Media Agency Talon Names Group Sustainability Manager: 3 Things to Know

Global media agency Talon has hired EY and ORDRE veteran Alice Date (pictured, top of page) as group sustainability manager.

Here are three things to know about Alice Date and Talon's sustainability strategy.

1. Business Scope and Scale: Talon, based in London, United Kingdom, is an independently owned, Out of Home (OOH) agency. Generally speaking, an OOH agency essentially helps customers to build, manage and measure advertising and marketing campaigns across billboards, street furniture, transit and other public options.

Talon, founded in 2023, has 203 employees listed on LinkedIn. The company serves clientele worldwide -- with offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Singapore and UAE (United Arab Emirates). Talon is an Ad Net Zero member. The group represents the global advertising industry’s drive to decarbonize the production, distribution, and publications of advertising.

We don't know if the company has issued annual sustainability or ESG goals, and we don't know if Talon has set a net-zero carbon emissions deadline.

2. Alice Date's Responsibilities and Experience: According to her LinkedIn bio, Date is responsible for developing Talon’s global sustainability strategy and driving toward becoming a global B Corp organization. She will also oversee Talon's carbon reduction program, developing a strategy to "ensure Talon can reduce emissions and contribute to the collective goal of the industry to allow for more robust and transparent reporting."

Date is based in Talon’s London office, reporting to Group Chief Strategy Officer Sophie Pemberton.

Previously, Date was assistant manager for climate change and sustainability at EY -- where she supported the implementation of sustainable practices through strategy development and reporting, Talon said. Moreover, Date has "strong experience in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) data interpretation and developing effective roadmaps toward net zero and wider bespoke sustainability strategies," Talon asserted.

3. Executive Perspectives: In a statement about hiring Date, Talon Group CEO Barry Cupples said: "At Talon, we take our role in setting industry standards in environmental, social, and corporate practices incredibly seriously. Alice is joining as we actively ramp up our efforts and commitments to this cause; she brings a fresh burst of energy and new perspective of the challenge we face within the advertising industry and we’re all looking forward to supporting her as she implements important changes across our organization’s operations.”

Added Date: “I’m incredibly excited to be leading and continuing Talon’s sustainability program. There is a clear enthusiasm across the organization for being a driving force in creating a more sustainable industry – and I’m looking forward to channelling this enthusiasm into clear, practical, and impactful initiatives.”

Talon's New : Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.