GroupM launches full-service ESG integration partnership in the UK

London (8th November 2023) — GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, today announces the launch of its new, bespoke, partnership to provide clients with a holistic approach to ESG (environmental, social, corporate governance): everything from education, execution, measurement and improvement. 

The partnership combines the power of Legacy’s ESG data solutions together with Right Thing Media’s ESG insights to create one tailored solution for GroupM’s clients that is compatible with the group’s fundamental sustainability efforts. 

The solution represents the start of a long-term plan, whose first step is for an organisation-wide education programme to empower internal teams and clients on how to understand, action, and measure those insights. 

The aim for this partnership is to leverage the data for GroupM to incorporate ESG ratings and insights into its future media planning and buying processes.  

This partnership, unique to GroupM, will offer both ESG data, insights and education and, comes as a result of ongoing work between GroupM, Legacy and Right Thing Media over the last 12 months.

The launch of this ESG partnership strategically aligns with GroupM’s Responsible Investment Framework, launched in 2021 signalling a new media era where scale serves clients through a commitment to making advertising work better for people. Sustainability is one of GroupM’s core five pillars of the Framework, and includes other such initiatives and tools like its per-campaign carbon calculator and its global framework for media decarbonisation – all in effort of GroupM’s commitment to decarbonise its media supply chain by 2030. 

Legacy works with brands, media companies and agencies to improve ESG quality for the global media industry, using aggregated ESG market leading data to allocate ratings to every global media supplier and to understand the efficiency of investment.

Right Thing sources independently verified ESG insights and data which helps brands, agencies, and media partners to deliver a more responsible and sustainable media supply chain investment by viewing their strategies through an ESG lens.

Carl Nawagamuwa, Managing Director, GroupM Investment (UK) said: “This partnership has come about as a result of GroupM’s ongoing commitment to finding new ways to innovate and build sustainability into our organisation. We see this as one critically important step on a complex journey to improve holistic delivery towards decarbonisation. We recognise that education and understanding is our first port of call, and believe the potential to integrate ESG into our day-to-day planning and buying will have transformational impact for our clients.”

Legacy’s ESG data and Right Thing’s ESG insights will be integrated into GroupM’s current data tech stack and will be easily accessible to GroupM’s clients and media partners. Right Thing Media will then support a comprehensive education programme to empower GroupM’s planning teams and leads with the knowledge and consultancy to manage client conversations around ESG.

Nicola Jopling, Head of Growth Strategy, GroupM (UK) added, “As an industry, it’s imperative that we are considering environmental and social impact in our decision making, and Legacy will be invaluable partners in helping us provide the necessary insight for GroupM clients so we can continue to shape the next era of media. This will be enhanced by Right Thing’s media ESG insights to enable us to have the most in-depth and proactive client communications we can. This two-pronged approach is unlike any other solution in the market – this solution is about translating understanding into real action.”

Andy Power, CEO & Founder at Legacy, adds: “Our mission is to improve the understanding and activation of responsible media investment, through an ESG lens, leaving a lasting positive effect upon the world. The partnership with GroupM provides us with the platform to educate the media industry, greatly scale our offering and work towards full representation for media owners.”

Gerson Barnett, Founder and Executive Director at Right Thing Media, said: “In today’s ever-evolving advertising landscape, having clarity of ESG Insights and understanding how to analyse and measure them, is the key to ensuring responsible investments within media supply chains. We are proud to be working with GroupM to empower both their internal teams and clients with the knowledge they need to set high standards for the industry in their approach to sustainable ESG advertising solutions that can deliver meaningful impacts for society and the planet.”