UK charity FareShare has bigged up the major impact of its partnership with Dentsu in the fight against food poverty and waste – signed two years ago – by revealing their pact has redistributed the equivalent of 1,156,415 meals to communities across the UK, after raising £259,097.98 for the charity.
Using these funds, FareShare has reduced emissions and water usage associated with producing, storing, and transporting surplus food by distributing it to frontline charities and community groups.
The partnership has saved 504 tonnes of embedded C02e from going to waste – the same amount of C02e released by 336 return flights from London to Los Angeles. A further 670 million litres of water has also been saved. These calculations are based on the data found in an environmental impact assessment by the Carbon Trust.
While ad agencies are often accused of riding roughshod over the planet in pursuit of profits, Dentsu’s partnership with FareShare is part of its broader mission to embed sustainable consumption into its own business and the work it does with its clients, with the aim of enabling 1 billion people to make better and more sustainable choices by 2030.
The agency giant is continuing to develop sustainable solutions to offer its clients new and innovative ways to analyse and reduce their environmental impact, such as its Carbon Calculator and Ethical Media Index, tools to analyse the carbon impact of advertising campaigns, and Canopy, a collaborative program for sustainable business transformation.
As one of the world’s largest digital media and communications networks, Dentsu insists it recognises that the biggest positive impact it can make on sustainability is in its ability to change mindsets and influence behaviours.
To date, the group has reached more than 74 million people globally to encourage sustainable lifestyles through campaigns promoting circular economies, plant-based foods, electric vehicles, second-hand fashion, sustainable food production and agriculture.
FareShare director of fundraising Polly Bianchi said: “Dentsu’s support has been instrumental to our continued mission – tackling the environmental damage of food waste and getting that food to the communities that are turning it into good.
“As FareShare enters its 30th year, we know there’s still much to do. With so many people impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, our partners are key in helping us get food to over 8,500 community groups across the UK, from school breakfast clubs to community centres that are making a difference every day.
“We look forward to our continued collaboration with Dentsu in the future and the success it will bring.”
Dentsu UK&I chief executive Angela Tangas added: “Partnerships that make a genuine impact on local communities are really important to us. We support FareShare because we are continually impressed by the charity’s success in – and commitment to – reducing environmental impact of food waste in local communities.
“At Dentsu, we are working to underpin every facet of our work with a Sanpo Yoshi philosophy, actively pursuing actions that benefit not only business, but also people and society. We are proud to support a charity that is driving change both locally and globally and look forward to what we can achieve together this year.”
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