Creatives for Climate founder Lucy von Sturmer has slammed Edelman’s Titanium award-winning campaign ‘The Move to Minus 5’ for being “more ‘tweaks to business as usual’ than genuine transformation”.
Her words come after global PR agency Edelman became the first legacy PR agency to win the award for the campaign which demonstrated – on behalf of the logistics firm DP World – how freezer storage temperature can be upped from -17 to -15 degrees to improve sustainability.
Von Sturmer called out the firm, which has been heavily criticised by activists for its continued connection with Shell (a contract which it renewed last month despite significant pressure), telling Marketing Beat it continues to represent “the world’s most polluting clients in oil and gas”.
She described clients like Shell as being “directly responsible for the dangerous climate tipping point we are living in now, with persuasive powers to greenwash and peddle false solutions”.
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“As Edelman themselves claim in the case study for DP World, every degree has a significant impact on global warming’,” von Sturmer said.
“If Edelman were serious about taking action on climate, they would stop legitimising and growing the business of fossil fuel clients while trying to ‘offset’ their image with sustainability initiatives that are more ‘tweaks to business as usual’ than genuine transformation.
Von Starmer, who did not attend Cannes Lions for the first time since 2019, also described the event as “a platform for promoting the status quo”.
She continued: “We have seen time and time again that the Cannes Lions is nothing more than a platform for promoting the status quo within the industry”
“So while executives will be walking home with another award to pitch clients, we know this work is nothing but a distraction.”
Edelman CEO Richard Edelman said of the campaign: “Our job is to take the challenges brought by our clients and bring the curiosity and relentlessness that makes change possible. This work delivers on our belief that trust drives growth and action earns trust. I could not be prouder of what the team at Edelman has accomplished.”
The agency is not the only one to face the challenge of weighing up the need for well-paying clients with an increased emphasis on driving the sector in the direction of sustainability.
Havas, which has been criticised for its Shell contract, has also faced criticism from activists and pressure for its B Corp status to be removed.
