Climate Neutral is a non-profit cofounded by the folks behind the travel gear company Peak Design. The idea behind Climate Neutral was to help companies measure, offset, and reduce their carbon footprints using data composed of research-based estimations. Although it wouldn’t be the most precise measurement, it wouldn’t be inaccurate. And Climate Neutral’s method would empower businesses of all sizes and industries to circumvent pricey consulting firms and use their savings to support carbon offsetting initiatives around the world. With enough carbon offsets purchased, companies could reduce their net carbon footprint to zero and receive the designation “Climate Neutral.”

In turn, the certification empowers consumers to shop from companies that are not just investing in sustainability, but taking responsibility for their carbon emissions. 

As a certified Climate Neutral company, we know what DEPT®’s carbon footprint is. 

Not many other businesses can say the same. 

Furthermore, as a twice-certified company, we know what our carbon footprint was the year before. This means that we’ve been able to measure the success of our sustainability initiatives as a company in terms of actual tonnes of CO2. 

Very few businesses can say that.

For this year, as we anticipate our third certification in 2023, we’re doubling down on reducing the emissions associated with our offices and our business travel, which is ramping back up post-pandemic. 

We’ve committed to goals that include acquiring at least one large office building that is either LEED or BREEAM certified and also to continue adjusting our travel policy to ensure that we’re taking advantage of more eco-friendly forms of transport wherever we can. 

We expect these actions to lead to significant reductions in our direct and indirect emissions, and have already seen the first adjustments to our travel policy (booking group flights where possible) cut those associated emissions in half.

Of course, it’s not all just about measurement and reduction. As we continue to work on our reduction goals, we’re proud to be offsetting our current carbon emissions through our friends at Terra Neutra. This year the offsetting projects we’re supporting include a wind farm in Turkey and a reforestation project in Uganda. Both of these projects may be actively working to remove carbon from the atmosphere but their missions have positive impact at the human level as well. 

The Mugla wind farm in Turkey will create long term job opportunities for locals and help reduce dependency on energy imports, paving the way for even more renewable energy projects like it. 

Restoring the Kitalu forest in Uganda also carries significant humanitarian benefits. In this region, deforestation is a major cause of poverty and the project offers a per tree stipend for farmers who participate in it. Not to mention these farmers will be able to reap the long-term benefits of the growing global market for carbon offsets. Additionally, the project also carries with it a health outreach component, helping educate local communities on HIV, malaria, and other medical issues. 

When we first became Climate Neutral certified, we took our first steps on a long road toward becoming a truly sustainable company. Our journey didn’t stop then, and it hasn’t stopped now. We still have a long ways to go, but we’re also proud of the accomplishments we’ve made en route.

When we released the first-ever DEPT® Impact Report last year, we were still in the midst of our B Corp journey.

Since then, we’ve not only achieved B Corp certification, we’ve also been named one of the Best for the World™ B Corps in the Governance category – meaning that our score for Governance was among the top 5% of B Corps of our size. 

But, as we said last year, that’s only the beginning.

Our journey towards becoming a #goodcompany continues, but with this year we’re very excited to share the progress we’ve made over the course of 2021 in our newest Impact Report. 

Here’s a snapshot.

We’re bigger than ever, but still small enough to care. Following the addition of 10 exciting new DEPT® teams, our total number of Depsters jumped from 1,300 in 2020 to over 3,000 spread across 18 countries in 5 continents as of the time of this report’s release. Although we’ve nearly doubled in size, we’re still powered by the culture and creativity of a smaller agency.

Our 1% for good mission just got bigger. In 2021, 0.67% of our revenue was donated to charity or through pro bono work, up from 0.5% in 2020. That might not sound like much, but bear in mind that it’s not just our size that’s bigger than ever – our revenue is as well. And so is the 1% of our revenue we’re on a mission to give back, whether that’s through donation or pro bono work.

We’re confident we’ve established a better benchmark for our carbon footprint. Our footprint in 2021 measured just under 10,500 t/CO2, up from 5,500 t/CO2 in 2020. Given the impact of the pandemic on offices, travel, and commuting, however, we’ve always known that our 2020 footprint would be an outlier. In any case, we remain a Climate Neutral company, and have continued to offset the entirety of our footprint through our friends at Terra Neutra.

