• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 29, 2021

Interpublic Group has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the second year in a row, in recognition of its commitment to sustainable business practices. IPG said it is the only company from the advertising and marketing sector named to the prestigious list this year.

The Index is a widely acknowledged standard for measuring corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress. It recognizes the top 20% of sustainability performers among the 600 largest U.S. and Canadian companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index.

Kudos to the company for making the list, although it’s far from being the only company in the sector making strides in the sustainability arena. Most major Adland companies have sustainability action plans in place with targets to reduce carbon footprints and adopt renewable energy sources.

Havas New York, for example, recently achieved B Corp certification, meeting rigorous standards related to the environment and other areas. Havas units in Amsterdam and London have also achieved B Corp status.

WPP is building a series of new office space campuses around the globe with sustainability top of mind.

In September, the holding company opened a newly refurbished facility in Milan, Italy. The firm said by using an existing building it is avoiding the emission of thousands of tons of embodied carbon — equivalent to more than 30% of the building’s lifetime carbon emissions. 

The new campus, which is seeking BREEAM certification (an assessment for benchmarking and driving sustainable improvements), is plastic free. It will consume less paper and be operated by LED lighting, powered entirely from 100% renewable energy sources. 

As part of its environmental impact reduction program, the campus is expected to save 12,000 MWh of energy, 6,900 tons of CO2, 15 tons of waste and 13 million liters of water annually.