Assembly achieves B Corp in six APAC markets

Stagwell's media agency, Assembly, has a B Corp Certification across six Asia Pacific markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The certification, awarded by nonprofit B Lab, evaluates companies on their governance, environmental practices, employee wellbeing, and community engagement.

Richard Brosgill, Assembly’s APAC CEO, spoke to Campaign about the certification process, a demanding but necessary step toward aligning the agency’s practices with growing industry and societal expectations. “We’re seeing more demand for accountability, not only from regulators but also from clients and employees,” he said. “Achieving B Corp Certification allowed us to take a hard look at our operations and establish systems to drive meaningful change.”

As part of the certification process, Assembly committed to cutting energy, water, waste, and carbon emissions by 5% year-on-year across its APAC offices. These reductions are being tracked and verified by third-party consultants to ensure transparency. The agency also monitors travel-related emissions and offsets them by purchasing carbon credits through Earthly. To tackle waste, Assembly has partnered with sustainability-focused groups like The Loops to track recycling progress and improve waste management.

Internally, Assembly has rolled out mandatory 'Sustainability in Media' training for employees, ensuring they understand their role in reducing carbon emissions and supporting clients on their sustainability journeys. The agency has also implemented an Environmental Preferred Purchasing Policy, which encourages decisions that reduce carbon emissions and support local suppliers.

The certification process is known for being rigorous, requiring companies to make continuous tangible changes across all areas of their business. Brosgill acknowledged the challenges but said the effort was worth it: “This is about more than optics. It’s about accountability. Once you commit to this, you’re held to a higher standard, and that’s how it should be.”

Globally, Assembly has partnered with the Earthshot Prize, an initiative founded by Prince William to support environmental innovation. Assembly provides pro-bono campaign support to Hong Kong-based nonprofit Mother's Choice, as well as market research and data analytics to help expand the prize’s reach and impact.

Brosgill noted that while the certification is a milestone, it also requires ongoing accountability. “This isn’t a one-time achievement. The certification requires annual reviews and ongoing commitments, which means the process of improvement never really stops,” he said.

The network is now looking to expand its certification efforts to other regions, including North America, India, and the Middle East. At the same time, it is scaling initiatives like the Clean Media Lab, which aims to help clients measure and reduce the carbon footprint of their media campaigns.