Message from our CEO
What’s ahead is extraordinary
In 2021, we built back better. We transformed, repositioned our group brand, projected ourselves into the future and learned new skills and capabilities.
Last year was marked by a gradual return to in-person events, confirming the strength of our client portfolio and accelerated adoption of our engagement solutions. Our focus on stability, security and safety of our teams allowed us to preserve the long-term value of our various brands.
During yet another uncertain year, our talents once again demonstrated their resilience, supporting, and caring for each other. To continue to attract, retain and develop our talents, we want to be a company that listens, invests in learning, enables career growth, takes care of their wellbeing, offers flexible working environments, and fosters an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity and difference.
Our Group has a long-standing commitment to doing business responsibly. We know that there is always more to do regarding corporate and industry-wide sustainability efforts. We want to continue to use our voice and our skills to accelerate change and to promote a more sustainable and inclusive society.
We are now entering a new phase of our evolution, with curiosity and open-mind, and a desire to work as a team, as we believe that what’s next will be truly extraordinary.
Sebastien Tondeur, Chief Executive Officer, mci group
Our Strategy
Our mission is to be a catalyst for change; using our skills, voice and relationships to make a positive impact on the world.
Our vision is to build a sustainable business with a culture of care and responsibility which not only prioritises environmental change but which takes an interdisciplinary, intersectional and future-forward approach to sustainability as a term that encompasses environmental, social and governmental issues.
We regularly conduct a rigorous materiality assessment, integrating feedback from a broad-ranging stakeholder engagement survey and global trends and innovations. This process means our strategy is constantly evolving and adapting to meet the needs of our global society.
With-in and with-out.
We strive for sustainability in all aspects of our work – both within our offices and agencies and in the collaboration with our clients and communities.
Within mci group: Within our agencies we do everything we can to nurture caring, accepting and eco-conscious environments in which our talents can thrive. We strive for ethical leadership and governance, equality and diversity, a culture of constant learning, and choose sustainable solutions wherever possible.
With our clients: We aim to bring awareness to and forefront sustainable solutions. On the ground, this means highlighting ecologically and ethically conscious solutions within our events and experiences, integrating design thinking, and reducing waste and conserving resources wherever possible.
In our communities: We realise the mci group has a far-reaching impact on the communities in which we operate. We are always mindful of involving local, ecologically certified suppliers wherever possible and integrating community-centric aspects within all our projects. Our teams worldwide also donate thousands of hours of pro-bono hours each year towards social action efforts and NGO events. On top of this, we have partnered with Cool Earth to assist in slowing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, preserving the communities who have been living there for generations and the invaluable oxygen this miraculous resource provides.
Our sustainability journey and key areas of focus moving forwards:
As one of the world’s frontrunners in sustainable development, the mci group has been working towards a more sustainable future for more than 15 years.
Over this time much has changed, and new information is constantly coming to light on how we can improve ourselves and our approach. While we are confident our pre-existing processes are far-reaching and effective, we endeavour to remain open, humble and willing to adapt. Based on our most recent materiality assessment, we have identified six key areas of focus moving forward:
Diversity, equity & inclusion
We are committed to creating a safe and accepting environment in which all people can thrive. We are committed to fairness and equity in all aspects of our organisation.
Protecting our people and assets
We are committed to prioritising the health and safety of all our employees, clients and stakeholders and safeguarding sensitive information and data.
Responsible consumption & production
We are committed to practising ethical and sustainable sourcing.
Responsible business
We are committed to integrating environmental, social and governmental practices throughout all our operations and client projects.
Learning & development
We are committed to the continued education and development of all our employees and stakeholders.
Carbon footprint
We are committed to better controlling our carbon footprint, with a focus on digital, leaving an environmental legacy to be proud of.
We also sat down with our back-office group leaders (Finance, Legal, IT, HR and MarComs) to define their roles and their key sustainability priorities.
Why sustainability matters to us:
At the heart of any discussion around sustainability is the question, “how can we use fewer resources, specifically those of a non-renewable and toxic nature?” Smart businesses understand that accelerated consumption, globalisation, hyper-connectivity, disparate prosperity, ecological decline and a lack of global sustainability governance has led to the need for an in-depth understanding of the sustainability of our supply chains.
We believe we can become part of the solution and help lead the transition towards a more sustainable global economy. By focusing on reducing emissions, improving resource usage and energy efficiency, as well as increasing social benefits, we are not only “doing good,” we are saving our bottom line and future-proofing our business. As an organisation, we owe it to the communities within which we work and live to ensure we behave responsibly and sustainably.
