4.2.9 Commitments given by the Groupe, agencies and employees to local communities: Create & Impact 2023
For over 15 years, Create & Impact has been the umbrella program that brings together the Groupe’s actions undertaken with communities and society in general, including pro bono campaigns, as well as volunteering and charitable activities. Create & Impact 2023 combines all Groupe commitments having a societal impact, representing an estimated total of euro 48.2 million in 2023. Despite the context of the crisis, employees were very active, in particular by helping many associations, such as those providing food aid to underprivileged people, for which the number of beneficiaries has surged in all major cities.
The nature of the contributions made by agencies as part of Create & Impact has moved towards charitable activities involving more volunteer employees but with a lower financial value than the pro bono campaigns. All activities carried out within the context of Create & Impact have a direct impact on populations, on local and neighboring communities, and on regional economic, social and environmental development, since there is a strong proximity between the agencies and the causes they support. All of the activities included in Create & Impact have been monitored for the last eight years, in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in order to better assess their direct impact (see the CSR section of the Groupe’s website).
Quarterly reporting to monitor these actions more regularly is part of the Groupe’s commitments made in 2020 to promote social justice. In this respect, USD 30 million has been invested by Publicis Media US (APX Content Ventures), cumulative between 2022 and 2023, as part of the commitments made within the Once And For All Coalition to provide long‑term support, through content aids, to media intended for under‑represented groups (see Section 4.3.8.4).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
This diagram shows the commitments given by the Groupe, agencies and employees to local communities.
- In 2023 €48,2M for pro bono campaigns + Volunteering.
- In 2023 US$30M In content Once And For All Coalition (2022-2023).
- 330 VOLUNTEERING projects
- 310 pro bono campaigns
Groupe agencies took part in 640 projects in 2023.
The 310 pro bono campaigns are free campaigns carried out by the agencies, in addition to all the skills‑based sponsorship provided. Agencies concentrate on a limited number of causes. The teams are very proud of the actual efficacy of the campaigns, and of the awards that they have won in recognition of their creative freedom.
The 330 volunteer initiatives involved making one or more teams available for a limited period of time to provide operational support for specific initiatives run by non‑profit organizations in the name of general interest causes. In some countries, this may also be regarded as skills‑based sponsorship.
A presentation of select projects can be found in the CSR section of the Groupe website under social aspects.
Donations and charity work: emergency aid is ongoing. To a greater or lesser extent, natural disasters and tragic accidents can prompt spontaneous acts of generosity that bring employees and management together. Under these extraordinary circumstances, local presence is a key factor for success. This is why the Groupe gives priority to a decentralized approach and local initiatives. In Ukraine, donations made by employees and the Groupe to a fund dedicated to employees and their relatives have helped 32 families of Ukrainian employees since July 2022. This made it possible to help Ukrainian employees to relocate after their homes were destroyed by the war.