Something Big - 2023 impact report review

👍🏻 3 things I like...

1. USING THEIR SKILLS TO HAVE AN IMPACT

They’re using their skills and what they do as a creative communications agency to have an impact.

For example, shifting the narrative about the world and society from negative to positive and solutions-focused. And embedding their awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion into the projects they deliver, making this a key consideration during the creative process.

2. SUPPLIER SWAP AND SHARE

They brought together different suppliers to share what they’ve done on sustainability and diversity & inclusion.

This is real leadership – connecting others and enabling them to share learnings.

We can’t compete on this stuff and we can’t afford for everyone to make the same mistakes. We need everyone to “be better” and so sharing our learnings is crucial.

3. TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY ON NET ZERO

They’ve spent a lot of time exploring their carbon emissions and learning what the different scientific terminology means. They’ve realised they’re “not yet ready to make a firm carbon emissions target”.

I love this. So many businesses make net zero commitments without really knowing what that means or whether it’s feasible. Something Big are spending the time understanding what they can / can’t commit to before committing to it. This says a lot about their core values.

❓3 questions it raises

1. HOW HAVE THEY CREATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

Lots of businesses talk about wanting to create psychological safety. In my experience, very few achieve it.

Something Big won a ‘Make A Difference’ award for their strong culture of psychological safety. And it’s something they mention a lot.

I’d love to know what other businesses can learn from their experience.

2. WHAT DATA DO THEY HAVE AROUND CARBON EMISSIONS?

Whilst they say they’re not ready to formalise their carbon emissions or any reduction plans, they do talk about some actions they’ve taken.

As they understand their carbon emissions in more detail, it would be helpful to see these broken down. What are the material areas? How does this impact their carbon reduction plans?

3. WHAT CAN THEY SHARE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS PRINTING?

This is not my area of expertise, but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that traditional printing methods aren’t very good for the environment.

Something Big have “empowered [their] team with knowledge of sustainable print and production, enabling them to have meaningful conversations with our clients to encourage responsible production.”

I’d love to hear more about this.

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You can read the report for yourself here and let me know what you think.

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