Background 

RMP is a student careers company that helps students take their first steps in their career by partnering with employers across the UK. It uses digital and face-to-face products to provide students with valuable work experience alongside their degrees. In line with its commitment to sustainability and after becoming net zero in 2022, RMP aims to reduce carbon emissions by 10% per year and become carbon negative by 2024.

Law firm Clifford Chance shares the same commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and aims to reduce its emissions by 80% by 2030. In 2021 RMP and Clifford Chance came together to run the first ever net zero brand ambassador (BA) campaign. BAs represent a firm across various campuses throughout the academic year.

Existing BA campaigns contributed an estimated 2.5-3 tonnes of CO2e through various activities such as interviewing, travel, producing and distributing marketing materials plus all head office and people contributions. RMP was faced with the perfect opportunity to make lasting change while ensuring it could run a net zero campaign with Clifford Chance.

Approach 

RMP recruited, trained and managed 20 BAs across 20 campuses. The campaign involved 80% digital promotion and only 20% face-to-face interaction compared to the usual 50/50, significantly reducing the carbon footprint. Virtual interviews were conducted to eliminate travel emissions and train or tube travel was used for in-person training days. Traditional activities like distributing brochures, pizza and water bottles were replaced with creative assets for online sharing and trackable links for in-person discussions. RMP commissioned climate experts Supercritical to calculate expected carbon emissions for all activities, travel, giveaways and consumables.

Outcome

The campaign was a resounding success. There were zero BA dropouts, exceeding the typical dropout rate of 1-5 per year and saving some 30% in time rehiring and training students. A key campaign goal was to promote Clifford Chance and drive students from across the UK to the event sign up and application pages. Student engagement was exceptionally high, with over 11,000 students visiting the pages, surpassing the target of 4,000. Five out of the 20 BAs secured graduate training contracts, with three more at the interview stage, resulting in a 25% BA to hire conversion rate compared to an average of 20%.

The impact on the environment was significant. By focusing on the largest carbon emissions contributors, such as travel and hoodies, the campaign achieved a 60% reduction in emissions compared to traditional campaigns. The success of the campaign has inspired both RMP and Clifford Chance to make further sustainability commitments. RMP aims to make all 30+ BA campaigns green for the next year, potentially removing around 40 tonnes of carbon emissions. Clifford Chance has already signed up for next year and views this campaign as a direct contributor to its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.