Diversity & Sustainability

We want to create a fair, welcoming and inclusive work environment that recognises and celebrates everyone's different experiences and provides equal access to resources and opportunities for all. We are committed to social equity. We recognise its importance in what we do.

We succeed because of our diverse talent. We embrace difference as crucial to our ability to remain at the forefront of creative and innovative problem solving for our clients and partners. 

Our culture is centred around inclusion and belonging to support and care for all of our incredibly talented people so that they feel seen, heard, and are engaged in their work and careers to reach their full potential with us. Businesses that live this approach outperform those who don’t and are more resilient for the future.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion to create positive change, not just within our organisation but also in the communities we serve. Our outreach efforts are centred around engaging school students from underrepresented backgrounds. In order to improve the current underrepresentation in the VFX industry, we take early proactive steps to connect in a student's educational journey, before they make decisions about their subjects and career paths. We are trying to widen the horizons of aspiring talent and contribute to a more equitable and representative future for our industry.

Our dedicated outreach efforts:

Connecting with Local Schools and Colleges through:

• Workshops and Presentations: We host informative workshops and presentations to provide students with insights into the dynamic world of the visual effects (VFX) industry. These sessions also help students build valuable networking connections and develop transferable skills.
• Expert-Led Talks: Our team of experts actively engage with students, sharing their knowledge and experiences to inspire the next generation of talent.
• Through Sponsorships and Competitions: We proudly sponsor competitions that challenge and nurture creativity. By doing so, we aim to encourage innovative thinking and inclusivity in the creative fields.
• Career Fairs: We participate in school career fairs, where students can explore various career paths within the VFX industry and interact with our professionals.
• Studio-Based Work Experiences: Through our studio-based work experience program, students gain hands-on knowledge, fostering a deeper understanding of their chosen field.
• Guidance and Mentoring: A study done by ERIC in 2023 of 35,000 school students in the UK who are interested in the creative sector shows that 75% of young people want to get into the creative industry but they don’t know how. We have created a fully accessible educational hub and we are members of several mentoring programmes to support young people with the transition from education to work.

Our current outreach efforts focus on the UK. However, our commitment is to extend it to all of our global studios.

Collaborating for Impact

The journey towards equity and inclusivity is a collective effort. We collaborate with organisations that share our passion for addressing societal inequalities. Some of our valued partners include: 

NextGen Skills Academy | Access:VFX | Spark! Charity | City of Westminster Lions | STEM Ambassadors | We Are Stripes | Brightside | Women In Animation | Access For All | CG Africa | 10,000 Black Interns | The Diversity Action Program | I Can Be. 

Measuring with Data

In the past year, our outreach initiatives have supported over 1,500 students through 33 school visits and 18 educational events or career fairs.

We currently run four work experience programmes each year and host 48 students in the UK with a goal to host a further 20 globally in 2024. 

We intend to design better methods for both data collection and analysis that will ensure we are effectively targeting and supporting underrepresented groups into the VFX industry and making a difference. 

If you'd like to learn more about our outreach work, organise for us to visit your school or other relevant event, we’d love to collaborate with you, reach out to us via outreach@framestore.com.

Part of our  commitment to making the workplace more equitable means we work with students after they finish at school or college. Our early career work targets emerging talent from underrepresented backgrounds who are looking for their first job in the VFX industry. 

Check out our dedicated early career opportunities:

Launchpad Programmes

This includes a variety of entry routes that we have designed to help emerging talent transition into their first job in VFX:

• Apprenticeships: We have created an alternative route for school leavers who don’t believe that the university route is the right fit for them. Our apprenticeship scheme is a paid job which offers hands-on work experience alongside off-the-job training. 
• Internships: Our internship programme is designed to give current undergraduates or very recent graduates paid experience working in a live production environment.
• Traineeships: Our traineeships are designed for those who are self-taught, recent graduates, career changers or returners to work who are looking for a paid opportunity to hone and polish their skills in a particular craft.

Measuring with Data

In 2023, our internship cohort globally was 56% who identified as female and 62% from different ethnic backgrounds.

To help ensure that the people who choose to work at Framestore reflect the diversity in our local communities, we work closely with our recruiters and hiring managers to ensure that they follow inclusive hiring processes. This inclusivity enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to join Framestore not only during the early stages of their careers but also at any point along their professional journey.

In our recruitment process, we strive to eliminate bias by implementing fair and equitable practices. Here is an overview of some of things we’re doing to reframe our hiring practices:

• Removal of non-essential requirements, such as university degrees, from our job postings whenever applicable, in an effort to encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply.
• Reviewing the language used in job descriptions and ensuring that it is not unintentionally exclusive or off-putting to certain groups or individuals.
• Providing ‘Unconscious Bias’ and ‘Use of Pronouns’ training to all recruiters across all offices. 
• Joining the Disability Confident Scheme and becoming a Disability Confident Employer, making our hiring process more inclusive of individuals with disability.
• Participating in career fairs focused on targeting people from underrepresented backgrounds such as Women of Silicon Roundabout and Inclusive Futures.

Measuring with Data

We have implemented an optional Equal Opportunity Questionnaire accessible to all applicants. This questionnaire is designed to collect pertinent data related to gender, race, ability, and socioeconomic background. The purpose of this questionnaire is to provide insights that can guide our ongoing efforts to enhance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within our recruitment processes. The data gathered from this survey is instrumental in shaping the recruitment benchmarks outlined in our Social Equity Strategy.