Businesses are increasingly accountable for their impact and actions. In the digital age, corporate behaviour is often debated in public forums and transparency has become an essential requirement for all companies, not only financially but in the validity of their sustainability commitments.
Regulators and governments are looking closely at the environmental cost of their GDP and increasingly legislating around corporate responsibility, governance, carbon emissions and the environment’s protection.
We strongly believe that to succeed, we must move beyond implementing the minimum required standard and assist our clients to make the transition to a more sustainable world.
Today, sustainability is seen as an essential part of any forward-thinking and well-integrated company. Our clients and partners are developing their sustainability programmes and demanding more responsible, transparent business practices in their procurement processes. More and more corporations select their partners based on their sustainability performance.
To us, sustainability is a business imperative, a driver of innovation, a method to engage stakeholders and a means of motivating and attracting staff – all of which provide us with a competitive advantage.
Resilience is the capacity of a system to survive, adapt and grow in the face of unforeseen changes, even catastrophic incidents.
In a world of climate change, resource scarcity, political turbulence, social change, constant technological developments and mounting regulatory pressures, growth does not always proceed smoothly.
We believe a sustainable company is also a resilient company. The Covid-19 pandemic is a good example of how mci group was able to adapt and transform. Our sustainability programme helps us to foresee and overcome disruptions and continually transform ourselves to meet the changing needs and expectations of our customers, talent, shareholders and other stakeholders.
Business growth remains strong in the sustainability arena. From cleantech to renewable energy, green buildings and sustainable fashion, all sectors are focused on making more sustainable products and services. To achieve the market transition to a sustainable economy, people will need to meet, associations will need to engage members, governments will need to form collaborations and businesses will need to launch new products and incentivise their staff.
The growth of this green sustainable economy provides a huge business opportunity for our group. Since we started our sustainability programme, we have organised close to 1,000 events within the sustainability and energy sector and provided strategic advisory services to many leaders within the sustainability movement, such as the UN Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative. We see a clear business opportunity in helping our clients to engage and activate their stakeholders around sustainable development issues.
We have aligned ourselves with leading international standards in sustainability (including ISO 20121 events sustainability management system), social responsibility and reporting to present a thorough strategy and report which is transparent, consistent and credible.
UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
By supporting the UN Global Compact, business can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. With more than 12,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from at least 170 countries, it is the largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative in the world.
Reporting level
This website serves as the communication on progress report for the United Nations Global Compact.
Our commitment to the UN Global Compact
“mci group has been a signatory of the Global Compact since 2007. We are proud to have been the first agency from the meetings and associations industry to commit to the Global Compact. Since then, we have been working to integrate the ten guiding principles into our business. We challenge our partners and clients to also support the Compact. The Compact’s ten principles and the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals, have been a fundamental influence and guide in developing our sustainability strategy.”
Sebastien Tondeur,
Chief Executive Officer
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a roadmap for a better, more sustainable and equal world.
We want to help make that world a reality.
We see the SDGs as an overarching framework that can help us shape, steer, communicate and report on our sustainability strategies, goals and activities.
The SDGs can help us identify new business opportunities, strengthen relationships with key stakeholders and better measure and communicate the value of our sustainability programme.
We are firmly committed to achieving these goals and feel proud to form a part of the cohort of environmentally and socially aware businesses aligning themselves with these ambitious yet essential principles.
EcoVadis corporate social responsibility assessment
EcoVadis evaluates the mci group’s sustainability performance across four categories from environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Our sustainability policies, initiatives and results are analysed following international CSR standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, United Nations Global Compact and ISO 26000.
EcoVadis assesses more than 90,000 companies in 200 industries throughout 160 countries. In 2021, we achieved an EcoVadis score of 56 out of 100 points, with a “silver” status rating.
We will continue to engage with our stakeholders and suppliers to increase our positive impact across everything we do.
Governance
Corporate governance
mci group’s advisory board, executive committee, group management team and regional leadership teams ensure the tone of good governance and sustainability. Here’s how:
Sustainability Governance
Group
sustainability
team
We are developing a culture of care
which prioritises environmental, social
and governmental issues in all that we do.
Emmanuel André
Group Health, Safety and Sustainability Director
Erica Fawer
Group Internal Communication Director and Sustainability Integration Director.
Marine Mugnier
Group People and Culture Coordinator