2022
SUSTAINABILITY
REPORT
THINKING BEYOND
INTRODUCTION
On behalf of everyone at mci group, I welcome you to our 2022 sustainability report.
This year, we are proud to celebrate 15 years as signatories of the UN’s Global Compact agreement. As a collective of agencies specialising in strategic communication and engagement, we understand the significance of operating sustainably and achieving carbon neutrality to bring together diverse audiences from around the world.
That bridge must be built with conscience, care, transparency, and respect. Being genuinely sustainable isn’t just about making the best possible choices while working with our clients. It’s about ensuring every action we take betters us as a group and enables others to have better opportunities for themselves. It means taking on new talents and investing the time in training existing ones. It means championing diversity from the ground up to create equal opportunity and give vital voices a chance to be heard.
In 2022, across our operations in 30+ countries, we have taken on 116 mentees, delivered 3696 hours of training and 1909 hours of volunteering, and raised nearly €3.5m for charity. We achieved ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications, meeting international standards for Information Security and Data Privacy, and one more office has been certified ISO 20121 for sustainable events management.
We’re proud of those achievements, and there are many more in this report we’re excited to share. We are also excited to share the ways in which our nine priorities aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and our board role on the Net Zero Events Initiative strive to make every single mci group action a step towards change.
Sebastien Tondeur – Chief Executive Officer
Our Commitments
Our Mission
Our mission as a group is to be a catalyst for change, to use our skills, voice, and relationships to make a positive impact on both our clients and the wider world.
Since 2006, when we began our sustainability journey, our dedicated sustainability arm has had a far-reaching impact both within and outside mci group, transforming the way our company operates whilst building a better tomorrow for our planet and its people.
Our Shared Goals
“Safety, respect, care, nurture. These are the qualities we endeavour to provide for every mci group talent, so that they can learn, grow and be motivated to be their best selves.”
– Group Vice President People & Culture
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#YAS22, a summit which promotes solidarity across social, racial and cultural groups, towards minorities, and encourages everyone to stand up for other people’s rights, was held at the United Nations in Geneva (Switzerland). The Summit welcomed participants from 134 countries in honouring 6 young change-makers who have worked tirelessly for an inclusive and equal world. It was followed by live conversations with the activists on Instagram. This fourth edition of the Young Activists Summit reached an audience of over 8.2 million people on social media around the world. Our teams at Dorier were proud to support the Summit by providing the lighting, projection, sound equipment, stage and technical assistance at discounted rates.
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As part of MCI Germany’s Learning Week under the motto of “be brave, be proud”, the teams discussed diversity and inclusion. Our Berlin office hosted a session with German actor André Dietz, who gave insights into one of 2022’s most special TV projects. The show, which featured 13 people with Down Syndrome who worked for one month in a restaurant under the guidance of a chef, was aimed at showing how much its participants could achieve with the necessary support. During the show, Dietz, whose daughter was born with the Angelman-Syndrome, accompanied the participants both in front of and behind the camera, delivering his support and insights.
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To celebrate International Women’s Day, we joined the #breakthebias 2022 campaign and asked some of our talents from across the globe to tell us how they play their part in overcoming gender stereotypes. The campaign brought talents together from across all our agencies to form one international force for solidarity, letting all our talents know that mci group is a space for them to feel equal, valued and encouraged to thrive.
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For over 50 years, New York Women in Communications (NYWICI) has organised the city’s largest organisation of professional women in the communications industry. With MCI talents, honourees, presenters, vendors and interpreters, Ashley Dowling developed and executed the strategy to make the backstage space, equipment, and award process inclusive, and manage the participants’ expectations – Using the best industry practices to make the NYWICI’s Matrix Awards an inclusive event.
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“At mci group, we want to create an environment with no boundaries as to what talents can learn, and no cap on personal growth.”
