Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Out of Home specialist 75Media has launched its first Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) plan, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The business has identified four of the UN-defined goals where it believes it can make the most impact and has set precise targets to ensure progress over the coming years.
In 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, which aim to tackle global challenges, including poverty, inequality, and climate change, by 2030.
75Media has already qualified for a four-star SDG rating, which puts it in the top 10% of over 5,000 businesses researched by Support the Goals.
Data from Outsmart, the trade body for the UK OOH advertising industry, found that OOH is the most sustainable advertising platform for brands, producing the least amount of carbon emissions per impression when compared to other major media.
The four UN goals 75Media intends to focus on are:
· Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing
75Media is committing to promoting good health and wellbeing in its own workforce and society. Targets include partnering with an organisation to run two mental health awareness campaigns every year until 2030 and helping to support 60 disadvantaged young people to connect with nature. The company has an ongoing partnership with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust which enables vulnerable and marginalised groups to access the Dales.
· Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
The company has committed to creating safe working conditions, an inclusive workspace, and fair pay within its business and supply chain, with defined targets around increasing diversity in the workplace and working with suppliers which pay the living wage.
· Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
75Media will practice responsible consumption and production as well as commit to reducing waste generation throughout its operations. By 2029, it pledges to reduce waste by 50% and introduce three new circular economy projects into its portfolio maintenance programme, focused on reusing, repairing and refurbishing materials in order to maintain billboard assets.
· Goal 13 – Climate action
75Media commits to keeping global warming below 1.5oc by reducing its carbon footprint. This will involve becoming net zero by 2040, and by 2029, pledging 90% of spend to suppliers who have net zero targets. The company already uses 100% certified renewable energy to power all of its digital billboards.
According to the World Economic Forum, only 60% of organisations have a sustainability strategy.
Katy Conway, Brand Communications & ESG Director, said: “The first step in any sustainability journey is having a solid strategy in place to help drive action towards what matters most – making the world a better place by 2030. We have identified four priority goals where we feel we can make the most impact and we have already started undertaking activity to help us meet those targets. In April, two members of staff qualified as Mental Health Workplace First Responders and over the coming weeks, we will begin the process of calculating our carbon footprint for scopes 1 and 2. The more positive steps all of us in the OOH industry take, and any commitment we make to change, is a move in the right direction.”
75Media’s full strategy can be found at www.75media.co.uk/esg
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