As a family-owned communications agency with a strong connection to the land, Cullen Communications has an opportunity to ‘be the good’, writes Owen Cullen, Managing Director, Cullen Communications 

How we prioritise purpose – and help clients do the same 

From a young age, I listened to my father Frank talking about sustainability and the need to look after our land for future generations. On the family farm in Wicklow, there was long-term purpose and planning in everything we did. It was Frank who chose an acorn as the logo for the PR agency he founded in 1985 – a symbol of strength, growth, and perseverance. 

When I took over Cullen Communications a decade ago, I was aware of my responsibility, not only to grow the business but to hopefully pass it on to the next generation. Up to a few years ago, growth meant simply doing more of what we were doing – more clients, more work, more revenue – but that has changed.

Everyone knows that if we don’t act more sustainably, there won’t be any point in planning for the future. The planet won’t be fit to live on. A significant moment for us came during the lockdown of 2020. There was a lull in client activity that allowed us to focus on ourselves – what we stood for, what kind of company we wanted to be. We’ve always tried to be a force for good but as a team, we decided that we wanted to go further. 

‘Be the Good’ – a financial commitment 

‘Be The Good’ is a formal commitment by Cullen Communications to donate a percentage of our company’s annual income to good causes. We launched the fund in 2021, with 1% of our income going to good causes. This year, that will increase to 2% and by 2025, we will donate 5% of our income to the fund. We are also proud to continue our pro bono work with charitable causes.

In Association with

In 2020, we partnered with the phenomenal Good Grub initiative, helping Denis O’Reilly and his team raise more than €600,000 to deliver 125,000 fresh food parcels to the families of disadvantaged school kids. We’ve worked with many other charities over the years, from the Mukuru rehab centre for street kids in Nairobi, run by Sr Mary Killeen – a friend of the Cullen family – to the pioneering Neurodiversity Ireland initiative, which we helped to launch earlier this year.  

B-Corp certification 

Our sustainability journey has driven home the need for transparency and measurement of environmental performance wherever possible. Last year, we took a collective decision to achieve B-Corp certification and Cullen Communications is on course to become one of the first, if not the first, PR agency in Ireland to achieve this gold standard of business sustainability.

B-Corp certified companies are assessed across five areas – governance, workers, community, the environment and customers – to ensure they operate to the highest environmental and social standards. As part of the B-Corp process, we measure and report our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance annually. We also prioritise and work hard on areas like learning, development and diversity. 

Working with clients 

How does all this link back with our core PR business? It means we can help any client, in any sector, to embrace sustainability transition and communicate their ESG performance to the audiences who need to hear it. We’re already working with numerous clients on sustainability strategy – teaching and learning at the same time. 

Owen Cullen (pictured) provides strategic consultancy to brands on sustainability and more. Owen holds a Diploma in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge.