Our social impact
Changing behaviour for the better is at our core. We've been doing it for clients for over 20 years and we are on a journey to improve our own social impact too.
And having joined Capgemini Invent and frog in 2022, we are now part of a global network spearheading end-to-end solutions that are better for people and planet.
Our staff are passionate about change and each day they remind us that we can do more to create a fairer, more just and sustainable society. Together, we strive to improve lives through a range of initiatives designed to create long-lasting impact.
Here are some highlights:
Charity and Community
We partner with Octavia, a London-based charity chosen by 23red employees. They help to connect people affected by unemployment, ill health and social isolation as well as supporting young people to develop new creative and production skills and navigate their way through life.
Our charity and community activity includes:
Fundraising
We set aside 1% of agency fees, with which we have pledged to match our employees’ fundraising for Octavia and other charities which are important to them. Last year we raised a total of £10k for charitable causes – inclusive of match funding – through employee fundraising initiatives. We currently achieve the Silver mark in staff Payroll Giving.
Volunteering
We provide all our staff with two extra days of leave per year to spend volunteering, encouraging our team to get involved in community initiatives. We’ve converted a disused Surrey farm into a venue to support local people, volunteered at food banks and care homes, helped primary aged children improve their literacy skills and arranged lunchtime litter picks.
Providing creative opportunities and knowledge sharing
We support the progression of ethnic minority staff into leadership roles via mentoring with Creative Equals’ Accelerate programme, and support organisations who open up the advertising industry to school leavers such as Advertising Unlocked, Career Ready, and the Taylor Bennett Foundation. We are also excited to work closely with Octavia's Youth Production company, Base Productions through which we have developed our pioneering 23red internship scheme.
Blood Donation
NHSBT is a long-standing 23red client, and our staff are always free to lend a hand (or arm) donating blood during work time. Every donation saves up to three lives and we have continued to beat our annual target of saving or improving up to 60 lives.
Sustainability and Environment
At 23red we consciously seek to minimise our impact on the environment from how we work to where we work.
Since joining Capgemini, we have become part of their group commitment to achieving a reduction of +90% in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040 and to become a net zero business by 2040.
You can read more about Capgemini UK's group Carbon Reduction Plan here.
23red staff complete sustainability training as part of mandatory training, and the 23green committee helps to educate staff on living more sustainably through fun events, like clothes swaps and trading meat-free/sustainable recipes.
Health and Wellbeing
We fully support our staff to flourish at the agency through cultivation of a positive, open culture around mental health and wellbeing.
We champion conversations around mental health in the workplace, and provide access to Mental Health First Aiders, an Employee Assistance Programme and signpost to a suite of NABS resources.
Our proactive 23red Wellbeing working group drive the Wellbeing agenda for our staff, regularly planning events, hosting guest speakers on topics such as nutritional therapy, celebrating neurodiversity, and eliminating stress in the workplace.
We also actively encourage staff to take breaks and spend time outside, and have organised picnic and sporting socials, including yoga, football and padel.
We were awarded the IPA People First badge of honour in 2024, recognising how we are actively investing in and engaging with mental health and wellbeing of our team.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We’re proud of our inclusive approach to all aspects of our business.
We support industry initiatives such as #AdLand Commits to address systemic inequality, and we regularly benchmark progress against targets set by the IPA.
We’re committed to supporting the industry wide ‘All In’ action plan with an immediate focus on improving the experience and representation of black talent, disabled talent, and talent from a working-class background, and we have addressed some barriers to entry by offering 90% of our roles with a part-time option, and through removing the requirement for a degree in our person specs.
We worked with an external DE&I specialist partner, to improve our understanding of how agency culture can inhibit or embrace inclusivity, and regularly survey staff to explore personal experiences and develop learnings. We have a dedicated senior sponsor for DE&I, responsible for setting and implementing our DE&I strategy, and team activity includes the launch of REDefined, a newsletter for staff to share their personal stories. Topics have included balancing party and protest for PRIDE, the meaning of Ramadan, and growing up as a British-born second-generation immigrant with mixed heritage.
We are a huge supporter of Apprenticeships, actively looking beyond the graduate route, taking on two last year alone. We also run an annual paid internship programme to support young people and social mobility within Creative Careers.
Supply Chain Governance
Our Supplier Code of Conduct describes how we engage with our suppliers and how we expect them to act with their own suppliers.
We annually audit our supply chain to not only ensure they comply with their statutory obligations, but also to learn more about the sustainability and diversity of the people we work with. We are seeking to create positive change in the supply chain by, for example, working with suppliers to ensure we’re upholding the rights of all humans, as well as reducing carbon emissions.
We are committed to helping small and medium enterprises to grow, supporting economic growth and business creation. We’re proud to say that over 90% of our supply chain are SMEs and we adhere to the Prompt Payment Code, with accelerated terms for micro businesses, to ensure we play our part in supporting their operations. We also support start-ups with pro-bono creative work, strategic thinking and business mentoring.
We are a committed Living Wage employer, and ask all our supply chain partners to confirm their commitment to paying the London Living Wage to further uphold standards of fair pay to all.
23red’s business is all about changing behaviour for the better, and we will continue to work tirelessly to improve the social impact of everything we do. If you want to find out more about our journey, please contact impact@23red.com