the Synovate and Deutsche Welle Climate Change study

  • We are integrating sustainability considerations into our standard client delivery tools and developing training programmes to build awareness in this area. An example is the “Sustainable Brand Designer” developed in Aegis Media Italy to aid the evaluation of clients’ communications on sustainability in order to develop innovative insights by our employees

  • We participate actively in the Engaging Consumers work stream of the Driving Sustainable Consumption initiative at the World Economic Forum. Our CEO and the Chair of the CR Steering Group represent Aegis at the annual meeting in Davos.

We are committed to work with our businesses to meet clients’ objectives around sustainability, to embed sustainability considerations in our client delivery processes and train our employees in the role sustainability plays in consumer preferences.

Work place /

We foster a culture of development for our people to excel and invest in recruiting and retaining high quality talent.

The Future Proof framework builds on our global standards on employee development by adding engaging corporate responsibility initiatives to enhance our people management. The CR Department worked closely with the HR function to utilise the full potential of our environment and community initiatives for employee engagement and development.

  • We actively work to connect environment and community initiatives to our HR agenda. We learnt from a successful pilot project in the United Kingdom that our corporate responsibility initiatives are only effective when closely linked to employee learning and development

  • We have a number of systems in place to ensure we are successful in retaining and motivating our employees, including:

    • Performance and career development discussions

    • Annual employee surveys to understand and act upon the opinions of our employees

    • Exit interviews to understand and learn from our people leaving

    • Competitive incentive plans in place across our businesses, dependent on the market, experience and specific skills.

Employee learning and development is key to the success of our corporate responsibility initiatives. In 2011, we will continue to explore further opportunities where corporate responsibility and sustainability can make a vital contribution to the success of our people agenda.

Governance /

The CR Steering Group is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Future Proof framework.

The CR Steering Group, which consists of representatives of all functional departments across Aegis Media and Synovate, is convened 8 times a year. It is chaired by Nigel Morris, CEO of Aegis Media North America and its remit is to uphold the highest governance standards in this area, to receive progress reports on the implementation of the Future Proof framework and to direct the work of the CR Department.

Level Responsibility
CR Steering Group
  • Sets Future Proof framework
  • Receives reports on progress & performance
  • Directs the CR Department
CR Department
  • Implements Future Proof framework
  • Manages day-to-day work plan
  • Engages internal and external stakeholder
  • Reports on progress & performance
Environment/Community champions
  • Responsible for data monitoring and reporting
  • Responsible for affecting sustainable change locally

  • In 2010, we launched the first Corporate Responsibility Reporting Policy as part of the revised Group Policies & Procedures. We also launched the first Corporate Responsibility Reporting Protocol. Both provide a robust set of minimum standards, internal control measures and the measurement & reporting of CR data

  • We completed the first assurance health check around the management of CR reporting. The report by Carbon Smart set out a route map to improve management, reporting and disclosure of CR data. The route map was fully implemented by the end of the reporting year.

We are committed to improving the accuracy of our CR data and the robustness of our internal reporting in this area. In 2011, in particular, CR assurance will be gained through internal management reviews led by the CR department and supported by internal audit where appropriate.

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