COMMUNICATION ON PROGRESS

FROM 2020-01-06 TO 2021-04-06

1. STATEMENT OF CONTINUES SUPPORT BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OWNER

To our stakeholders:

I am delighted to confirm that M&C Saatchi Worldwide reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to sharing this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Marcus Peffers
CEO

M&C Saatchi have committed to conducting our business globally with honesty, integrity and to the highest international standards with respect to Human Rights.

M&C Saatchi will not tolerate any verbal, physical or sexual abuse and our Whistleblowing policy seeks to ensure that people who come into contact with our staff have the ability to lodge feedback or a complaint.

Evidence of verbal, physical or sexual abuse by staff members will result in immediate suspension from work until an investigation is concluded. Evidence of misdeeds will result in disciplinary action and, where appropriate, immediate termination.

M&C Saatchi believes that in conducting our work we should do no harm. Our Safeguarding policy fits as part of our objective in this. M&C Saatchi sees any material breach in this policy as the same as bringing the business into disrepute and thus is a disciplinary offence.

Children, young people and vulnerable adults who come into contact with M&C Saatchi as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm.

This responsibility falls upon all of our staff and representatives and is reflected across many Policies (including our Whistleblowing policy). This duty of care is enshrined in our Child, Youth and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy.

We expect all staff to maintain these high standards. Further, we require that our local and fieldwork partners do also. We have policies and training programmes for staff to vet and monitor clients and suppliers at all levels and take any relevant action. We have advisors who help us, and in some cases insurance to allow us to access experts if a situation arises.

M&C Saatchi ensure workers are provided safe, suitable and sanitary work facilities. All contracts issued to employee’s are compliant with current employment law and meet the legal requirements regarding working conditions in the country they are issued. Working conditions are continuously reviewed to ensure we are compliant and offering our staff conditions that are not only just the requirement but reflect the value we recognise our staff bring to the business. Again, we require that our local and fieldwork partners do also.

In this way we are creating an organisation that not only meets safeguarding expectations but promotes appropriate measures and behaviours throughout the service delivery chain, irrespective of the complexity of the environment, honouring their rights and our aspirations.

Labour and Human rights standards are upheld throughout the business and with our intent illustrated in our Equal Opportunities Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. M&C Saatchi maintains a Whistleblowing Policy to ensure any suspected wrongdoing is reported as soon as possible. Our policy covers all employees, officers, consultants, contractors, interns, casual workers and agency workers. It is maintained globally and implemented through all specialist divisions and offices.

We continue to look at innovative ways to allow our employees to report any potential, or apparent, malpractice or misconduct in confidence. We have introduced a new mobile app, Vault Platform, that gives employees a safe space to report any form of misconduct in the workplace, including but not limited to harassment, bullying, discrimination, and racism, through to fraud and corruption. This has been launched in the UK during 2020 and we are monitoring its usage and effectiveness and will make any necessary amendments prior to rolling it out to the Group. This is one of the new system enhancements that will aid with the overhaul of governance.

As part of our commitment to our Inclusion and Diversity strategy, M&C Saatchi have undertaken to baseline workforce demographic data regionally to ensure accurate understanding of the Demographics of management and employees broken down by diversity factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age, etc.).
This baseline survey was undertaken within the HQ/ UK Group at the end of 2020 and will be pursued on a regional and office basis internationally within the same model.

This survey will be repeated annually to ensure Targets and KPIs and progress can be measured over time.

A complementary survey is currently complete but in analysis to provide Inclusivity data based on the ‘lived experience’ of all staff and employees.
M&C Saatchi will set and achieve 3-year targets for representation, at different levels of the organisation (Race, Disability, Gender, Sexual Orientation and Social mobility).

We are committed to ensuring our business is operated ethically and with integrity.

As part of M&C Saatchi’s commitment to providing good corporate governance within the Group, we have recently implemented a new compliance learning tool to provide annual training, covering:
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Bribery & Corruption
• Data Protection
• Whistleblowing
• Fraud
• Cyber Security
• Equality & Diversity
• Anti-Slavery

Some departments such as Operations and Finance are also required to take additional modules. The program is tailored depending on market, with all new starters required to complete the training as part of the onboarding process and all existing employees completing their assigned modules annually.

