csr or esg? tbh, it’s all about doing good and here is our story

environmental

the impact our company has on the conservation and protection of the natural world including waste and pollution, resource depletion, greenhouse gas emission, deforestation, and climate change

social

the impact the company has on employees and on society in general including employee relations & diversity

governance

Is the way in which the board and management conduct themselves and navigate their business

background

Environmental Social and Governance are the three key factors used to measure the sustainability and ethical impact of our business. This document sets out what jellybean has done and is doing to constantly improve our ESG performance.

Jellybean has always been a socially responsible and ethical agency, but we needed a formal strategy that set out our goals and amalgamated all activity already actioned together with all the planned initiatives to form a clear company policy for ESG. To ensure engagement across the board and to generate new ideas the whole team participated in the launch of our Beanshot Challenge in October 2021 which collectively identified additional sustainable action we could take to improve our environmental and social impact, and ensure we practice good governance.

This 2022 ESG policy is the combination of all the activity we have been involved in for the past 35 years together with new ideas borne out of our Beanshot challenge. The whole team at the agency were involved and inspired to work together to reassess the way we work and embrace change to reduce our impact on the planet. Every member of the team has signed up to our Beanifesto pledge i.e. our ESG policy which aims to make us a carbon neutral business by January 2025 as well as being a totally ethical business to work with or for. Our view is that small things that work together can not only bring about global change but also ensure that jellybean continues to be a great place to work and a business to be proud to be part of.

environmental

This encompasses the impact our company has on the conservation and protection of the natural world including waste and pollution, resource depletion, greenhouse gas emission, deforestation, and climate change.

We are a climate positive workforce through Ecologi Zero whereby employees entire (home and work) carbon footprint is offset by planting trees and investing in verified climate crisis solutions
We are working with Ecologi Zero to be a carbon neutral business by January 2025
We operate an Electric Car and cycle to work lease purchase scheme (read more)
We use the most efficacious eco-friendly cleaning products throughout the premises
We use a renewable only energy supplier (from June 22)

We operate a car share scheme for all necessary travel to work and client/event meetings and opt to travel on public transport whenever feasible
We operate a WFH policy to reduce our travel miles
We endeavour to be a paperless office and only print when necessary
We use Teams for meeting and conference calls to reduce our travel miles
We recycle all waste including food, paper, cardboard, and coffee pods
We discourage any single use plastic on the premises
We’ve appointed a Beanshot Action Team to continuously identify future improvements and changes for the business
All jellybean equipment is energy efficient and meets energy star guidelines

To improve air quality and well-being we have increased plant presence in the office
We have reduced mail to a minimum opting for electronic comms/publications
We use only recycled paper and avoid unnecessary over packaging and printing
We are planning an annual community event to clean up beaches, rivers
As part of the Beanifesto pledge individuals and teams can dedicate time to local green initiatives close to their heart
We strive to ensure all our suppliers of digital services are all carbon neutral and our web host was the first to become so in the UK
We are members of the Surfers Against Sewage Ocean Network and are committed to support regular beach cleans

social

This refers to the impact the company has on employees and on society in general including employee relations & diversity, working conditions, including child labour and slavery, local communities; seeks explicitly to fund projects or institutions that will serve poor and underserved communities globally, health and safety and conflict.

Since the agency was founded in 1987 we have consistently supported global, local and industry charities
We operate an equal opportunities employment policy at jellybean from CV screening through to interview, skills assessment to final appointment
We have a head of Diversity and Inclusion on the leadership team to champion this aspect – (over 73% of employees are female at jellybean and represent 60% of the LT) (read more)
We benchmark all salaries and benefits against industry data to ensure we pay fairly and equitably to all staff at all levels irrespective of gender

We are dedicated to staff training and development and have formal two-way annual reviews and appraisals to map progress against set KPIs, gain 360 degree feedback from peers and identify training needs (on the job, internal workshops, external courses and accredited qualifications). We want all our team to progress and grow in their role and career at the agency and achieve their full potential.
We participate quarterly in an industry benchmarking survey (The Alliance) regarding employee engagement and satisfaction and can identify how we perform against our peers and take action to improve. During the pandemic we had bespoke lockdown surveys to gauge how the team and individuals were coping with a new way of working
We operate an open-door policy whereby any bean can talk to anyone within the business if they have any concerns
We have mental health and physical health first aiders appointed
All employees over one year’s service can join our private health scheme which includes mental health practitioners and provides access to various support mechanisms
We provide all the team with high spec equipment and facilities so that they can work confidently and competently from home or the office
We have introduced a new WFH and flexi time policy from Jan 2022 to improve work life balance, mental health for the team and reduce our carbon footprint
For over 34 years we have supported Plan International sponsoring a child for every employee around the globe (read more) which means we have helped over 100 children gain basic education, food, water, and shelter to help them get out of the poverty trap.

We have built classrooms in refugee camps in Gambella (read more) and we have empowered education of girls in Zimbabwe (read more) as 2 big specific initiatives with Plan International
On a more local basis in 2021 we installed a light and sensory system in a local special needs school (read more)
We support our industry charity Hospitality Action offering free strategic advice, support, and creative work
We sponsored a key industry initiative during lockdown to help the industry get back on its feet (read more)
We work pro bono for a number of charities including Debra and CWSNF and have done so for over 20 years and our CEO is a Patron
We donate our time at Christmas via our 12 days of giving initiative (read more)
We support local schools with career evenings and work experience
We have a regularly updated health and safety policy which all employees are fully conversant with and share any updates as required
We have a comprehensive employee handbook which covers all matters relating to employee rights, how to resolve conflict etc
All employees have a contract of employment that sets out our codes of conduct and their and our contractual obligations

governance

Is the way in which the board and management conduct themselves and navigate their business including tax strategy, executive remuneration, donations and political lobbying, corruption and bribery and board diversity and structure

jellybean has for over 34 years behaved in a financially responsible manner putting the security and welfare of our staff at the forefront of how we operate
We treat suppliers as we would want to be treated as partners with respect, courtesy, and prompt payment
Our annual accounts have been posted for the past 34 years and tax paid as per UK HMRC

Executives are remunerated in line with industry benchmarks for salary and benefits and we have no fat cats (the top salary is no more than 2X the average at the agency and appx 4X the lowest paid employee).
We operate a bonus scheme for all employees based on overall company performance, team performance against target and individual achievement of KPIs

We have processes and policies in place to prevent any breaches of GDPR, confidentiality, corruption, or bribery
The leadership team at jellybean represents all operating divisions and all disciplines and everyone has been appointed on merit to represent the team and the business