Sustainability is not just a corporate trend; it is an opportunity to assess our impact and identify concrete actions to protect the environment.
As part of Omnicom and with a strong international footprint, CPM Group - the international sales outsourcing and customer experience agency - is fully aware that, in a context where the climate crisis and sustainability have become central issues for society, companies must take a stand and make decisive moves.
According to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), over 70% of large multinational corporations are integrating sustainable practices into their operations. This highlights that environmental responsibility is a powerful lever for growth and deeper engagement with both employees and customers. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding faster adoption of ESG principles, with a strong focus on reducing carbon emissions, advancing the circular economy, and investing in renewable energy.
There is still much to be done, particularly this year, as the United Nations has identified several priority areas in addition to the long-term goals set out at COP30:
- Limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
- Protecting ecosystems, especially rainforests
- Increasing financing for the green transition (estimated at $1.3 trillion by 2035)
- Introducing new measures to combat plastic pollution
To explore CPM’s environmental vision and actions, we spoke with Pierpaolo Bertocco, CEO of CPM Italy and Environmental and Sustainability Development Lead at CPM International, and Dan Gibbons, Commercial Director – Data Science Division at CPM International and an environmental policy expert.
1. How is the company addressing the sustainability challenge in an increasingly competitive and global context?
Pierpaolo: At CPM, we believe responsible business goes beyond meeting expectations—it’s about leading change where it matters most. As a people-driven business, our sustainability efforts focus on empowering individuals: how they approach environmental responsibility, the tools they use, and the decisions they make. It’s a collective commitment to corporate sustainability and impact. As part of Omnicom - a signatory of the UN Global Compact - we are committed to advancing environmental responsibility and promoting sustainable technologies.
2. CPM has long been on the path to carbon reduction. Could you summarize what has been done so far and what the next steps are?
Dan: As a global sales outsourcing and customer experience agency, business travel significantly contributes to our carbon footprint—over 90% of our emissions come from this area, primarily road travel. Many of our field sales teams use company-leased or personal vehicles to visit retail and business locations. We've steadily shifted our fleet from petrol to diesel, hybrid, and electric vehicles to improve fuel efficiency. We also encourage carpooling and long-distance travel by rail, which can reduce emissions by up to 50% compared to single-occupancy car journeys.
For a number of years, we’ve been rolling out our formal carbon reduction program, starting with the UK B2B division. After initial trials with several providers, we selected Carbon Footprint Ltd. as our long-term partner in 2019. With their support, we’ve refined and expanded the program.
We extended it to our full UK operations in 2022, added Ireland in 2023, and plan to roll out to our remaining European operations in 2025. This includes our field teams in the Netherlands, France, and Italy, as well as our Customer Contact Centres in Spain and Slovenia. The goal is group-wide environmental certification—a significant step in our journey.
3. How does CPM measure and communicate its environmental impact?
Dan: Together with Carbon Footprint Ltd. and our Finance and HR teams, we’ve defined key metrics that represent our carbon impact and can be accurately and efficiently collected. These include:
- Business travel (road, air, rail, taxi)
- Hotel stays
- Office electricity consumption
In the future, we aim to expand this to include office waste, supplies, and employee commuting, provided we can collect the data reliably.
Each spring, we collect data for the previous year, which Carbon Footprint Ltd. uses to calculate our emissions. Based on their report, we choose appropriate offset programs—from solar and wind projects to cookstove and reforestation initiatives worldwide.
We monitor year-on-year changes to assess the impact of travel policies, fleet changes, and energy-saving campaigns. For instance, in 2023:
- Road travel emissions in the UK dropped by 10%
- Overall business travel emissions fell by 6%
- Hotel emissions dropped 3%, and office electricity use was down 8%
4. What is CPM’s commitment to its employees, who are increasingly demanding greater efforts to reduce environmental impact?
Pierpaolo: We’ve long understood the importance of environmental awareness, and much of it is driven by our peoples' feedback across all markets. We’re committed to continuous improvement, starting with everyday actions—reducing waste, conserving energy, and upgrading our vehicle fleet to reduce environmental impact. As an integral part of Omnicom, CPM fully embraces the Group’s environmental objectives. After exceeding its 2023 environmental targets ahead of schedule, Omnicom has committed to reducing absolute Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 46.2% by 2030.
5. Corporate actions are important, but so are individual ones. How do you personally demonstrate your commitment to the environment?
Pierpaolo: I was raised in a family where avoiding waste was a necessity, not a choice. That ingrained a lifelong habit of doing the little things: turning off taps and lights, reducing heating, recycling, and buying only what we need. Now I make larger choices too—fewer flights, more video calls, and I drive an electric car. While I’m aware of the debate around their overall impact, there’s no question that in the places we live, they reduce pollution. Every small action from each of us can scale into meaningful global change.
Dan: Since joining CPM’s carbon reduction program, I’ve become more conscious of how my everyday choices affect the environment. While I haven’t radically changed my lifestyle, I’ve taken meaningful steps to reduce my impact—driving a more efficient car, limiting business travel to essential meetings, and adopting more sustainable habits at home. I've also made changes to my diet by cutting back on high-impact products and exploring local or lower-impact alternatives. Small adjustments like using a smart meter, reducing energy consumption, and rethinking food habits have helped me contribute in a practical but effective way.
BIO
Dan Gibbons is the Commercial Director for the Data Science division at CPM International. Now in his 20th year with the business, he has seen data, analytics, and insight become more powerful than ever, supported by the gains made through innovation, technology, and AI. Dan also oversees CPM’s carbon emissions assessment and offsetting program and contributes to the company's environmental agenda and working groups.
Pierpaolo Bertocco is CEO of CPM Italy and Head of Environmental and Sustainability Development at CPM International. Since joining in 2008, he has been instrumental in defining its strategic vision and growth. Appointed CEO for CPM Italy in 2017, he has taken on an increasingly central role within the group, driving its commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable growth.
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