Campaign group Clean Creatives has revealed a record number of fossil fuel contracts, as advertising and PR agencies ‘willingly protect fossil fuel corporations for billions’, warning legal liability awaits.
New research by Clean Creatives has uncovered 500 fossil fuel contracts from 294 different advertising and PR agencies from 2022 and 2023, detailed in its annual F-List report.
Accusations have been made against agencies such as Dentsu, Edelman, Havas, Interpublic Group, Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, claiming they are “knowingly working against scientific consensus”.
The latest report by the group – which calls for an advertising and PR industry-wide pledge to refuse work with fossil fuel corporations – provides a comprehensive look into the methods employed globally to “greenwash” the image of these corporations by influential figures.
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest marketing news sent straight to your inbox each morning
In addition, the report also revealed agency-specific figures, with WPP holding 55 fossil fuel contracts despite their global net-zero pledge, and Omnicom ranking second with 39.
Among the holding companies with publicly known fossil fuel contracts, Ogilvy, which has connections to companies like BP, was also identified.
Many of these agencies will be the target of the groups out-of-homes (OOHs), directed at their employees and designed to “educate them on the devastating impact of disinformation”.
“This year’s F-List is a snapshot of agencies in denial about the climate impact of their work for fossil fuels,” said Clean Creatives executive director Duncan Meisel.
“This is a turning point for the industry – communications agencies who work for oil and gas clients are knowingly accelerating the global climate emergency, and their legal risks will accelerate, too.
“The ad and PR industry cannot continue to be this far out of step with scientific and political reality and expect to avoid backlash,” said Meisel.
Clean Creatives research director, Nayantara Dutta, added: “Despite agencies’ net zero promises and sustainability pledges, they continue to promote the oil and gas industry.”
