Republik empowers its employees to define its impact strategy

On February 10th, we closed our (virtual) office to hold the first edition of Creating Social Capital™ Day during which we discussed social and environmental issues that we hold to heart. The goal was to come up as a team with actions Republik could do.

At Republik, we firmly believe in putting our convictions to work by collaborating with brands that aim to create a positive impact in society (if you are driven with the same ambition, check out our Careers page). We want to walk the talk so we also have to play our role as a company that is part of the solution.

Hence we kicked off our impact planning with the first edition of Creating Social Capital™ Day. This also allowed the whole team to apply our proprietary methodology.

“Positioning impact at the core of our agency is a way to give a sense of purpose to everyone’s work. It was then essential to involve the whole company in developing our impact plan.” - JP, partner, chief of strategy and animator for the day.

This is how it happened.

From 9am we logged off from our emails and put away our cellphones to meet our colleagues on Zoom. We divided the agency into four teams for the occasion. There were two themes, two teams were reflecting on our environmental impact and the two other teams focused on our societal impact. We spend the morning to discuss the issues we face in our industry and to identify our current achievements at Republik.

In the afternoon, it was the time to be ambitious.

The diversity of experiences and personal convictions among the group brought out enriching conversations panning on several topics. A few issues still managed to rise above to become the priorities.

On the environmental side, the discussions highlighted the agencies’ responsibility to educate on sustainable consumption and how to avoid greenwashing. We also didn’t forget the carbon footprint of the digital economy.

“I’ve been writing ideas on how to help the environment in my notebook for a long time, but the hardest was always to go from ideation to action. I was very happy to devote an entire day to bring those ideas to fruition. I felt like we’ve made giant steps forward.” - Jenève

“It was really enriching to ask questions we don’t normally ask about local purchasing, globalisation, e-commerce, etc. It made me realize that I was part of the equation, simultaneously through my work at the agency and also through my daily consumption as a citizen of the world.” - Sophie

Furthermore on the social side, it was diversity in its many shadings and hue that stoked up the talks. We took into account how diversity and inclusion are paramount for our team, our projects, our clients and the industry as a whole.

“I’ve witnessed colleagues speaking real. The president of the agency was on my team and we were able to discuss openly without filters about our good deeds as much as our blind spots, especially regarding diversity and inclusion matters.” - Izzy

“I had the opportunity to be among recent hires on my team. They directed us closer to actions. It spurred the desire to do something concrete, to get out in the field and delve into the roots of the problem. Getting involved in schools was an idea we came up with." - Tyran

The results?

Well filled working canvas which will help us develop our Creating Social Capital Plan, for our progress from the environmental, social and governance (ESG) perspective. It is a commitment we took as a UN Global Compact company.

Subscribe to our newsletters to receive a copy of our first report that will be published in the spring of 2021.