dentsu Aotearoa targets nothing but Net Zero

This past month, dentsu Aotearoa took a big step – without the footprint – towards net zero, after working with its CXM business Davanti to implement a framework for measuring its carbon impact.

The dentsu group globally has some ambitious net zero targets as part of its 2030 Social Impact strategy, and the team here in New Zealand saw an opportunity to spearhead that ambition and start to lay the groundwork for an accelerated Net Zero journey.

Says Rob Harvey, CEO dentsu Aotearoa: “We are very conscious of our role as kaitiaki in Aotearoa and playing our part in dentsu’s global journey towards Net Zero. We saw a great opportunity to use our scale and agility in New Zealand to establish a sustainability practice, trialling solutions and processes that can be scaled to the wider group as a force for good.”

Dentsu Aotearoa has established a multi-disciplinary Sustainability Council and the dentsu CXM business, Davanti, have implemented Net Zero Now – a new product utilising Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud for which dentsu has been a leading partner in New Zealand. For dentsu Aotearoa, this was an opportunity to test the product and walk the walk, and it has now also launched as a commercial solution for customers.

Net Zero Now has been capturing all of dentsu Aotearoa’s energy consumption data from its day-to-day operations. This data is used to determine the carbon footprint for the business and is regularly updated as it becomes available throughout the year.

Immediately, the Net Zero Cloud tool highlighted key areas where dentsu could improve – for example, their data analysts were able to pinpoint high energy consumption moments at the Auckland office. This led to the implementation of new initiatives to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions during those peak energy usage moments and will continue to drive strategic and operational decisions towards net zero.

Says Anita Hedges, implementation lead and head of dentsu’s Sustainability Council: “It was important when we set this up that we captured as much data as we possibly could, creating a one stop shop for all things environmental footprint for the team in New Zealand.”

Adds Harvey: “We’re really excited by the opportunities for progress that the Net Zero Now tool is highlighting, and it’s not every day you get to take a good look in the mirror and make meaningful change – we’re looking forward to continuing to take steps in the right direction as we work towards our net zero targets for 2025 and partnering with clients on their own sustainability journeys.”

Read more about dentsu Aotearoa’s Net Zero journey on their website here.