Gender equality is on track. The percentage of women at DEPT® has increased from 42% to 46% and we’re confident that we’ll reach 50% in 2022. Additionally, 42% of DEPT® managers identify as women or nonbinary – meaning we’ve achieved the incremental goal of 40% we set last year!

Other aspects of DE&I – including race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation – are making steady progress. While challenges with our previous people data system prevented us from collecting data on these aspects of identity last year, we’ve already made the switch to a better system. Furthermore, we’ve come to realise that DE&I looks different depending on the country or region of the world we’re working within. We’re now pivoting toward a series of regional DE&I Strategic Planning processes, assisted by global initiatives like anonymous recruitment.

Helping other good companies do more good. Our work pioneers tech and marketing to help brands stay ahead. But we specifically want to make sure our pioneering work is helping purpose-driven companies achieve their missions of creating a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world. To that end, over the course of the past year, 8.6% of our revenue came from purpose-driven work and we completed 99 impact projects.

As the world evolves, we’re determined to evolve with it in a positive way.

Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture, has ranked global digital agency DEPT® 29th on the Best Workplaces in Europe list in the Large Organisation category.

The list is based on confidential survey data representing 1.4 million employees from over 3,000 companies across 37 countries in Europe. The survey assesses employee experiences of trust, innovation, company values, inclusivity and leadership. The results indicate that over ninety per cent of DEPT®’s employees would strongly recommend the company to family and friends. 

“Congratulations to the Best Workplaces in Europe for putting the well-being of their employees first,” said Michael C. Bush, Global CEO of Great Place to Work®. “During a challenging time for the region, these companies created equitable workplaces by providing flexibility and supporting their employees through strife.”

Founded in Amsterdam in 2015, DEPT® has quickly grown across the globe, from 150 people in The Netherlands to more than 3,500 people in seventeen countries across five continents. “Despite growing super-fast, our culture is always to be ‘big enough to cope, but small enough to care,” said Dimi Albers, CEO at DEPT®. “We work hard to make sure every Depster feels part of the family. We know we can always do more, but being named as a Best Workplace is a great sign that we’re on the right track.”

The digital agency has been a certified B Corporation and Climate Neutral Certified since 2021, and has extensive DE&I and educational programs for its employees. “We’re dedicated to being not only the best agency in the world, but for the world too,” said Marjan Smit, VP Regional Head of People & Culture at DEPT®. “We listen to our people, and are always working hard to improve our processes, benefits and employee experience. Receiving a spot in the Best Workplaces in Europe is an incredible achievement we hope to keep up for years to come.”

Global digital agency DEPT® announced Pooja Dindigal has joined as its first Global Impact Manager to support sustainability, impact and DE&I initiatives.

As part of DEPT®’s mission as a Certified B Corporation, the agency is focused on having a positive impact on clients, employees and society as a whole. Dindigal will work with DEPT®’s B Corp team, made up of volunteers from across the organisation, to continually refine its impact strategy.

Dindigal brings deep expertise in business development, impact, sustainability strategy and partnership activities. She joins from B Lab U.S. & Canada, where she helped to grow the B Corp Movement in North America.

Additionally, she was a member of B Lab’s Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Pooja Dindigal, Global Impact Manager, DEPT®: “I was drawn to DEPT® by the deep and genuine passion the people have to be a force for good, creating value for their fellow employees, clients, communities and the planet. Now more than ever, society is turning to businesses to lead the way in manifesting purpose and impact for all stakeholders, and I’m eager to help DEPT® answer that call. I’m thrilled to jump in and empower more Depsters to join the B Corp team, support more impact projects for clients and push to reach our ambitious DE&I goals.” 
 