– Group Learning and Development Director
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MCI Institute’s ‘Virtual Global Academy,’ is a live, three-day online-learning event offering live sessions on diverse business, industry, and personal development topics. This immersive experience sees experts from both within mci group, and from the wider marketplace, sharing their wisdom and empowering our talent with valuable knowledge and skills for professional growth. In 2022, the academy saw great global engagement, with 640 talents from over 28 countries joining online to learn, share, and discuss. We focused on four key topics: Compete, focusing on client needs; Transform, focusing on our approach to stakeholders; Look Far, centred around evolving our solutions portfolio; and Be Curious, emphasising the importance of nurturing growth mindsets to shape the future.
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“Security has become an essential and integrated part of our processes. Through a firm grasp on our security procedures, we can preserve business as usual, whatever challenges arise.”
– Group Health, Safety & Sustainability Director
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This year we went bigger and better with our group health challenge – Mind over Miles. For one month, talents were encouraged to be more active using a step-tracking app, a goal designed to combat the challenges faced by an often-sedentary work style which has been exacerbated by distance working. The objective of the challenge is to promote physical activity, team spirit and well-being in general, as well as to assist in the creation of connections among our talents through a fun and inspiring experience. In 2022, we were pleased to see a total of 502 talents actively participating in our challenge.
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In November 2021, our colleagues at MCI France took care of their health with a “Well-being week”. The MCI France team launched a “Well-being week” to take care, not only of their health, but also of the planet. The programme included: Meditation and Sophrology Massage Running Anti-stress food And for the planet: a “Clean Walk” together with Hilton Paris employees to pick up trash throughout Paris!
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“Ask hard questions. Find the best answers. Lean on your colleagues to learn what they know. Share what you’ve learned with others around you. By working together, we can shape the world in a way that works for everyone. A better future can happen one step, and one collaboration at a time.”
Oscar Cerezales
– Chief Strategy Officer
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The ESCRS (European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons) promotes education and research in the field of implant and refractive surgery and ophthalmology. MCI Switzerland together with MCI UK and Kabloom (for the digital marketing aspects) organised their 40th Annual Congress last September in Italy gathering over 13,000 delegates. A sustainability team was formed with the congress’ stakeholders to co-create a strategy and implement a bold operational action plan called “Mission Zero”. The congress’ carbon emissions were measured using the TRACE tool. After reducing the congress’ emissions as much as possible, 12,000 tons of unavoidable emissions have been offset.
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The Swiss Confederation organised the first International Cooperation (IC) Forum on climate change in Geneva in 2022. The forum gathered experts from the fields of academia, business, politics and civil society to find ways out of the climate crisis, hosted by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis. MCI Switzerland, Dorier and logos worked hand in hand with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement and key suppliers to develop a sustainability strategy for the event and measure, report and compensate the carbon footprint of the Forum, to make it CO2-neutral.
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On behalf of the University of Birmingham, our teams created a public-facing campaign for the Forum for Global Challenges, an inaugural event that brings together thought leaders in sustainability and equality, along with other academics, policymakers, NGOs, students and corporate leaders. Our teams also created a dedicated campaign for the Youth Programme, specifically targeting the forum’s target audience of people aged 18-25. The event was a collaborative mci group effort, with MCI UK coming up with the creative ideas to promote the event and Kabloom using their expertise to maximise its impact on the University of Birmingham TikTok channel and as part of the Forum on all social media channels. The campaign contributed to 30% of total registrations and 60% of website traffic.
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The ‘Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam’ (ETCA) opening -event celebrated the transformation of the Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam (STCA) into an open innovation campus, where researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs are welcomed to tackle the world’s challenge for a cleaner energy future. The team transformed the campus’ atrium into a professional-looking studio, and the garden into an entertaining festival area. Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) and therefore, sustainability were embedded and showcased throughout all the organisational elements of the event.
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MCI & Dorier Switzerland team guided a commodity trading company and long-term client in making their 20th-anniversary event carbon neutral for the first time. After reducing the environmental impact of the event where possible, the team worked in collaboration with our HQ Sustainability Team and MyClimate to measure and report the carbon emissions created by the +600 guests, the venue, F&B, transports and material. As a result, they decided to offset the 3308 tCO2 to fund the project Efficient Cook Stoves for Returnees in Burundi. The stoves are handed out in reception camps in Burundi by aid organisations. They have improved combustion, resulting in reduced household air pollution and its associated adverse health effects.
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After a successful 2021 campaign for a leading global financial organisation, we were asked to continue work for their 2022 conference on climate change. In 2021, the organisation was affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic and needed help driving registrations, so we used our extensive research, data insights and GDPR-compliant databases to help them create the first-ever virtual edition of the event. We provided a digital advertising campaign, ad design, and website/landing page content consultation and guidance. This enabled us to attract more attendees than ever before, meaning that this year we exceeded our registration targets by 145%.
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In October, MCI Switzerland PCO, Meetings & Events and Dorier teams worked hand-in-hand on the FIRST Global Challenge 2022. This Olympics-style, international robotics competition sees each nation send a team of young people to build a robot and compete around one of the greatest challenges facing our planet. For this year’s edition, the theme was “Carbon Capture.” It challenged 186 teams to capture and store carbon using robots. This challenge was designed to foster collaboration, diversity, imagination, courage and awareness among the youth.
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“We are committed to measuring and reducing our environmental impact and carbon footprint at every possible opportunity, so that we can protect the planet, its people and the places they call home.”
Erica Fawer
– Group Internal Communication Director and Sustainability Integration Director
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logos have been supporting local apiculture in France by sponsoring a beehive, exemplifying how the small actions our teams take can make a big difference. Logos now have their own sponsored hive, which features their logo. Thanks to this simple yet impactful initiative, logos are helping to protect the honeybee population and the wider local ecosystem. The team also received their personalised honey to give them an extra kick coming into the new year.
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When running an event, the life cycle of a battery is very short, often lasting only a few hours. And, since we can’t precisely determine the remaining energy levels of our batteries, our technicians must regularly change batteries in order to avoid a microphone failure. This means that most batteries are sent for recycling while they still contain energy. With “Adopt a battery”, Dorier is giving their batteries a new lease on life. Talents from outside the events team can enjoy fully charged batteries for personal use, avoiding unnecessary expenses. Dorier then collects the used batteries and makes sure they are efficiently sorted and recycled with their partners. This approach is linked to Dorier’s ISO 14001 certification process, and desire to apply and set up an effective environmental management system.
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“We are committed to acting ethically in all aspects of our business, maintaining and improving the highest standards of honesty and integrity. It is part of our core values, and we firmly support international and local efforts to eliminate corruption and financial crime.”
– Chief Executive Officer
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For the past years, MCI The Netherlands team has been participating in the “Cooking in Another Kitchen” initiative. This initiative is held at a homeless shelter in Amsterdam where people come to cook hearty meals for socially disadvantaged and isolated people. The cooking project offers these individuals a healthy, warm dinner and creates opportunities for them to reconnect and develop a sense of community and belonging. Once again, our talents from MCI The Netherlands got hands-on in the kitchen, peeling and cutting onions and potatoes and cooking a stew and dessert for the guests.
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For Christmas, the Spanish Red Cross offers new toys to children in the families they support. Various donators contributed to this initiative by offering toys to the NGO, and our teams were keen to get onboard. MCI Spain & Portugal talents offered new toys to be donated to this programme. Then, 19 talents joined the Red Cross volunteers at one of the logistics centres to check and sort all the toys received (around 7 pallets in total). This meant checking that the toys were new, gender neutral and did not convey violence. They also helped the Red Cross go and pick up toys from supermarkets.
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On the themes of Oxygen, Water, Blood and Creativity, the 20th annual Swiss Red Cross Ball of Geneva was an astonishing success. Once again, Dorier and MCI Switzerland collaborated to make this beautiful charity gala happen. During the evening, CHF 1,035,050 (over € 1 million) were raised to support healthcare programmes for those in need in Lebanon and in Geneva. In charge of the creation of the concept, MCI put together the artistic show and decor and managed the global coordination for the 570 guests attending this event. Dorier was behind all the technical production.
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