It has been another busy year at Forster Communications and publication of our 2023/24 Impact Report provides an important moment to pause and review what we have done.
When you consider that we spent 41,438 hours working as a team, the question around what we achieved becomes more important than ever. How we use the time we have really matters.
From the nearly 30,000 hours of client work, to the over 40 hours spent sharing insights and experience to drive change across our community, our team has focused on using the power of communications to tackle the climate crisis, drive social justice and improve lives.
A landmark this year was the review of our 2020-2023 Climate Positive Plan and publication of our new climate action plan Taking it Personally, which places people at the heart of everything we do. From our team to our local community, to stakeholders and beneficiaries of our client work.
REDUCING OUR EMISSIONS
We continued to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and in 2023-24 we reduced scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by nine per cent. This was driven by on-going changes to our finance, banking and insurance provision. Building on our success from last year, 100% of our suppliers have net zero targets in place.
For many of our clients, climate action has remained a top priority. With e-waste set to be the cause of 852 metric tonnes of CO2 globally by 2030, we supported Formula E team Envision Racing to combat the growing e-waste crisis with the launch of the team’s e-waste car. Unveiled at the London e-Prix in July 2023, it is made entirely from e-waste and not only captivated primetime TV audiences, but also reached young people through a partnership with Cartoon Network and generated 50,000 e-waste pledges from fans across the world, helping to fuel a powerful movement around this little-understood issue.
PROTECTING AND RESTORING NATURE
Nature was another priority for us last year, with the introduction of a new target and action area in our Taking it Personally plan. We started to review and assess our impact on nature, and explore the most effective ways to help protect and regenerate the natural world through both our own operations and in partnership with our clients.
For Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company whose only shareholder is the earth, the past year saw it focus its campaigning on banning harmful salmon farming in Iceland to protect its pristine waters and wild salmon populations. Our work with them took us to Iceland where we hosted a group of European media to see first-hand what’s at stake and meet the NGOs and local activists at the centre of the issue. Following the trip, Patagonia subsequently met Iceland’s Prime Minister, musician Björk supported the campaign, and hundreds of comments were submitted responding to Iceland’s Draft Bill of Aquaculture.
SUPPORTING AND ENABLING PEOPLE
As part of our commitment to put people at the heart of our business, we dedicated more time and resources to make Forster an exceptional place to work. We have long recognised the importance of a fair living wage and have extended our commitments to working with clients and suppliers who do the same.
People have been another central theme of our client work, often demonstrating the power of communities in driving social change.
Grenfell Testimony Week allowed the bereaved, survivors and residents of the Grenfell fire to speak directly to the organisations that many of them hold responsible. We were privileged to manage media around this to help amplify participants’ voices in a way that was authentic and empowering for those involved.
As we reflect on the past year at Forster Communications, we know that every minute counts and ask again, how can we best use our time to meet our commitment to protecting people and the planet around us? We’d love to hear any ideas you have and look forward to updating you on our progress.
Review our full Impact Report here