Category: CSR

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advertising Communications Companies CSR women

Nice and Equal

When I joined Nice and Serious, out of twenty people I was one of four women. It seemed strange to me that an agency that’s so values driven in their work would have such a gender imbalance. After speaking to the team about it, I was told that we get so many more male applicants than female. This is a reflection of the industry but it shouldn’t define the industry or be accepted. So, Nice and Equal was born as an experiment to understand what some of the underlying issues were and if there was anything we could do to fix this.

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CSR Environment Inspiration

Making Profit and a Difference

“Everytime you spend money you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want”. – Anna Lappe

The investment industry is changing. Sustainable investment is the fastest growing segment of the investment industry –  and its worth 3 trillion dollars.  Audrey Choi makes a compelling case about why we should ‘vote’ with our investment dollars. 

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Communications Companies CSR

Eight Sensible Gifts

Screen Shot 2016-01-28 at 12.18.48

Cards Against Humanity loves the shock value. Their product is after all, a controversial card game,  committing into words statements that are designed to offend.  Its marketing stunts are no different. From selling literally a box bull shit, to selling fans a box of unknown (which 150,000 actually paid for) the game company has found its niche in surprising and delighting fans.

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Brands community Companies CSR Environment

The Things You Already Own

This video is worth 27 minutes and 53 seconds of your time. It’s more than a story about a brand doing something differently. It’s the story of a way of being; a life with more.

At a time of year where we are bombarded with messaging about buying and needing to own the latest and greatest things, Patagonia has emerged as a grounding force for people who value quality and the things they already own.

The Worn Wear initiative is incredibly refreshing. The idea that you’re buying something for life is the way it should be. Telling stories and creating emotive narratives around objects isn’t a new idea but it’s a powerful one. We all have items of clothing that we don’t want to get rid of. Ones that have traveled with us, been there for big moments, ones that carry a sentimental value. We keep these things. We treasure these things.

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CSR Design Environment

Lights Out

do the green thing poster

Following the success of 23 Posters, Do The Green Thing have decided to release a new on each week. This week’s is ‘Lights Out” by design Studio Hudson Powell and is by a mile my favourite of the collection. So sweet.

 

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Charity community CSR

The Thing About Charities

Dan Pallotta, great talk.

In my limited six year existence working in the charity sector, I can relate to and agree with the vast majority of points covered in this TED talk.

Very often when I would tell people I worked for a charity they’d asked me if I worked as a volunteer. When I would reply by saying that I was actually employed by the charity, then a debate would start where I would told I should work for free because it’s for a cause and peoples’ donations shouldn’t go to a salary or overhead costs, and if I cared enough the money wouldn’t be important, and blah blah blah. This conversation happened again and again, almost like clockwork. So I copped out and started telling people I was a football coach. It saved me the speech.

 

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Art CSR Design Environment

23 Posters

Marina Willer

 

In the count down to Earth Hour, Do The Green Thing (quite possibly the most brilliant environment charity of all-time) is releasing a new poster everyday. Falling in line with Do The Green Thing’s mission of creativity vs. climate change, they’ve rallied together world class creatives and asked them to contribute a poster to the campaign. So here’s a small sampling. Do check out: Do The Green Thing Tumblr to see the full lineup and to buy a limited edition print.

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Brands CSR Design Environment Projects I like

Bottles Made From Ocean Debris

Our oceans are filled with plastic. Plastic that comes from the products we buy, carrier bags we dispose of and materials we discard.

Companies, both big and small have the choice to act and be proactive about the role they play in polluting the seas. Sadly few do.

Insert method: a lovely little soap American soap company.

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Companies CSR Environment Projects I like

Wordweb, you’ve done good.

Despite years spent as an editor, I’m still pretty rubbish when it comes to spelling. There are a few words that get me every time, like: non-environmental (hyphenated or not?) and commitment (one t or two?). So I installed a brilliant tool called Wordweb, an app that lives on my desktop and lets me spot check spelling and access a thesaurus. Perfect, right?

Sadly, today Wordweb and I had a falling out. A little box came up asking me how many times a year I fly. Being the honest person I am, I self reported the third option: 2 return flights. I went home for my mum’s wedding in the summer and home for the Christmas holidays. Bad, I know. (In my defense I hadn’t been home in years!)

Then this box appeared:

Oh the shame. And of course the irony and given I work in sustainability for an environmental charity.

Shut out of my favourite super useful tool because of my carbon footprint. I deserve it, really.

It’s quite a genius setup and I really admire wordweb for this. Create a fabulously addictive and helpful service and then take it away from excess carbon emitters. And use a portion of the profit to contribute to environmental causes. More and more businesses are walking the talk and holding their values close to their business model.

So from this ordeal (yes, it has been an ordeal for me) I now know to lie when self-reporting behaviour. Just kidding.

I’ve learned to read the fine print more often – this was outlined in their T&C’s and I bow my head in shame for not fully reading through them. I’ve also learned that it is this sort of awareness raising, frustration building experience makes people think. Some will pay the 20 -some odd pound subscription and just get on with it. And others may think twice about their environmental impact. And then of course there’s the third type of person –  those that will find a way around it. Regardless, kudos Wordweb, rather oddly, you’ve made my day.