Guardian Media Group - 2022 impact report review
When I first went to read the Guardian’s “impact report” I was frustrated that this was spread across 3 different documents. But, upon reflection, I realised that this was aligned with how I like to think about impact.
Much of their positive impact is delivered through their journalism – and they report on this separately. What they do and how they do it are reported separately.
👍🏻 3 things I like...
1. DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODEL
They have a different business model to many other media businesses, one that enables them to deliver impactful journalism. And make their stories available for free to those who can’t afford them.
I love that they are challenging the status quo, zigging when others zag.
2. POSITIVE IMPACT THROUGH WHAT THEY DO
Their journalism and other services (e.g. advertising, ‘green jobs’) deliver positive impact.
“The biggest impact our organisation makes in the world derives from Guardian and Observer journalism”
“This journalism changes minds and policies and keeps the foremost crisis of our times in the public eye.”
They give tangible examples of where they’ve influenced change.
And they’re also:
“the first major global news publisher to have rejected advertising from the fossil fuel industry, permanently”.
3. DETAILED TRANSPARENT CARBON FOOTPRINT & PLANS
They provide a detailed breakdown of their carbon footprint, with explanations of changes (e.g. why emissions went up last year). And they give a detailed transparent plan of the steps they’ll taking to reduce emissions by two thirds.
❓3 questions it raises
1. WHAT’S THE TANGIBLE, MEASURABLE DIFFERENCE THEY WANT TO MAKE?
They circle around this but I’d love to see it pulled out clearly and simply in one or two sentences. What’s the dent they want to make on the world?
2. WHAT NEXT?
What are their future plans and targets? I’m particularly interested to know their strategy for delivering impact through their journalism.
3. HOW HAVE THEY KEPT BUSINESS TRAVEL DOWN?
They note that business travel is down 67% versus the baseline, even once covid travel restrictions had eased. I wonder what specifically they did and how others could learn from what worked?
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You can read the reports for yourself and let me know what you think:
Annual year in review - the impact of their journalism
If you’re preparing to write your own impact report, you might find my FREE Impact Reporting Roadmap helpful: