Corporate Social Responsibility
At Aquent, it's not just about business.
We believe that we have a social responsibility to support not-for-profit organisations, strengthen local communities, promote social justice, environmental sustainability, and lifelong learning, and take an ethical approach to everything we do.
Our initiatives and actions include:
Diversity & Inclusion
Aquent is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in an inclusive environment—where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued—is critical to ensuring everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive. We also believe that diversity goes beyond race and gender. Diversity includes things that are visible and those that are not. It's a person's age, status, ability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, and so much more. These differences help foster a more progressive workplace. We embrace them all.
Company-wide training
Providing internal training on inclusiveness, mitigating bias, and ethics.
Carbon Negative Initiative
We're committed to bringing Aquent carbon negative. We are doing this by becoming a virtual-first workplace in as many Aquent locations as possible, and by giving employees the option and support to work from home. This significantly reduces business travel. We're also moving our data centres to utilise renewable hydroelectric power, switching all company-issued computers to more efficient models, and building two solar arrays. Our next goal will be to erase our entire carbon footprint of 35 years.
Charity partner
We are very proud to support Aleto Foundation as our official charity partner. We raise money for them at our events; our team volunteers at their events; and are able to donate a portion of their salary to Beyond Blue through our Workplace Giving Programme. Aquent matches ALL donations dollar for dollar.
Additional earth-friendly practices
Our operations are paperless wherever possible, including talent handbooks, onboarding documents, surveys, timecard approval, invoices, and online pay statements. We've eliminated single-use products. All staff are encouraged to use, reuse, and recycle equipment and materials wisely.
Giving Back
Designing for Good is our annual competition where we award grants for talent to use their creative and marketing skills to benefit not-for-profit organisations around the globe.
Employee Learning Fund
Every employee has access to our unique ‘Life-long Learning Fund' of £5000 per year after three months of employment which can go towards attendance at industry events, workshops or specialist training. This ensures continual growth — both personal and professional.
Vendors
Using local and ethically responsible suppliers.
Free skills training
Providing free proprietary designed online education courses which help professionals bridge their digital skills gap via Aquent Gymnasium.
Aquent conducts its affairs in accordance with the highest ethical business practices and complies with all applicable laws and regulations worldwide.
Therefore, we have an employee Code of Conduct and Business Ethics (the Code), which sets forth legal and ethical standards of conduct for all officers and employees of Aquent. Aquent communicates this to all employees, and every employee has the duty to read, understand, and comply with the Code. Aquent employees are expected to use good judgment and common sense in complying with the Code, which applies to Aquent and all of its subsidiaries and other business entities controlled by Aquent worldwide. Aquent employees, directors, contractors, and agents are required to comply with all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to Aquent wherever it does business. As part of our commitment to business ethics, Aquent has implemented strong equality, privacy, safety, and anti-slavery policies.
This statement is reviewed and updated annually to make sure we are in compliance with the latest guidelines and to include any new incentives.
Aquent's Corporate Social Responsibility – Code of Conduct and Business Ethics is in line with Reporting Guidelines 102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behaviour and 102-17 Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, GRI 202 General Disclosures 2016.
