Our 2023 Benefit Report
As a social impact PR agency that is a registered Benefit Company, we are held accountable for assessing our company’s performance against a third-party standard. Yulu assesses its impact through B Lab’s B Impact Assessment.
A year in the life of a social impact PR agency
If this is your first time reading Yulu’s Benefit Report, it serves a few purposes: to provide a testament to the power of social impact storytelling, to showcase the impactful work of our clients, and to connect their important work with those who can scale it and those who can benefit from it. It goes without saying that we are grateful What does a year in the life of an Impact Communications agency look like? Click below for a look at our 2023 annual Benefit Report.
As a Benefit Company, Yulu is committed to promoting public benefit through the following benefit provisions:
- Economic Benefit: Through our social mandate, we commit to exclusively working with innovative organizations that are embedding either social or environmental responsibility directly into their business models and practices.
- Global Benefit: We are committed to driving progress towards the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
- Environmental Benefit: Through our annual B Impact Assessment, Yulu is committed to measuring and monitoring our own environmental impact, to ensure we meet B Lab’s standards.
- Cultural Benefit: We commit to respectfully acknowledge, embrace, and celebrate diverse cultural backgrounds, and to continually support practices related to promoting justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our work.
- Industry Benefit: We commit to continually strive for more transparency and ethical business practices within the communications industry as a whole.
Learn more about what it means to be a Benefit Company, and the public benefits we’re dedicated to promoting.
Environmental Impact
- KORE INFRASTRUCTURE | Generated 67k views from the Earth Day video produced, serving as a key relationship-building tool for the company.
- LIGHTSTAR RENEWABLES | Supported Lightstar’s Lucy Bullock-Sieger to be selected as a Grist 50 winner, championing the importance of community solar in leading the renewable energy transition.
- SINAI TECHNOLOGIES | Announced SINAI’s partnerships with MUFG, SCSK, RMI, Patch, Sumitomo, ArcelorMittal, and OnePointFive, reinforcing it as a leader taking action on carbon.
- For the second year running, Yulu is a certified Plastic Negative business through rePurpose Global, supporting its mission to fight global plastic pollution.
- CARBON ENGINEERING (CE) | Led strategic PR initiatives to advance Carbon Engineering’s presence in key markets, helping to catalyze impactful partnerships and accelerate the adoption of Direct Air Capture as a carbon removal solution.
- FORESTRY INNOVATION INVESTMENT | Developed the first industry ESG Profile for BC’s forest sector to illustrate the impact of BC’s world-class forest sector to international buyers.
- LITHOS CARBON | Announced a landmark moment for carbon removal, with the largest Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) offtake to date by Frontier buyers. The story was featured in Fast Company, Bloomberg, Greenbiz, VERGE, Wired, and more.
- COWICHAN ESTUARY RESTORATION PROJECT | Managed community relations around the largest estuary restoration project on Vancouver Island, resulting in 55 media pieces and direct-to-community engagement.
- THE NATURE TRUST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA | Amplified the excellent conservation work of The Nature Trust of BC through 200+ pieces of coverage and 50+ influencer posts, leading directly to donations.
- PANO AI | Secured Pano’s placement as a WEF Tech Pioneer cohort winner and Inc Best in Business, accelerating awareness of the climate adaptation sector. This was paired with 90+ media placements of Pano’s wildfire detection technology in the US and Canadian markets.
- WILD + PINE | Announced Wild + Pine’s largest partnership to date with Aviva Canada to build carbon removal assets that will last for generations, with an exclusive in The Globe & Mail and coverage across BNN, The Logic, and Carbon Pulse.
- SHIFT CLEAN ENERGY | Announced the partnership between Shift and the Malahat Nation to transition the Nation’s administrative operations to solar power, demonstrating how Shift’s approach to energy storage can deliver energy to rural areas with zero emissions. Coverage was secured across BNN Bloomberg, BC Business, and Times Colonist.
