Sustainability Report 2019 Who We Are Wpp Is a Creative Transformation Company
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SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 WHO WE ARE WPP IS A CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION COMPANY. WE USE THE POWER OF CREATIVITY TO BUILD BETTER FUTURES FOR OUR PEOPLE, CLIENTS AND COMMUNITIES. 1 INTRODUCTION Chief Executive’s statement 3 Sustainability Committee Report 5 At a glance 6 Sustainability and our strategy 7 Quantifying our impacts 9 United Nations SDGs 11 Our strategy in action 12 SUSTAINABILITY AT THE HEART OF OUR OFFER FOR CLIENTS Work with Impact 16 Compliance with marketing standards 17 Ethical decisions in our work 17 SOCIAL INVESTMENT What we gave in 2019 21 Volunteering 21 Social impact 23 ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TALENT Skills, training and development 27 Reward and remuneration 28 Engagement and feedback 29 Labour relations 29 Inclusion and diversity 30 Health, safety and wellbeing 33 ENVIRONMENT Our climate strategy 37 Reducing energy use 38 Renewable energy 38 Air travel and offsetting 39 Value chain emissions 40 Circular economy 41 To find out more about: – our corporate strategy; SUPPLY CHAIN – business model; Our supply chain 45 – principal risks and how they are managed; – Taskforce on Climate-related Disclosures Human rights 46 statement; and – carbon emissions statement RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS Download our Annual Report Transparency and trust 49 Privacy and data ethics 51 wpp.com/annualreporting2019 Tax policy 52 Governance and management 53 ABOUT OUR REPORTING Materiality, guidelines and reporting frameworks 55 A NOTE ON OUR SUSTAINABILITY DATA Independent limited assurance statement 57 During 2019 we agreed the sale of 60% of Kantar to Bain Capital. To ensure comparability to 2019 Quantifying our impacts: figures, which exclude Kantar, prior year figures methodology and results 58 have been re-stated. 2018 figures, and 2017's Reporting standards index 61 where provided, have been restated in sections highlighted with the symbol: K Where to find us 65 WPP SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 2 INTRODUCTION CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT Our greatest challenge as a society is to find ways to live sustainably. “ OUR CLIENT WORK All around the world, people are choosing to Many of our clients have already set REACHES BILLIONS OF live in more sustainable ways, and turning to ambitious sustainability targets, and WPP their favourite brands to make that possible. can help them achieve these goals. Our PEOPLE EVERY DAY.” People also expect those brands to reflect challenge is to show that sustainable living their varied backgrounds and cater for their is not just possible, but desirable. Mark Read Chief Executive Officer diverse needs. We have the ability to use the power Pressure is increasing on companies to of marketing and communications to transform the way they do things rather normalise the attitudes, behaviour, products than simply do less harm. For businesses to and services needed for an inclusive and succeed tomorrow, they need to rethink sustainable future. Our client work reaches what they do today. Challengers are inventing billions of people every day, and I am so proud materials, products and processes for an of the great work our people are doing and inclusive world and a circular economy. of its wider impact. They are using technology or investing in innovative solutions to help our daily lives leave a smaller footprint. These companies are not just disrupting markets, they are leading the way by creating new ones. WPP SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 3 INTRODUCTION This year we established a new, Board-level packaging design, to engage consumers, Sustainability Committee to steer our and to partner with not-for-profits on approach, and increased the sustainability campaigns to change behaviour. COVID-19 expertise at Board level with two new appointments (read a report from the Increasingly, we are working with Sustainability Committee Co-Chairs on governments to communicate their climate page 5). commitments. Our close partnerships with The coronavirus the players who are changing the agenda, Although we have work to do to meet our whether governments, the UN, or corporate pandemic has touched commitment to achieve parity at the most sustainability leaders, lend us the convening senior executive level, women now make up power to bring others together and build the all our lives. At WPP 50% of our senior managers, compared to momentum for change. our first priority is the 49% in 2018. At the Board level, 40% of Board members are now women (2018: 33%) and We remain committed members of the wellbeing of our people we are aiming to get to parity soon. In UN Global Compact and support its November, we underscored this commitment 10 principles for human rights, labour, and doing what we can by joining the 30% club, a group of chairs environment and anti-corruption. This and CEOs campaigning for greater female report shows the progress we are making to limit the