Given the nature of the services we provide we consider that we are at low risk of exposure to slavery and human trafficking. However, M&C Saatchi continually monitors its supply chains and operates a zero-tolerance policy to slavery and human trafficking as reflected in its Modern Slavery Statement. We will never knowingly deal with any organisation which is connected to slavery or human trafficking.

Similarly, we comply with minimum wage standards in all markets, and require that implementation and fieldwork partners do also.

M&C Saatchi is committed to promoting diversity and as such, over the last 12 months we have revisited our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy. Our vision is to be 'a company that values difference, with an inclusive culture brought to life through equity, enabling us to achieve our goals'.

We believe that to create meaningful change for our clients and the world, we must navigate it internally. This ensures that we stay relevant to – and reflective of – our world and the societies we serve.

Through our vision, actions, and culture, we celebrate the lived experiences of individuals from diverse backgrounds and protected characteristic groups who are underrepresented and potentially marginalised in the workplace. We champion difference by creating a culture rooted in equity, where treating people fairly means they are treated differently, based on individual need.

We are building a fair and equitable organisation, reflecting the global markets in which we operate placing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, (DEI), at the heart of how we plan and operate. But through action, not just words, we will continue to use our cultural influence to act as leaders, allies and advocates for change. And we will continue to shape our business to reflect the diversity of the world we live and operate in.

We are fully committed to respect and deliver fair treatment for everyone whatever their background, race, ethnicity, gender or other protected characteristics (as defined within the UK Equality Act 2010) and deliver opportunity and development for all of our clients, team members and stakeholders.

We believe:
• We have a moral obligation to invest in the development of a diverse workforce, an inclusive culture and the removal of barriers for underrepresented groups.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion creates value and is our ‘way of doing business’.
• Data and analysis should be the basis of decisions, and that data-driven storytelling should act as a catalyst to action.
• All talent thrives under inclusive leadership. Inclusive leaders maximise the collective intelligence of their teams and unlock each person’s potential.
• All employees have a shared responsibility for removing systemic barriers and reducing bias.

The Company is committed to a merit-based system for both its Board composition as well as talent recruitment within a diverse and inclusive culture which seeks outward multiple perspectives and views and is free of conscious or unconscious bias and discrimination.
M&C Saatchi’s equal opportunities policy is not to discriminate on any grounds other than someone’s ability to work effectively. To deliver this we continually review our application process, make reasonable adjustments to working arrangements and to the physical aspects of the workplaces, as well as offering any necessary training.

The Company has recently developed a new diversity and inclusion strategy incorporating the above aims and commitments with a view to rolling it out Group wide.
Under the strategy, our commitment is to:
- Ensure our business is representative of the countries in which we operate.
- Champion representation of under-represented groups at Board and management level (as well as throughout the business).
- Ensure all our people are treated with equity and respect.
- Support all our staff (particularly those from under-represented groups) and to prevent anyone feeling isolated or excluded.
- Connect to and support the communities and networks around us, working with businesses and suppliers led by under-represented groups.
- To be transparent about what we need to do and hold ourselves accountable for change.
- Open our doors to other cultures and use our power and influence for good.
- Challenge our culture, insisting on inclusivity and more equitable leadership identifying and tackling unconscious bias.

As part of delivering on this strategy we joined forces in 2020 with our friend and collaborator Akil Benjamin, to give back to communities across our Group's worldwide markets.

Together, we work to give people the business basics they need to progress forward in their venture or career journey with confidence, allowing them to do more and make change.

Starting in our Headquarters in the UK and soon transitioning to the US market, all programmes delivered by our partnership so far, such as M&C Saatchi Saturday School and Mentor Black Business, are based around doing more and making change at scale for minority communities.

Across our markets and the communities we operate in we have developed a number of tailored initiatives to support our Strategy including M&C Saatchi &I, an accelerator graduate programme that goes beyond advertising and brings together the bravest and brightest young diverse South African Talent to a partnership in the U.S. with Incorp[HER]ated a diversity and inclusion agency aimed at empowering its (predominantly female identifying) network, and bridging the gap between communities, brands and representation.

In the past 12 months we have also revisited our commitment to the planet. M&C Saatchi are committed to operating as a responsible business and place environmental sustainability as a top priority.