DEPT® became a Certified B Corporation in October 2021, as well as Climate Neutral certified in 2020 and recertified in April 2022. In 2021, the agency set impact and sustainability targets across the organisation in its first impact report with commitments to achieve these targets by 2023. This includes becoming carbon negative, 15% of revenue coming from impactful projects, and 40% of managers identifying as women or non-binary (which has already been achieved). The agency will publish a new impact report in the coming months to share progress against and refine these commitments. DEPT® has also pledged to use 1% of its profits each year to support purpose-driven organisations via donations and pro bono work.

DEPT® is also committed to doing impactful work for clients. It partnered with ProjectTogether on a pro-bono basis to develop the visual identity and website for its Farm-Food-Climate Challenge, an initiative aimed at encouraging sustainable agriculture and food sector production. It also teamed up with Philips to launch a body positivity campaign for men, and supported its Movember campaign.  For leading eco-friendly brand Patagonia, DEPT® developed a branded commerce experience that brings the brand’s sustainability values to the fore.

Frank Schmid, Chief Development Officer, DEPT®: “We are working purposely to build a different kind of agency at DEPT® and as a Certified B Corporation, we’ve made strong commitments around diversity, equity, inclusion, impact and sustainability. We understand we have a responsibility to our employees, our clients and the planet to adapt the way we work and live. Pooja and the entire B Corp team will help us continue to move forward these important initiatives and support the passion and imagination of our employees and clients to create a better future.”

3Q Digital, the disruptive growth marketing agency for brands like Skechers, Titleist, Pandora and Uniqlo, has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with global digital agency DEPT®. 3Q Digital’s team of 500 US-based experts will join the agency to deliver best-in-class data and engineering, creative automation, and personalization at a global scale.

Together, DEPT® and 3Q Digital will have 3,000 specialists that will support 65+ languages and campaign experiences in 180+ markets and will manage more than $3 billion in digital media spending, positioning it as one of the leading independent agencies in the world. To provide clients with one global tech stack, 3Q Digital’s proprietary solutions, including Qontrol, will be integrated into the Ada by DEPT® proprietary martech platform after closing of the transaction.

Rob Murray, CEO at 3Q Digital, said: “DEPT® is building a fully-integrated delivery model with simple structures, speed, clarity, and personal contact. Joining forces will expand our ability to impact the entire customer journey with the support of DEPT®’s experience, commerce, technology and creative services. Their commitment as a climate neutral, Certified B Corporation, support for a hybrid work model, and pioneering spirit will create a new type of agency that is truly big enough to cope and small enough to care.” 

Upon closing of the transaction, 3Q Digital will be known as 3Q/DEPT™. With the proposed combination, 3Q Digital’s shareholders will receive shares in DEPT®. Penny Pritzker, chairman of PSP Partners and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce said: “It’s a time of high-growth for the digital industry, as it has been since we acquired 3Q Digital. These two powerhouses, each led by world-class teams, have all the ingredients for a long-term, winning strategy as a combined business.” Pritzker will join the DEPT® supervisory board at the closing of the transaction. PSP Partners, along with Erie Street, first invested in 3Q Digital in 2019.

Founded in Amsterdam in 2015, DEPT® has grown to more than 2,500 people across five continents, working with brands including Google, Philips, eBay, Patagonia, ASOS, Diageo and more. Its long-term growth strategy has been backed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) since 2020. In addition to 3Q Digital, six other agencies have joined the company over the past year. Earlier this month, DEPT® announced the rebranding of its US agencies and welcomed former Dentsu Aegis Network CEO, Jerry Buhlmann, as Non-Executive Chairman. With over $500 million in expected 2022 net sales, DEPT® has established a significant operational footprint in Europe, North America, and South America, and is rapidly expanding its APAC presence.

“3Q Digital has become one of the fastest-growing agencies in the world by delivering ROI and transparency,” said Dimi Albers, CEO at DEPT®.  “Together we will be able to deliver speed and scale for our clients, powered by the best talent, data and tech stack. For us, this will mark a big step forward in the US as it will double our size and ability to combine marketing and tech in integrated teams for clients, which has been the secret to our industry-leading growth in Europe.” 

The proposed transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022 and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions (including antitrust regulatory clearance). Global investment bank, Canaccord Genuity, advised 3Q Digital on the transaction.