Global Reporting Initiative Reports
Provide a list of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization
Note this response will be cross-referenced for Disclosures 102-40,102-42 and 102-43
IPG Stakeholder Engagement
GRI 102-40: List of stakeholder groups
GRI 102-42: Identifying and selecting stakeholders
GRI 102-43: Approach to stakeholder engagement
GRI 102-44: Key topics and concerns raised
This response is cross-referenced for Indicators: 102-40, 102-42, 102-43 and 102-44
Interpublic Group (IPG)’s key stakeholders include our employees, clients, shareholders, and communities. Our engagement with these groups has driven sustainability to the top of our corporate priorities, and we continually seek feedback and ensure we engage responsively with our stakeholders.
At IPG, we define sustainability broadly to include minimizing our environmental footprint, ensuring diversity and inclusion at all of our companies, and giving back to communities where our employees live, work, and vote. IPG’s global community initiatives are informed by the priorities of our employees, clients, and investors. For example, at corporate, IPG decided to ask our employees to weigh in on a charitable contribution, choosing from organizations we have donated to or volunteered with during the past year. As a result, IPG supported charitable organizations such as, The United Way of the Midlands, The United Nations World Food Programme, and charity: water.
We conducted research with our clients, our employees, and our investors. In addition, we had discussions with internal proxies representing these groups to learn more about which areas are critical for us to focus on in our sustainability strategy. IPG regularly engages with each of these key stakeholder groups on various ESG topics, as we do on all matters of mutual importance.
Ours is a talent business and, to serve our clients in the best way possible, we must recruit and retain top talent. IPG gauges employee engagement with a yearly network-wide survey to measure our climate for inclusion. We also maintain several business resource groups through which employees provide support to each other and conduct outreach activities that are important to their members.
As a public company, it’s essential that we meet the expectations of our shareholders who make it possible for us to do best-in-class work on behalf of our clients. We engage with investors through presentations and meetings, and welcome feedback and input on our ESG and performance strategies.
IPG works with our clients to ensure that the marketing communications programs we design for them are most efficiently and effectively moving their businesses forward. In order to ensure that our clients are successful and that we maintain our competitive positioning in the marketplace, we must always make certain that our business is aligned with clients’ changing needs and the ever-changing consumer landscape.
Increasingly we are receiving various questions and surveys from clients asking about particular aspects of our sustainability program which enable us to learn more about their areas of focus as well as their concerns. IPG constantly considers and incorporates feedback from our clients when reviewing and updating our sustainability strategies. Aligning with our clients’ values allow us to develop better relationships, build new business, and attract new clients. IPG and its agencies work with clients on projects that highlight such matters of importance and many of these engagements are featured on the Sustainability and Purpose area of our website.
IPG’s recent client work in this area has included:
Encouraging voter participation
Fostering inclusive cultures at our companies