Visit our Career page to see our open positions. 

Attracting diverse talent is just one part of our approach. We aim to ensure colleagues from underrepresented backgrounds feel supported, valued, and included which hopefully gives them a stronger sense of belonging so that they stay with us for longer. This continuity fosters a culture of diversity and inclusion that fuels innovation, creativity, and informed decision-making. Retention is the linchpin that enables us to transform diversity into sustainable inclusion, benefiting Framestore and society as a whole.

At Framestore, active engagement is a cornerstone of our social equity mission. It's imperative for every member of our organisation to participate because inclusion cannot be achieved by a select few; it's a collective responsibility that empowers us all to shape a more inclusive workplace. When everyone engages, we harness a broad spectrum of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, driving our initiatives forward. This collaborative effort fosters a sense of ownership and belonging, making each individual an integral part of the journey. Ultimately, it's only through collective engagement that we can truly create a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and included.

Here’s an overview of our retention and engagement efforts:

A Diversity & Inclusion Calendar in partnership with Diversity Resources

In partnership with Diversity Resources, we offer all Framestore employees the opportunity to seamlessly integrate our comprehensive calendar into their work calendar. It features a comprehensive list of diversity-related dates and also provides valuable context; explaining the significance of each date and why it is essential to acknowledge and observe. Additionally, it offers recommendations for further educational resources, ideas for celebrating or recognising a date appropriately, and thoughtful greeting suggestions. This resource aims to empower our team members to engage meaningfully with diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout the year.

Positive Action Networks for EDI Events, Training & Marketing

We have formed Positive Action Networks that consist of a diverse range of volunteers from all of our offices who are passionate about the social equity agenda and want to be part of creating positive change. Each PAN consists of around 15 members and meets up once a month for an hour to discuss and action the agenda that feeds into our 2024 strategy. 

Here is the list of our current networks:

• Events: This group works on planning any EDI events such as webinars, film screenings, discussion groups, fundraising and quiz nights in response to our EDI calendar, such as Black History Month, Latinx Heritage Month, Asexual Awareness Week, World Religion Day, etc. 
• Training: This group discusses, designs and implements different forms of social equity training, and identifies the target audience for training interventions.
• Marketing: This group decides on the approach we use in marketing our diversity and inclusion work internally and externally in alignment with our EDI calendar. 

Monthly Social Equity Newsletters

Our monthly newsletter is carefully crafted to respond to the unique needs and interests of each of our studios. It provides updates on important dates and events specific to each location and serves as a hub for sharing educational resources that foster understanding and growth among our teams. Each newsletter is organised around a monthly theme, allowing us to delve deeper into specific EDI topics. Additionally, we acknowledge smaller diversity-related observances to broaden our perspective. The newsletter includes links to interactive platforms where everyone can actively participate in raising awareness, engaging in discussions, offering feedback, voicing concerns, and suggesting topics for discussion within our Positive Action Networks. Our monthly newsletter is a testament to our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, ensuring that social equity remains at the forefront of our collective consciousness.

Measuring with Data

During 2024, we will be improving our data tracking on retention, promotion and engagement as part of our improvement strategy. 

View and download Framestore's Gender Pay Report for 2024, published as per UK regulations. The information is also available via gov.uk

UnitedHealthcare creates and published the Machine-Readable Files on behalf of Framestore. To link to the Machine-Readable files, please click here.

We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint across all our global offices, engaging specialist consultants to help us take stock and meet our aim of reaching Net Zero by 2045 - five years ahead of the UK Government’s target. You can read our environmental policy here.

We became Carbon Neutral in the UK in 2023 and continue to work on reducing emissions in our other studios.  

We have detailed below our environmental initiatives and achievements for each of our global sites.

London

• Our London studio is certified ‘excellent’ by BREEAM, meaning exceptionally high construction standards have been followed in order to ensure a sustainable and energy efficient building.

• We rely solely on renewable electricity.

• Our building is equipped with solar panels.

• We recycle over 62% of waste and we send zero waste to landfill.

• We have a rainwater harvesting system and water efficient plumbing fixtures.

Montréal

• Our Montréal studio is powered by 100% renewable Hydropower.
• The building recycles 74.5% of waste produced.

Mumbai

• Our Mumbai studio is in a LEED Core and Shell certified building.

• The building is supplied with 60% Green Energy and this will increase to 100% in 2024.

• Lights are solar powered.

• There is an STP plant for wastewater reuse.

• All garbage is segregated into ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ and sent to government sponsored centralised garbage units for recycling.

New York

• Our New York studio is in a WELL building, certified by the International Well Building Institute. 

• 100% of the electricity used in New York and Chicago is offset with GreenE certified Renewable Energy Certificates and we aim to switch LA to renewable electricity in 2024. 

• 100% of the waste collected in New York is either recycled or sent to a Waste to Energy plant, 0% to landfill. 

• We expect to become Carbon Neutral in 2024 by purchasing as mall amount of Carbon Offsets.

We are reviewing all our building supplies globally to ensure we are using environmentally friendly products where possible.

We will continue to work on reducing our environmental impact globally, reviewing and updating our targets on an annual basis.