While we continue to evolve our initiatives within the local communities we operate, everything we do is guided by our four commitments:
1. Reducing the operational impact of our business on the environment in terms of:
a. Waste reduction
b. Energy
c. Transport
d. Legislation
2. Applying socially responsible procurement policies with anyone we work with or for
3. Advising and supporting our clients in making meaningful change to enhance their social and environmental impacts wherever we can
4. Promoting transparency, integrity and ethics in all areas of our business

Through active environmental engagement, communication and good practice, M&C Saatchi Group aims to go beyond compliance requirements to become an environmental leader within our business sector. Our Headquarters runs off 100% renewable energy and has been audited as performing significantly above other organisations or a similar size and scope and have held ISO 14001 certification since 2011.

Our current environmental objectives include those related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced global reporting and collaborative stakeholder engagement.

M&C Saatchi is a progressive and reactive company with a dynamic way of understanding the environment. Environmental targets are reviewed annually by local offices. We are inclusive in our approach, encouraging staff to also participate with our environmental initiatives through internal campaigns.

To ensure we’re operating as a responsible business across the world and continuing to develop our efforts we’ve formed a global CSR Committee which draws together leaders from across our Group and in communities.

Chaired by Lisa Gordon, Senior Non-Executive plc Board Member, M&C Saatchi commit to producing and publishing an annual report charting progress. The first will be released at the end of 2021.

Environmental impact is monitored, measured on a local office basis and M&C Saatchi has now committed to producing and publishing an annual report charting progress. The first will be released at the end of 2021.

Within the UK Group this has included assessment of suppliers across energy, waste management and travel (via carbon offsetting) to ensure year on year reduction in environmental impact. As an example, the UK Group, pre-pandemic:
- is powered on 100% green electricity
- sends zero waste to landfill
- has a 100% reported recycle rate for office waste
- uses 100% printer paper sourced from sustainable forest
- has seen a 7% reduction in CO2 transport emissions
- has seen a 20% reduction in water usage
- has seen a 22% reduction in printer paper usage

M&C Saatchi will not authorize or pay any bribes. M&C Saatchi treats the payment of bribes as fraud.

The Group is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in its business activities in the UK and overseas. Our anti-corruption policy outlines the Group’s position on preventing and prohibiting bribery, in accordance with the UK’s Bribery Act 2010.

The Group will not tolerate any form of bribery by, or of, its employees, agents or consultants or any person or body acting on its behalf.

As detailed in the Labour section all our employees have mandatory training modules on these topics, with Senior management committed to implementing effective measures to prevent, monitor and eliminate bribery.

Bribes are prohibited. The Company prohibits employees, suppliers or associated persons from offering, promising, giving, soliciting or accepting any bribe. The bribe might be cash, a gift or other inducement to, or from, any person or company, whether a public or government official, official of a state-controlled industry, political party or a private person or company, regardless of whether the employee or associated person is situated in the UK or overseas. The bribe might be made to ensure that a person or company improperly performs duties or functions (for example, by not acting impartially or in good faith or in accordance with their position of trust) to gain any commercial, contractual or regulatory advantage for the Company in either obtaining or maintaining Company business, or to gain any personal advantage, financial or otherwise, for the individual or anyone connected with the individual.

This prohibition also applies to indirect contributions, payments or gifts made in any manner as an inducement or reward for improper performance, for example through consultants, contractors or sub-contractors, agents or sub-agents, sponsors or sub-sponsors, joint-venture partners, advisors, customers, suppliers or other third parties.

Records. Employees and, where applicable, associated persons, are required to take particular care to ensure that all company records are accurately maintained in relation to any contracts or business activities, including financial invoices and all payment transactions with clients, suppliers and public officials.
Due diligence should be undertaken by employees, suppliers and associated persons prior to entering into any contract, arrangement or relationship with a potential supplier of services, agent, consultant or representative.

Employees, suppliers and associated persons are required to keep accurate, detailed and up-to-date records of all corporate hospitality, entertainment or gifts accepted or offered.

Training. M&C Saatchi regularly communicates its anti-bribery measures to employees and associated persons, setting up training sessions where applicable.

M&C Saatchi further:
- regularly monitors "at risk" employees and associated persons;
- regularly communicates with "at risk" employees and associated persons;
- undertakes extensive due diligence of third parties and associated persons; and
- communicates its zero-tolerance approach to bribery to third parties, including actual and prospective customers, suppliers and joint-venture partners