Onward logo

A consultancy that helps brands grow by moving the world onward. 

Brand. Sustainability. Impact. Storytelling.

Our clients

Unicef logo in off-white.
L'Oreal logo in off-white.
Armani logo in off-white.
Yves Saint Laurent logo in off-white.
Galaxy chocolate logo in off-white.
Prada logo in off-white.
Purpose Disruptors logo in off-white.

Moving the world onward

Businesses and brands have the power to build the better, more sustainable future we’d like to belong in.

And those who build it, build themselves - by moving the hearts and minds of the consumers, employees and investors who drive their growth.

We help our partners do it, with action, credibility and optimism at the heart of everything we do.

Start your Onward journey today. hq@weareonward.co

What we do
The Credibility Compass - a tool for better impact and sustainability work from Onward.

The Credibility Compass

Sustainability, Impact and Purpose marketing can be powerful growth drivers for brands, but have to be executed credibly to stand up to scrutiny and deliver the transformational results they promise.

To help do it we’ve designed a model to guide the next generation of this crucial work - The Credibility Compass. See it in action, with case studies of brands already doing it brilliantly, here.

Download the report

What we do

We help our clients move forwards in four ways: 

  • Whether you’re an existing brand or starting from scratch, we can

    • Define your brand strategy, positioning and purpose, bringing key stakeholders on board as we go.

    • Work with your teams and partners to bring your strategy to life inside and outside your business.

    • Create world-changing brands from the ground up, helping build from idea through to launch and beyond.

  • To help you positively impact the planet, we can

    • Develop a sustainability strategy for your brand, and programmes that protect the planet while building your brand value.

    • Develop internal sustainability training, communications and actions to engage your staff, stakeholders and partners.

    • Structure your sustainability efforts across your brand portfolio to maximise its effectiveness.

    • Build sustainability measurement and KPI frameworks to judge and report on your success and ROI.

  • To help you positively impact people’s lives, we can

    • Develop social impact initiatives, causes and purpose-driven campaigns that connect with what your audience cares about.

    • Develop internal impact programmes to engage your staff and transform your business from the inside out.

    • Structure your corporate impact across brands to maximise its effectiveness.

    • Build impact measurement and KPI frameworks to judge and report on your success and ROI.

  • To help you become famous as a brand building a better future we can

    • Develop creative ideas and comms to ensure your work reaches and resonates with your target audiences.

    • Build guidelines to help you communicate your work in credible, compelling ways.

    • Create impact reports to tell your stories of progress.

    • Work with your agency partners to ensure you communicate your work both emotionally and credibly.

    • Build ROI frameworks that prove the effectiveness of your work.

Who we are

We’re a consultancy led by senior brand, sustainability and social impact experts, with decades of experience helping some of the world’s most ambitious businesses and brands change themselves - and the world - for the better.

Around us sits what we call our Onward Orbit: a trusted circle of 30+ specialists: creatives, designers, agencies, sustainability subject experts, NGO leaders, and academics. This gives us the flexibility to bring in the right experts for every brief, giving our clients direct access to world-class talent without the usual overheads or layers.

If you’re a brand looking to start your journey, or take things to the next level, get in touch. We work fast, lean and without jargon. 

Anna Öhrling, Co-founder and Sustainability Lead at Onward.
  • Co-Founder & Sustainability Lead
    Anna is a sustainability and brand strategist and an avid public speaker on topics at the intersection of sustainability and brands. She holds a Master’s in Sustainability and Social Innovation from HEC Paris, having written her thesis on methodologies to prevent greenwashing. She believes that brands can build back trust with citizens by focusing on credible impact, transparency and collaboration.

    LinkedIn

Callum Towler, Co-founder and Impact Lead at Onward.
  • Co-Founder & Impact Lead
    Callum is a strategist and social impact specialist who’s helped some of the world’s biggest businesses - PepsiCo, Adidas, UNICEF and L’Oreal - create change creatively. His writing has appeared in outlets like The Independent, VICE and The New Statesman, covering everything from the refugee crisis to economics.

    LinkedIn

Phil Bassot, Co-founder and Brand Lead at Onward.
  • Co-Founder & Brand Lead
    Phil is a brand strategist with experience in sustainability, impact and behaviour change, who has built brands and campaigns for clients including Budweiser, Danone and L’Oréal. Slightly obsessed with memorability, he believes work in impact and sustainability can make people laugh and smile while changing the world for the better.

    LinkedIn

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