LONDON — Strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred has expanded into ESG and sustainability recruitment as the war for specialist talent heats up.

In an unusual move for a communications agency, Blurred has hired headhunter Jenny Pape (pictured) to lead the new offer. Pape has recruited in the industry for 17 years, and has run her own business, Career Monkey, for the past five years.

This year has seen the big management consultancies and accountancy firms announce major ESG recruitment drives and Blurred co-founder Stuart Lambert told PRovoke Media that Blurred has already worked with three FTSE 100 multinationals on ESG recruitment briefs, alongside its core consulting and creative communications work. The consultancy now works with 13 FTSE 100 or Fortune 500 companies in an Environment, Social, Governance and Purpose (ESGP) capacity.

“The importance of ESG expertise throughout the industry is only going to grow as the investor and policy picture sharpens,” said Lambert. “Already, a public company’s corporate and ESG narrative are really one and the same thing – or they should be. And increasingly, we’re finding that the best, most 'purpose-full' marketing and communication also takes that narrative as its starting point.

“It has to, because you can’t credibly talk about purpose – the good you purport to do in the world – without addressing your ESG footprint – the impact you have on the world in terms of carbon, or supply chain standards, or DEI. The brewing war for ESG talent goes much further than comms. We’re excited to welcome Jenny into Blurred to help us build out our own consulting expertise, but also to help our clients add this vital specialist skillset to their own teams.”

Pape said: “My years of experience have included resourcing for varied disciplines across the communications sector, however my heart and strengths now naturally lie within the ESGP space. The opportunity to be part of one London’s fastest-growing strategic and creative consultancies, helping to build out its ESGP offer and directly assisting its clients with their own sustainability and ESG recruitment needs, is deeply motivating. Motivating enough for me to close down my company and take this leap.”

The move comes one week after the firm announced the promotion of Rachel Minty to be its first managing director and after three years of growth since it was founded. In 2020 Blurred was named as new consultancy of the year at the PRovoke Media Global and EMEA awards.