“A person makes approximately 35,600 conscious decisions a year. This means that we have 35,600 opportunities to decide the impact we want to make with our actions”. This sentence opens our second Impact Report and reaffirms our conviction that it is possible to use a company as a force for change.
At Canela, we work every day to generate a positive impact on people, the community and the planet, and we are transparent about how we do this and the benefits we generate. That’s why our Impact Report includes information about our corporate culture, the social actions we take, the environmental policies we adopt and the company’s financial situation. And although we are aware that there is still much room for improvement, year after year we expand the positive impact we generate and look for new ways to continue doing so.
People: our team makes us different
We are convinced that our team makes us different and, for this reason, we prioritise their well-being. This is reflected in our policies on remote working, flexible working and development programmes. In 2023, we dedicated 629 hours to training in areas ranging from emotional wellbeing to sustainability.
We are also committed to female empowerment and equal opportunities: 84% of our workforce and 88% of our management team are formed by women. A commitment that goes beyond the doors of our offices, as demonstrated by the Stop Working For Change campaign, launched in 2023 to draw attention to the inequality of women in the workplace, especially in the communication sector, and which in 2024 went global with the participation of 23 companies in 20 countries.
Planet: we’d rather change and compensate than do nothing
We’re committed to change, but we realise that it’s not always possible, and when it happens, we’d rather compensate than do nothing. That’s why, in 2023, we carried out our first carbon footprint audit, which revealed that we generated 3.54 tonnes of CO2. To offset this impact, we planted 62 trees and managed to absorb 3.89 tonnes of CO2.
We believe that collaboration between organisations is fundamental to improving the planet’s prospects, which is why we are the first communications agency in Spain to be part of Clean Creatives, a global initiative that refuses to work with clients from the fossil fuel sector.
Advantages: we have nothing to hide
We are transparent, even in what we earn. With a turnover of 2.6 million euros and a model in which we allocate 70% of that value to the team, 10% to profits and 20% to operating and welfare costs, at Canela we demonstrate that good business health is not incompatible with social and environmental responsibility.
Nevertheless, we know we can do better, so our commitment for 2024 is to continue working to be an active part of the change we seek. To this end, we want to increase our regenerative economy customers from 30% to 50%, while reducing our digital footprint with initiatives such as the Net Zero Seal or the expansion of our B Corp supplier database, so that we always choose the most sustainable option. We will also continue to optimise our journeys and shipments to reduce the impact they generate and offset the CO2 emitted through Tree-Nation.
Deborah Gray is Fundadora y CEO
