Better Health for All

WPP, through its agency VML, created pro bono public service announcements (PSAs) for the Ad Council and Alzheimer's Association.

These PSAs educate about early signs of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, providing resources via a dual-language website (10signs.org and 10señales.org). Ad Council research in Q4 2024 found that individuals aware of the campaign were approximately three times more likely to learn the difference between signs of aging and signs of Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, WPP is part of the National Opioid Action Coalition, which launched the #TalkToMe initiative to promote information and education to reduce stigma related to opioid-use disorder. As an advertising and PR company, WPP's operations do not directly involve product safety, health product pricing, health data management, or pharmaceutical patents.

Honest & Fair Business

WPP's anti-corruption policy was in place, but its subsidiaries failed to adhere to it, and WPP did not provide reasonable assurances of adherence.

During the period of issues (2013-2018), WPP lacked a compliance department and failed to implement sufficient internal accounting controls. This led to bribery schemes, improper payments, and tax evasion in subsidiaries across India, China, Brazil, and Peru. For instance, a subsidiary in India paid up to $1 million in bribes to officials, generating over $5 million in net profit from 2015 to 2017. A Chinese subsidiary avoided over $3.2 million in taxes in 2018 through improper payments and gifts. WPP received seven anonymous complaints regarding bribery schemes at its India Subsidiary between 2015 and 2017 but failed to promptly or adequately respond to these warning signs. The company's S&P Global ESG Score is 47.

No War, No Weapons

WPP's THOMPSON agency was awarded a $1.9 billion, 10-year contract with the United States Marine Corps in November 2024 for recruitment services

. This contract represents approximately 1.04% of WPP's 2023 revenue. WPP's PR firms have lobbied the United States government on behalf of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for years , opposing gun control legislation, including a measure after the Sandy Hook massacre in 2013 . WPP companies collected $1.46 million in fees from the NRA since 2007 . WPP has stated it would not undertake client work 'designed to mislead on human rights issues' .

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided article to assess WPP.LSE against the defined KPIs for 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. The article only indicates the availability of various sustainability and pro bono reports from 2002 to 2024

, without detailing their content or providing any quantitative metrics relevant to the rubric. WPP publishes annual Sustainability Reports and Integrated Reports . WPP also publishes reports on pro bono work for the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 .

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

WPP has set a company-wide target to phase out single-use plastics, including bottles, straws, cutlery, and cups, from all 3,000+ offices worldwide by the end of 2020.

Additionally, the company hosted an internal summit in May to discuss reducing the impact of plastic.