Becoming B Corp certified was never intended to be a badge we placed on our website and forgot about. It formalised commitments that have shaped Leading Hand for many years and gave us a clearer framework for tracking our social and environmental impact.
Our quarterly Impact Report looks at where our time goes, the organisations our work supports and how we are progressing against the commitments we have made.
During the quarter, we:
- Donated 5.4% of our studio hours as pro bono time,
- Provided $24,000 in discounts to purpose-driven and for-good organisations
- Earned 90% of our income from for-purpose organisations
- Earned 20% of our income from organisations supporting underserved groups
These figures reflect the kind of work we want to do and the organisations we want to work with. They also provide a practical way of checking whether our business decisions remain aligned with our stated purpose.
Making time for pro bono work
We have committed to donating at least 5% of our studio hours each year through pro bono work. From April to June, we contributed 5.4%, keeping us slightly ahead of that target.
Setting a measurable commitment helps ensure pro bono work is planned and recorded rather than treated as something we do only when the studio happens to have spare capacity. It recognises that our time and skills can be valuable to organisations that may not otherwise have access to professional design, communications and digital support.
Supporting purpose-driven organisations
During the quarter, 90% of our income came from for-purpose organisations, consistent with our average for 2024–25.
We also provided $24,000 in discounts to purpose-driven and for-good organisations. This was above our quarterly average for the previous financial year and allowed us to support more work within the budgets available to these clients.
Discounted work is different from pro bono work, but both contribute to the same objective: making quality creative and digital services more accessible to organisations working for social, cultural and environmental benefit.
Working with organisations that support underserved groups
20 per cent of our income came from organisations whose work benefits underserved groups, an increase of nine percentage points.
This includes organisations working with people and communities that may experience social, economic, cultural, geographic or systemic disadvantage. Measuring this proportion helps us understand not only who our clients are, but who ultimately benefits from the work we produce.
Asking better questions about AI
This quarter also saw Leading Hand and Tamarack Consulting launch Know Better, an initiative advocating for greater transparency about the environmental impact of artificial intelligence.
Know Better began with a fairly simple question: how much energy and water does our own use of AI consume? We quickly discovered that customers generally have no practical way to access this information.
The initiative has since led to a joint submission to the Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence and data centres. It asks AI providers to give customers reasonable estimates of the electricity, water and greenhouse gas emissions associated with their use.
Know Better extends our environmental commitments into an area that is becoming a regular part of how organisations work, including our own.
Keeping ourselves accountable
These results sit alongside broader work across our governance, environmental practices, employment policies, supplier relationships and community engagement.
Quarterly reporting helps us identify where our intentions are translating into measurable action and where there is more work to do. It also gives our team, clients and collaborators a clearer picture of how we are progressing.
The point is not to suggest the work is finished. It is to make our impact visible, measure it consistently and hold ourselves accountable for improving it over time.
If your organisation puts purpose before profit and wants to work with a business that thinks along similar lines, email info@leadinghand.com.au or submit your details through the quotation page on our website.
