ITV publishes Social Purpose Impact Report for 2022

ITV publishes Social Purpose Impact Report for 2022

British public takes 47 million actions to support their mental and physical health 

ITV has today published its Social Purpose Impact report for 2022 describing progress in its mission to shape culture for good across four focus areas: Better Health, Climate Action, Diversity and Inclusion and Giving Back. 

Highlights include 47 million actions taken by the UK public to support their physical and mental health; being rated amongst the top 2% of disclosing companies in the world for its work in climate action; the launch of an £80 million Diversity Commissioning Fund to drive change towards racial and disability equity and over £29 million raised for good causes. 

ITV’s Social Purpose is intrinsic to its strategy and part of ITV’s vision to become a leader in UK streaming and an expanding force in global content, following the launch of ITVX. 

Carolyn McCall, ITV’s CEO says: 

“At ITV our Social Purpose is at the heart of who we are and how we work. It’s really important for our people, for our clients and partners, for investors and for our audiences. We’re deeply committed to real change and as the impact report shows we are continuing to successfully deliver on our ambition to reflect and shape culture for good.”  

Better Health

The number of children being treated for mental health problems hit record levels in 2022. To tackle this, ITV used its platforms to encourage audiences to look after themselves.

Poll research commissioned by ITV and extrapolated to population level indicates that 47 million healthy actions were taken by the public as a result of ITV’s Better Health campaigns in 2022. A healthy action could be having a conversation after seeing the Britain Get Talking campaign, or eating an extra portion of veg thanks to Eat Them To Defeat Them. ITV has set a 5-year target of 200 million healthy actions by the end of 2023, and this puts the total to date at 164 million. 

Britain Get Talking turned the spotlight on the young people’s mental health crisis and encouraged 7 million people to connect with others - up from 3.5 million in 2021. 1.8 million people took action to care for their mental health as a result of ITV2’s #WhatGetsYouThrough campaign in partnership with Calm whilst Unwind with ITV reached over 850k streaming hours of nightly mindfulness content via ITVX. 

In terms of ITV’s work to support the nation’s physical health, 1.1 million children ate more vegetables thanks to ITV’s partnership with Veg Power on Eat Them To Defeat them, and over 70,000 more children signed up to the Daily Mile, following a new campaign supported by ITV.

Climate Action

ITV has reduced carbon emissions in its control by 36% and emissions it influences by 13% compared to its baseline year. 94% of UK programmes produced by ITV Studios were certified by the BAFTA albert scheme as sustainable, up from 84% in 2021. This is a significant marker of ITV’s commitment to reaching net-zero. 

ITV was awarded an A by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) making it amongst the top 2% of disclosing companies in the world for their commitment to climate action. This commitment was played out on-screen and off-screen, with 94% of ITV colleagues completing Climate Action training and 2.7 million people shopping more sustainably as a result of the Love Island x Ebay pre-loved fashion partnership. 

Diversity and Inclusion

ITV kicked off its three year global strategy, with a focus on creating and showcasing content by, with and for everyone, connecting and reflecting modern audiences. 

ITV’s Diversity Commissioning Fund was launched, reserving £80 million over three years to drive change towards racial and disability equity in TV production. £25.1 million was spent in 2022, including £16.3 million on content made by People of Colour-led and d/Deaf, Disabled and neurodiverse-led production companies. Shows qualifying for the fund include Sorry, I Didn't Know, a comedy panel show about Black History, Joe and John Bishop: Life After Deaf, where Deaf creatives held senior positions in production, and Riches, a glossy, high stakes family drama. 

New and diverse voices were introduced across the platform’s biggest shows, with the first physically disabled player taking part in Soccer Aid and initiatives like Fresh Cuts showcasing up-and-coming Black Directors. 

New opportunities were introduced for underrepresented groups at every level of the business, from senior leadership programmes like Amplify, to Kickstart, a 6-month placement scheme for those coming into the industry. 

For the first time, ITV will today publish its Disability and LGBTQ+ pay gaps alongside their Gender and Ethnicity pay gaps. See report here.

Giving Back 

ITV continued its longstanding partnership with UNICEF to raise a record-breaking £15.7 million for Soccer Aid, up 20% on the 2021 total, whilst Concert for Ukraine raised £13.4m for the Disasters Emergency Committee to support those affected by the war in Ukraine. 

ITV also furthered its commitment to helping people from underrepresented backgrounds progress in their media careers with ITV colleagues now having invested approximately 1,440 hours in mentoring to date. 

Susie Braun, Director of Social Purpose said:

“Research shows over two thirds (69%) of the UK public believe broadcasters can shape our culture for the better, and here at ITV we strongly agree. Our 2022 Social Purpose Impact Report shows how we’re using our platform to make a difference both off-screen and within the industry, and on-screen, by inspiring positive change in the wider world”.

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