- NEXII BUILDING SOLUTIONS | Announced robust new commitments and certifications: the company committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Net Zero Carbon Standard, became the first construction manufacturer in North America to receive TRUE certification for Zero Waste, and announced the publication of Health Product Declaration (HPD) for its core products, demonstrating its continued commitment to decarbonizing the built environment.
- For the second year running, Yulu’s VP of Environmental Impact, Charlotte Gilmour, was a judge for the Synergy Foundation’s Net Zero contest. Ten entrepreneurs competed to showcase their approach to improving BC’s circular economy.
- Yulu hosted its first ‘Climate Collective,’ bringing together 10+ experienced climate communicators from across North America to discuss how to accelerate climate solutions on Earth Day.
Consumer Impact
- TRADITIONAL MEDICINALS | Leveraged a series of influencer campaigns and earned media, which played an integral role in Traditional Medicinals’ Canadian business growth. In 2023, the Canadian business grew by over $3.3 million in dollar sales, marking an increase of almost 18% compared to the previous year.
- FITNESS WORLD | Developed WinterWellness campaign about the importance of regular movement to combat winter seasonal depression and anxiety while raising $5,000 for HeadsUpGuys, a local mental health support program.
Global Relief
- FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY | Strengthened media relations in the Horn of Africa and Haiti by building connections with top global reporters at Bloomberg, Associated Press, Miami Herald and World Magazine among others, to demonstrate the organization’s expertise through food security and disaster preparedness programs in the region.
- REPURPOSE GLOBAL | Supported with an impactful announcement for the Innovation Alliance for a Global Plastics Treaty, which is fighting for a pragmatic and inclusive Global Plastics Treaty led by rePurpose Global. Secured coverage in Forbes, Triple Pundit, Verdantix, Mongabay, Sustainable Brands, and Packaging Dive.
- ORIJIN | Supported the announcement of its partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to provide free tablet education from day one of incarceration for every person incarcerated in state institutions. Additionally, helped Orijin secure a spot on the Fortune 2023 Impact 20 list.
Cultural Benefit
- AUDIBLE | Secured 280+ applications for the third year of Audible Indigenous Writers Circle, welcoming 24 new participants to the program (a 33% increase in 2022). Also, 14 workshops, four open mic sessions, and 13 Audible Coffee 121 chats were held to provide skills and mentorship to the 2023 Audible Indigenous Writers Circle cohort.
- CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION | Launched Recovery Colleges in Vancouver for CMHA, allowing people to steer their journey to mental health and wellness. The outcome of a news conference wasn’t just coverage and social media mentions but also deepened partner and government relations.
- Yulu launched its Justice & Antiracism (JAR) Content Club to help progress our JAR education by inviting team members to immerse themselves in Black, Indigenous, Racialized, and social justice-focused “works” of all forms (movies, podcasts, books) and then come together to discuss them.
- Yulu was named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers for 2023, recognized for prioritizing the team’s well-being and, hopefully, inspiring others to do the same.
Economic Development
- B LAB | Interviewed 18 key voices, developed an interview insights report, and developed an issues framework/decision-making tree and communications plan to increase B Lab US & Canada’s impact in 2024.
- COMMUNITY SAVINGS CREDIT UNION | Secured coverage across all top-tier BC media (Globe & Mail, Vancouver Sun, Province, BIV, Financial Post, among others.) to address the ‘RESP Gap’ that high-income families are 50% more likely to have an RESP than low-income families.
- TAPESTRY COMMUNITY CAPITAL | Leveraged earned and paid social media to support Places for People non-profit to raise $850,000 to support their affordable housing project in Haliburton.
Industry Benefit
- Yulu became a certified Women-Owned business, joining a strong ecosystem that connects women-owned businesses to opportunities through advocacy and development, helping to bridge the gap for women-owned businesses.
- The Impact Relations Institute continued its Impact Council series, launching a new partnership with 3BL Media to further its reach and educate impact communicators worldwide. This year, speakers included the United States Space Force, Greyston Bakery, and Ben & Jerry’s; on topics including the future of ESG, AI for impact communicators, and how brands can leverage lived experiences responsibly.