impact of representation in business leadership. K in embedding these principles into the virus on society. our business. As an inclusive business, we also signed up to the Valuable500, a global initiative Becoming a sustainable business is not just To ensure the safety of employees and to that is putting disability on the boardroom about being on the right side of history. help reduce transmission, we moved to a agenda. This commitment is reflected in One in five of our top 50 clients has already global policy of managed remote working our work, where our new Inclusive Design committed to going carbon neutral, and in mid-March, and at the time of writing Practice is helping clients to develop more more will follow. As a business, we need the approximately 95% of our people inclusive products and services. skills to advise them on this and other issues, worldwide are working from home. and to embed sustainability into their I am proud of our progress in reducing our products, marketing and communications. Across the world, our agencies are carbon footprint. Carbon emissions per Throughout this report are examples of our providing NGOs, governments and clients employee reduced by 21% compared with work, and how it contributes to achieving with communications and other services the previous year and our use of renewable the UN Sustainable Development Goals. – often on a pro bono basis – to help fight energy rose to 35%. In the United States, we As we strengthen our expertise in this area, Covid-19 (for an example, see page 22). purchased 100% renewable energy for the we are making our companies fit for the first time. You can read our second Taskforce future alongside the clients they serve. When we come through the current on Climate-related Financial Disclosure situation, the world will have been (TCFD) statement in our Annual Report, changed in ways that we cannot fully page 196 and 197. K anticipate yet. But the demand for the creativity and ingenuity possessed by the But there is much more to do. That is why people who work at WPP and across our we are announcing our commitment to use industry will be greater than ever. 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and for Mark Read net zero carbon emissions in our Campuses Chief Executive Officer What we do plays a vital role in driving by 2025. and sustaining the wider economic activity that societies need to function, and we will Another area where we are accelerating continue to support our people, clients action is plastic waste. At the Cannes and communities as we all reset and Lions Festival of Creativity in June 2019, we rebuild for the future. pledged to phase out plastics that cannot “ WE ARE ANNOUNCING OUR be reused, recycled or composted from all COMMITMENT TO USE 100% I would like to take this opportunity to WPP offices by the end of 2020 and signed RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY BY express my deep gratitude for the up to the New Plastics Economy Global extraordinary effort, resilience and Commitment. We are helping clients to 2025 AND FOR NET ZERO kindness of WPP employees all over the navigate the complex regulations emerging CARBON EMISSIONS IN OUR world, whose support for one another and in this area, to innovate product and CAMPUSES BY 2025.” commitment to their clients has been truly inspirational. I am very proud of all of them. WPP SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 4 INTRODUCTION SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REPORT Our newest Board-level DEAR READER At our meeting in December we also Committee held its first The world is changing around us more reviewed the single-use plastics policy meeting on 12 December 2019 quickly than ever before with significant launched by the Group in 2019, to phase out risks and opportunities for our business and plastics that cannot be renewed, recycled Committee members: for those of our clients. While changes in or composted across all the Group’s 3000+ – Sally Susman (co-Chair) technology have been rapid and highly offices and Campuses by the end of 2020. – Keith Weed (co-Chair) impactful and attracted considerable Board In addition to the policy, the Committee also – Jasmine Whitbread focus, there have also been rapid changes reviewed the seven-step action plan produced in the area of ESG and sustainability. by the Company, a playbook to embed the Key responsibilities policy and audit plan to be adopted by the – Understanding the The WPP Sustainability Committee has been Group companies to support the policy. sustainability challenges and formed to give increased focus in this area opportunities for the Group for the Board and the Group, to strive to The Committee members all bring a great – Engaging with stakeholders meet the expectations of our stakeholders depth of knowledge and experience in the – Assessing the Group’s current (from our clients, investors and people to area of ESG and sustainability and we are strategy footprint, identifying NGOs, consumers and society at large), as very much looking forward to our new role materiality and reviewing well as to ensure we are managing our risks for the Company.