Demographic, technological, social and environmental forces continue to generate new challenges, uncertainties and opportunities for our clients.
A growing and ageing population is creating new markets but also putting unprecedented demand on public services and resources. The challenge of climate change and resource scarcity is increasingly felt by sectors from agriculture to construction, while other industries benefit from the opportunities associated with low carbon innovation. Rapid technological change continues to disrupt old business models while creating new social challenges including those associated with the loss of jobs due to automation.
Increasingly citizens, consumers and employees expect business to lead in tackling these societal challenges. Pioneering businesses are responding and more of their peers will join them. They need the best insight, research and communications services to help them do so effectively. They want a communications partner who understands the changing landscape and shares their values.
WPP companies are already advisors to many such leading businesses. As our clients increasingly feel the impact of these wider trends, so their importance is growing for WPP too.
Sustainability and our strategic priorities
Our sustainability strategy supports progress on our strategic priorities in three main ways:
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Access to new business: A growing number of our clients look for communication services partners who share their sustainability values and aspirations. Our commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices helps us to build on these partnerships and to meet the sustainability requirements in client procurement processes. Clients that engaged with us on sustainability were worth £2.11 billion in revenues to the Group in 2017, equivalent to 14% of the total.
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Access to skills: Strong employment policies, investment in skills and inclusive working practices help us recruit, motivate and develop the talented people we need to serve our clients in all disciplines across our locations, including new markets where our industry is less well established.
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Efficiency, risk and reputation: Managing the social and environmental impacts of our business and selecting supplier partners who adopt standards consistent with our own can reduce costs and risks to the business as well as improving efficiency and safeguarding our reputation.
For more on our strategic priorities see our Annual Report.