Publicis Health has a CSR and D&I program aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and covering a number of aspects – responsible marketing, public information campaigns, pro bono work, volunteering, fundraising – and involving key stakeholders: employees, clients, NGOs and students on internships. Efforts were directed at the American Heart Association (AHA), the partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and another with the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA). In 2019, Publicis Health welcomed more than 65 female and male interns in the United States, who followed a tailor-made program designed to enable them to find out about different jobs, and take part in some work with agency teams. Publicis Health US is also taking part in two effective inclusion programs: SHIFT to reintegrate former military personnel into companies, and Year Up aimed at young students who are disconnected from large corporations, via teams that volunteer to encourage these young people in their career plans.
Salterbaxter is a unique consulting firm that is part of Publicis Groupe. Its aim is to deliver positive growth by working with its clients on creative, tangible and realistic sustainable development, so as to remain competitive whilst engaging in profound and long-lasting change. Its approach is based on three different areas: transformation strategies, transparent reporting and creative communication. The agency is closely involved in determining sustainability drivers to respond to short, medium and long-term expectations. The teams bring together profiles and expertise from across a wide spectrum, uniting sustainability experts, communication strategists and committed creatives. All employees are closely involved in contributing to positive changes in how business is conducted, to thinking about business and the role that it has to play in society. This is at the heart of the agency’s Manifesto and values.
The ethical principles applying to all Group agencies involve two main aspects. On the one hand, compliance with the internal Code of Ethics, Janus, which applies to all employees, and which sets out a clear framework for managers on how to operate in a number of areas (see Section 3.1.5) whatever the agency’s business. On the other, there are ethical principles that apply to specific businesses or activities. One classic example of this is compliance issues in health agencies. Communication in this sector is regulated in many countries. This means that the teams in our agencies receive training in the local regulatory framework, as well training from their clients who may have more specific communication frameworks.
For all output, whatever the client’s business sector, the compliance review carried out with legal managers is part of the internal validation process. Compliance teams on both the agency side and the client-side work closely upstream of campaigns.
Over the past ten years or so, the Group has installed dedicated policies and procedures, such as Publicis Groupe Verified, for digital technologies, in its media agencies. This concerns brand safety, i.e., the environment in terms of media content in which advertising is broadcast. Given the volumes involved, it is essential that Group clients know in which environments their ads will appear, and if the traffic volumes are exact (data). A team is in charge of carrying out daily checks of the sites that might be proposed to customers. This is a gauge of quality and responsibility, and effectively works as a certification. This team also works with specialized and certified third-party companies that perform the same type of control (see press release of January 13, 2020).
Some assignments may involve lobbying and strategies to influence decision makers on behalf of clients. Lobbying teams must comply with transparency criteria in relation to their clients, in such a way that their work, the objectives targeted, and the actions carried out are done so with integrity, in accordance with best practices in this area and in line with the Group’s internal procedures. In accordance with legal obligations and best practices, the teams involved are clearly identified (mainly within Publicis Consultants or MSLGROUP, or its subsidiary, Qorvis), both in terms of the Transparency Register of the European Parliament and the European Commission, or on a country-wide basis, listed in the digital repertoire of representatives of interests managed by the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life in France (HATVP), and in the United States where the rules of the Lobbying Disclosure Act apply or where this relates to the Foreign Agent Registration Act, with registration in compliance with the subjects and organizations concerned. Publicis Groupe did not do any lobbying on its own behalf in 2019.
