TCO Sustainability

Our Team

TCO is an independent majority female owned and operated business and 50% of our senior management team are women. Our team is 46% Male, 49% Female, 6% Nonbinary; 86% White, 14% Other; 14% identify as LGBTQ+ and 31% are non-UK Nationals. Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of all of our output. It affects our contractor, freelance and partner selection.

The wellbeing of our team is really important in cultivating a creative environment where everyone can be themselves and do their best work. We offer a flexible and compassionate support programme based on individual needs, with consideration for mental health wellbeing, flexibility and respect for individuals personal life and needs beyond work.

All team members and their families have access to a Employee Assistance Programme, with unlimited 24/7 365 access to Accredited Therapists and Councillors, and the provision of financial, legal, career advice and support.

Everyone at TCO is paid a living wage. When the agency has had a good year, everyone in the team gets the same bonus. We’re all in this together.

When it comes to contracting freelancers and talent, we treat them as an extension of the team. The breadth of our network and longstanding relationships are testament to this.

Our Platforms

We platform subcultures and alternative voices that challenge the status quo. Our greatest contribution to sustainability is through the independent journalism we do: in documenting emerging cultures, often on the fringes, we bring new ideas and different perspectives to more people, communities and brands and give voice to marginalised communities.

Huck, our changemaker platform, has an audience of 1.5M+ per month, who mainly visit our website to read about subcultures (28%) and activism (28%), photography (25%) and arts/music (19%). More on our platforms and approach can be found here.

TCO is in the application process for BCorp, we hope to gain accreditation in 2024.

Our Communities

The Outsiders Project is an independent platform through which we promote inclusion and diversity in culture and outdoor communities and brands.

TCO Lab advises brands on social purpose, representation, community engagement and brand activism. Our insight reports guide our narrative, brand work and approach. Read more on:

·               The Future of Community: Facilitation not Appropriation

·               Beyond Representation: The Future of Diversity & Inclusion in the Outdoors

·               Beyond Brand Purpose: The Future of Brand Activism
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Through our diverse, global network, we connect with grassroots communities of ‘makers’ - journalists, photographers, designers, directors, artists, musicians; ‘do-ers’ - influencers, big thinkers, sports people; and ‘changemakers’ - activists, subcultures and marginalised communities. We offer a platform, listen to gather insight and collaborate to tell real stories with real people to elevate diverse, alternative voices.

Where possible our campaign work invests in community funds to ensure the brands we work with facilitate change at the grassroots level.

Our Outdoors

At TCO, we believe we can’t tackle the climate crisis without reconnecting with nature and getting more people and greater representation in the outdoors. The outdoors is for everyone, yet outdoor culture and access to rural landscapes continues to remain elusive to many people from marginalised communities.

TCO Lab advises brands on bringing nature into business, zero waste, circularity and regenerative practices. This allows us to:

·               respond to briefs with sustainability built in to creative content and campaigns,

·               advise on brand strategy, environmental purpose, and partnerships on nature and the outdoors,

·               apply frameworks and run gap analyses to encourage brands to go further.
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TCO clients can request that their productions are Albert certified. Our ‘Network’ model means that we are very efficient on productions. We’re able to source production teams on the ground and specialise in remote shooting.

TCO signed up to AdNetZero. In 2022, when we submitted our data our total CO2 emissions were 7.8 tonnes. This is very low, in absolute terms, we had the lowest emissions of all reporting ANZ members. At the moment, the scope of our emissions cover the energy we use to heat and cool the office, paper use, waste, business travel and staff commuting. In future, we'd like to include the carbon footprint for our productions, printing, as well as the usage of our websites and the content we make like films and social posts.

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If you have any questions or would like to find out more regarding our sustainability agenda, please contact us at hello@tcolondon.com.