Reporting on sustainability
We recently spoke to iQ magazine about our work in the sustainability sector.We’re proud of the sustainability reports we’ve designed and the sustainability-focused sub-brands we’ve created for multinational corporations. Each one of those organisations focuses on improving its environmental and societal impacts, and we love bringing their stories to life.
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In the heart of Sweden’s bustling capital stands the Riksdag, a neoclassical edifice steeped in history. For decades, it has been the epicentre of impassioned debates and legislative transformations. Yet, almost hidden below its imposing façade, a petite figure with a cardboard sign emerged every Friday for five years, commanding attention not through grandeur but through unwavering conviction.
In August 2018, fifteen-year-old Greta Thunberg embarked on a solitary protest outside the Riksdag, armed with a homemade sign declaring ‘Skolstrejk för klimatet’ – ’School Strike for Climate’. With a stern expression and clad in a blue hoodie, she ignited a weekly statement that resonated globally, catalysing the Fridays for Future movement and sparking discourse on climate action.
Thunberg’s action had impact.
Defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as ‘a powerful effect that something, especially something new, has on a situation or person,’ the impact of Thunberg’s activism reverberated far beyond the cobblestone courtyard of the Riksdag. It underscored the profound influence that individuals possess in shaping societal paradigms — a sentiment equally pertinent in business.
In today’s corporate world, it is impact that is needed to continue moving the dial on one of humankind’s biggest challenges — climate change.
JDJ Creative are sustainability report design specialists
This is where Cambridgeshire-based design agency, JDJ Creative, comes into its own. Founded in 2009, the agency is committed to effecting change. Specialising in sustainability-focused branding and reporting, JDJ embodies its mission — to leverage the power of design to enable clients to communicate more effectively – and thus meet their goals to affect positive change and impact society.
Initially a freelance endeavour for founders Jean and Mario Prelorenzo, the agency has grown into a full-service brand and design offering. Having first ingrained themselves into the marketing operations of global financial institutions such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and EY, more recently this mission has meant enabling large companies to promote their climate disclosures.
Celebrating its thirteenth anniversary this year, the agency is determined to help showcase its clients’ sustainability-led decisions and show how they can influence and impact others.
Mario Prelorenzo, JDJ’s Managing Director, explains, “We have children ourselves, so the future, their future, is at the forefront of our minds. Partnering with EY on sustainability initiatives highlighted to us the increasing significance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and sustainability reporting for corporations. Our journey seamlessly converged with this burgeoning imperative, enabling us to contribute meaningfully to this space.”
Amidst the rapid pace of change in today’s society, JDJ’s upward trajectory has seen them enjoy a marked increase in the number of sustainable report and brand design inquiries in recent years, matching the overall ascendancy of sustainability reporting.
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, in 2018, when Ms Thunberg first started her protest, 2,449 companies produced a sustainability report globally. By 2022, this had more than doubled to 5,203.
Change is coming, and it’s coming at pace.
