As we wind down 2023, we are grateful for and proud of the accomplishments of our small but mighty startup. This was a tricky year for those of us in the impact world, as the complexities of a polarized political environment caused backlash against everything from ESG investing to “woke culture.” Yet, as we are discovering and discussing amid this year’s COP28 in Dubai, our world is on the brink of climate catastrophe. Supporting not just good intentions but real action and data around climate and the UN SDGs is more important today than ever. 

Against this backdrop, we’ve spent the past year meeting, supporting, and uplifting the work of a variety of impact-driven organizations and coalitions. We’re excited to summarize some of our successes below, and thrilled to have you on this journey with us as we move into 2024 with optimism and passion around addressing the shared challenges facing humanity. 

+Impact Hub Highlights

In 2023 to date, our impact hubs have driven nearly 2,000 individual actions across 12 of the 17 SDGs. Below, take a look at a selection of our favorite +Hubs and partners. 

• Climate Action: The USC Norman Lear Center, Rare, and Good Energy came together to launch the Climate Action +Impact Hub, designed to drive meaningful climate action, help address the mental health impacts of climate change, and bring communities together to protect our planet. The +Hub features resources that empower visitors to make a difference with their minds, voices, dollars, and within their communities. Visit the Climate Action +Impact Hub!
• Who Taught You: The Who Taught You campaign was created to address the critical and growing educator shortage by changing the narrative about the profession. When we think of our personal experiences, our gratitude uplifts educators and gives them the respect and support they deserve. Through the Who Taught You +Impact Hub, visitors are invited to share personal stories of teachers’ impact on their lives, honor educators through donations, and buy campaign merchandise. Visit the Who Taught You +Impact Hub!
• Land Use Finance: The world faces multiple interconnected crises including climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Forests and nature play a crucial role in these issues — yet there is chronic underinvestment in the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests and nature. In response, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is serving as the secretariat on two key land-use finance initiatives created by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Change: The Forest Investor Club (FIC) aims to unlock nature-positive investment opportunities; the Forest Finance Risk Consortium (FFRC) aims to eliminate deforestation and land use change risks from financial portfolios and supply chains. Through the Land Use Finance +Impact Hub, visitors can learn more about these initiatives, download relevant reports, and read case studies about innovative land-use finance projects. Visit the Land Use Finance +Impact Hub. 

Partner Highlights

In 2023, we’ve expanded our partner network to include renowned national and international organizations. 

• Entertainment + Culture Pavilion: We are honored to play a supportive role as leaders from across the globe came together at COP28 UAE in Dubai to take climate action and work in collaboration to achieve the UNSDGs. Culture and entertainment have historically been powerful drivers to instigate dialogues that catalyze social, economic, and political change. Now is the time for creatives to direct their artistic expertise towards addressing climate change, incorporating innovative approaches, sustainable practices, and impactful storytelling. +Media created an +Impact Hub in support of the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion at COP28. Among the Pavilion’s primary goals is to increase ambition & awareness in the entertainment industry for decarbonization and alignment with Paris Agreement goals.
• UNZIPPED Documentary: +Media partnered with GRAiNEY PICTURES, the team behind the documentary film UNZIPPED, including award-winning writer & director Colin K. Gray and executive producer Lucy Liu. The UNZIPPED +Impact Hub was designed to support the film’s impact campaign, #RaiseTheRoof, an urgent call to action to create more equitable housing solutions for every community and every family, in the US and around the world. Through the +Hub, audiences can find housing-related resources, donate or volunteer, download a learning guide, sign up to host a screening, take a survey, and more. We are thrilled to say that UNZIPPED has been nominated for a 2024 Academy Award and its impact campaign has been nominated for an Anthem Award!   
• United Nations Global Compact: Global Compact Network USA, the United States chapter of the United Nations Global Compact, hosted an SDG Summit this year to highlight opportunities for the private sector to drive sustainable development. +Media partnered with Global Compact Network USA to develop an SDS Summit +Impact Hub to activate business leaders around SDG actions. 

Content Highlights

In 2023, we were fortunate to be featured in some of our favorite online publications. Take a look at a few of our profiles using the links below. 

• Connecting the Dots in Impact Entrepreneur: Impact Entrepreneur featured +Media in an article about how to tell your brand story from shelf to global impact. In the article, +Media founder Julie Davitz writes, “Communicating impact is hard. It’s a complex effort that, more often than not, takes a lot of work to get right. Your company’s impact-based decisions happen everywhere: how you compensate employees, who is in your supply chain, the ingredients you use, how you package products, your on-site energy use and waste management, where you donate money or give back to your community, and more. That’s a lot to consider — and a lot to try to communicate to consumers…Engaging your customers to take action around the causes that are important to you is also an effective way to amplify the outcomes of your campaigns.” Read more in Impact Entrepreneur.
  
• Powering Your Brand’s Growth with Purpose-Driven Marketing in B the Change: B the Change is the digital publication of B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies B Corporations. +Media was featured in B the Change with an article about purpose-driven marketing. “We’ve seen firsthand that brand purpose and integrity not only drive consumer loyalty but also help brands gain a competitive advantage. Purpose-driven marketing is essential for sustainable and impact-minded brands looking to connect with a rapidly growing audience that values authenticity and social responsibility.” Read more in B the Change.
• How Plus Media Solutions is Changing the World One Click at a Time in Brand Storytelling: +Media has worked with numerous documentary films, supporting producers in connecting their content to action. In this Q&A in Brand Storytelling, Julie Davitz shares how +Media can empower filmmakers, brands and other content producers with tangible impact measurement.  “Everyone who works in the impact space wants to do more than just make money — we do our work to make a real difference. I’ve seen so many brands struggle with impact measurement, whether because the only measurable ‘engagements’ seem meaningless, because a web of tech platforms makes it impossible to make sense of the data, or because they’re only getting anecdotal feedback from surveys or focus groups that can’t really be analyzed in a useful way…+Media's solution is unique in that we have created a cohesive way to attach stories and brands to actual behavior within a platform that is inherently measurable.” Read more in BrandStorytelling.