ESG and ad agency reviews—how DE&I and sustainability are showing up in pitches

Here’s how ESG is showing up in pitches

Since the 2020 murder of Geroge Floyd and the subsequent rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, brands and agencies have been called on to prove how they are working to diversify their staffs, which still remain predominantly white and male. 

That area of ESG remains a priority, even amid the slowing economy, Lafferty said. “First and foremost, clients are making sure our teams are representative of the population they are looking to communicate with,” he said.

Marketers have been slower to adopt environmental assessments in new business pitches. But companies, mainly in Europe, have started including such assessments in new business pitches because they realize customers are demanding more transparency there.

Consumers are increasingly choosing to buy from brands that are more eco-friendly. And movements such as Clean Creatives, which asks agencies to refuse business from fossil fuel companies and brands not to work with agencies that have contracts with such companies, are starting to take off.

Related: Consumer demand for sustainable packaging increases

“Agencies, like it or not, form part of a global brand’s supply chain,” said Adrienne Little, co-founder, And Rising, a creative ventures firm. “It’s one way global brands can refract risk onto others and away from themselves. Meanwhile, movements like Clean Creatives are severing agency ties with any brand directly involved in fossil fuels. Each is looking outside themselves for solutions. It’s shareholder, not stakeholder thinking. A blame game.”

Little said procurement is asking agencies questions such as: “Do you carbon offset? Do you vet production suppliers for environmental standards? Can you confirm your policies regarding recycling?”

Read more: Guide to ad industry’s carbon footprint 

Potential clients in the experiential space will want to, for example, know that the network’s agencies reuse certain materials in the events they create, ACC’s Lafferty added, “The reusability of things we will be creating for them is a common thing.” 

Allbirds, which has begun making its shoes with more eco-friendly and natural materials in its efforts to be greener, said it assesses its potential agency partners equally on expertise, creativity, team synergy and their values.

“Sustainability isn’t a corporate buzzword for us, it’s a core value that’s deeply embedded in every part of our business—product design, logistics and, of course, marketing,” Allbirds Chief Brand and Product Officer Kate Ridley said. “Our north star is reversing climate change through better business. So the first filter for any potential partnership, including agencies, is an organization’s approach and commitment to sustainability.”

Ridley said, specifically, Allbirds asks agencies to share their past ESG-related projects and experience with purpose-driven clients.

“But equally as important, we also want to know what they’ve achieved internally,” Ridley said. “So we’ll ask about their long-term commitments, their achievements to date, and what’s on the horizon for their organization. For us, ESG commitments are table stakes. We appreciate that every business is in a different stage of the journey, and also understand that we’re not perfect, either, but the intent and, importantly, action has to be there.”

Some brands are requiring agencies to be certified with certain firms including EcoVadis and Sedex. EcoVadis and Sedex did not return requests for comment about their role in reviews.