Gategroup, a leading catering supplier for airlines and other transport businesses, sought support with its ESG strategy work. It was looking to hire a senior ESG manager who would oversee its work in the space, but needed to establish a strong foundation and access interim support until it could recruit an in-house champion.
gategroup also wanted to show it was prioritising ESG in response to pressure from stakeholders – including clients, who were increasingly demanding clear information on ESG topics such as food provenance and GHG emissions.
We helped gategroup build a stronger foundation on which to develop its evolving ESG strategy – weaving existing threads of action together to create a narrative that had clear meaning to stakeholders.
We carried out a thorough review of peers' and competitors’ sustainability, ESG communications and strategy materials. Then we presented these materials to the gategroup team to spark inspiration around how to approach the business’s ESG strategy.
Our team also carried out a materiality assessment. We engaged with middle and senior management using surveys and interviews to capture internal insights and followed this up with external stakeholder interviews. By talking to key customers, we could identify their concerns and make sure Gategroup’s subsequent ESG strategy addressed them.
The company’s listing status meant it didn't legally have to make certain disclosures, but it wanted to be transparent and meet clients’ and investors’ increasing ESG requirements. We held a series of focus sessions and ESG workshops with gategroup’s C-suite to bring the business’s objectives and targets to light. Once we had compiled our findings, we presented our analysis and insights to the team.
“We came to Black Sun for assistance with our ESG strategy and reporting because we knew they could deliver – and they did, in remarkable time. I can’t recommend them enough.”
David Taylor, Global Head of Communications at Gategroup.
Our interim support meant that Gategroup’s Head of ESG started in an excellent position. The business had the momentum and insights to create its first ESG report as soon as she arrived. We offered support on the pagination plan and design ideation of the inaugural report before letting Gategroup’s teams take the reins.
