Sustainability Policy

Introduction 

Springboard Communications is an award-winning integrated communications agency and global partner of the Worldcom Public Relations Group.  

We partner with purpose-led businesses to solve complex problems, protect reputations, and drive COMMUNICATIONS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE. Our mission is clear and single-minded: To harness the power of strategic communications for the greater good.  

Grounded in partnership and collaboration, we work alongside our clients as strategic advisors. Defining purpose for some and amplifying it for others through world-class communication strategies. Our work is guided by the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are dedicated to making a positive impact in Ireland and beyond.  

Overview 

Our world faces significant sustainability challenges. Most prominent among these are climate change and biodiversity loss, however, there are numerous other man-made impacts including the depletion of natural resources, plastic pollution and water scarcity as well as issues related to global population growth, regional conflicts, migration, human rights, health and poverty.  

Organisations in all sectors must act responsibly and minimise the negative sustainability impacts of their operations while contributing to positive social, environmental and economic outcomes. This requires leadership and the implementation of plans to measure, manage and continuously improve sustainability & ESG performance. 

Purpose 

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that Springboard Communications fulfils its role as a good corporate citizen by adhering to the highest Sustainability & ESG standards and ensuring that all our employees understand the social, environmental and economic impacts of our operations and recognise their roles and responsibilities in the delivery of our plans to mitigate them.  

In addressing our impacts, we also want to ensure that we: 

• comply with applicable law in all our operations  
• minimise our impact on the environment and maximise the effective use of resources 
• foster high sustainability & ESG standards and advocacy amongst employees  
• minimise risks and impacts through the implementation of processes and systems to measure and monitor sustainability & ESG performance 
• are transparent and open in communicating our plans, actions and performance. 

Objective  

At Springboard Communications, we aim to operate our business to the highest Sustainability & ESG standards, minimising the impacts of our operations through ambitious goals and stretching targets that ensure that the services we provide to our clients have the lowest possible impact and assist our clients to achieve their sustainability goals. 

Collaboration and teamwork are essential elements of the success of our business, so, we will work with all our stakeholders to ensure that, not only do we continuously improve our performance, but inspire others to do the same. We will align our Sustainability & ESG strategy with global targets on Climate Change, Nature and Biodiversity, and the needs of People as articulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and to the Human and Labour rights standards in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). See our SDG Sustainability Statement HERE  

Scope 

This policy applies to all Springboard Communications’ employees and covers all of our services and operations both within our business and across our value chain.  

Policy 

We will operate our business to the highest Sustainability & ESG Standards and will take account of the Social, Environmental and Economic impacts of our operations by taking the following actions:   

Social 

We will: 

• provide safe and healthy workplaces 
• support employee health and wellbeing 
• promote diversity, equity and inclusion  
• provide equal opportunities  
• protect the human and labour rights of workers in our supply chain  
• comply with legislation such as the Modern Slavery Act 2018  
• support the communities in which we operate  
• create personal and professional development opportunities for our employees 
• maintain meaningful engagement with our stakeholders, communities, industry bodies and government 
• support local businesses when purchasing goods and services on behalf of our business 
• support local charities and good causes 
• encourage our employees to volunteer in support of good causes via programs organised internally or externally 

Environmental 

We will: 

• comply with all laws governing the environment 
• promote environmental awareness throughout our operations and maintain a continuous improvement approach to environmental performance 
• foster a sustainability culture, where responsibility is assigned and understood  
• monitor and mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of our operations on the environment 
• conserve energy, water and resources in all our operations 
• adopt a zero waste approach and employ the waste hierarchy of ‘Prevent, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ to minimise waste, maximise recycling and ensure the proper disposal of any residual waste 
• reduce our environmental impact by purchasing products and services that are verifiably more sustainable 
• protect biodiversity and support projects that aim to restore nature 
• collaborate across our value chain to improve performance and minimise environmental impacts 
• be an environmentally responsible neighbour in our community 

Economic 

We will: 

• consider and support sustainability initiatives with a strong business case  
• integrate sustainability into our existing business model, accounting and reporting 
• reduce operating costs through improved resource management eg, water, waste, energy, carbon and through employee engagement   

• manage risk of operational disruptions e.g. resource scarcity, climate change impact, or community risks  
• reduce reputation risks and communicate our actions 
• add value to our services by supporting clients to communicate their sustainability progress  

Responsibility 

Springboard Communications’ management is responsible for ensuring that this policy is implemented, updated and communicated and that appropriate Plans, KPIs and Targets are established to ensure continuous performance improvement. Management is also responsible for ensuring that all employees are made aware of their roles in the delivery of this policy. Springboard Communications’ employees are responsible for appraising themselves of the detail of this policy and of their role in its delivery. 

This policy should be read in conjunction with Springboard Communications’: 

• Environmental Policy  
• Ethical Sourcing/Trading Policy 
• Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy 
• Employee Health and Wellbeing Policy 
• Local Procurement Policy