1,000 ad agencies sign Clean Creatives’ pledge to divest from fossil fuels on Earth Day
The campaigning group celebrates doubling its fossil fuel divestment pledges in the past year by releasing a video satirizing an advertising cliché.
Clean Creatives, an award-winning anti-fossil fuel campaign group in advertising and PR, marks a milestone this Earth Day: 1,000 creative agencies around the world have pledged to reject ad campaigns from Big Oil.
Over the past three years, Clean Creatives has highlighted the fossil fuel industry’s strides to shape public opinion through misinformation and greenwashing via major advertising and PR firms. The world’s six largest advertising and PR companies — Omnicom Group, WPP, Interpublic Group (IPG), Publicis Groupe, Dentsu, and Havas — are reportedly connected to the fossil fuel industry.
Clean Creatives offers a pledge for agencies and individuals to reject collaboration with fossil fuel polluters. Surpassing 1,000 agency signatories — a doubling since last April — it reflects the campaign's growing momentum and underscores rising concerns within creative industries about responsible practices amid climate change.
Notable additions to the roster of agencies now include Mother New York and Lucky Generals, alongside industry giants Allison and Gale. The full list of agency signers is available at cleancreatives.org/agency-signers.
Hannah Tabor, strategy director at Mother New York, commented: “Mother exists to make our children proud. We believe in creativity’s ability to positively impact the world, which made signing the Clean Creatives pledge the easiest choice we’ve ever made. For everyone who works at Mother and every brand that works with Mother, the Clean Creatives pledge is a badge of honor – it’s a symbol of shared values and a commitment to wield our creativity for good. We’re proud to be a part of it.”
Of the 1,000 agencies that pledged, the US leads with 350 headquarters, followed by the UK with 265. Canada is third (65), then South Africa (57), Germany (43), Australia (36), Netherlands (30) and Sweden (20).
Agency types include design (223), creative (201), branding (197) and public relations (183), with a mix of digital, strategy, production, web development, consulting agencies, and others making up the rest. Additionally, 138 of the 1,000 agencies are B Corp certified.
To mark the milestone, Clean Creatives launched a playful video parodying the industry and featuring a Rube Goldberg machine, known for its appearance in Honda’s ‘The Cog’ ad. The video concludes with a dumpster fire put out by a Clean Creative, urging ad executives to embrace new ideas and become “the good guys” in combating global warming.
“The Clean Creatives pledge has galvanized a global community of agencies committed to serious climate action, and they are seeing countless benefits in employee engagement, positioning for clients, and alignment for purpose. We’re grateful to every agency that has stepped up to lead on this issue. They are showing the importance of leadership, and I think we can look forward to many more joining them.”
In tandem with the announcement, the group also surveyed 95 of the 1,000 pledged agencies to understand their motivations and impact; the main reasons cited for signing were “alignment with values and mission,” followed by a “positive impact on the climate.”
Moreover, 37% of agencies reported a positive impact on relationships with existing clients due to the Clean Creatives pledge, with no agency reporting any negative effects.
“We describe Lucky Generals as a creative company for people on a mission. And what mission could be more crucial than that of Clean Creatives: a global movement of strategists, creatives, and industry leaders dedicated to fighting for a cleaner future,” added Lameya Chaudhury, Lucky Generals’ head of social impact. “We are proud to have signed up to their agency pledge to not work with fossil-fuel clients. Since joining this global community, we have partnered and hosted their first UK event in 2024, marking a significant step in our ongoing commitment to climate action and the pursuit of a greener future. We look forward to continuing this journey, and all that lies ahead.”
The Clean Creatives campaign annually releases ‘F-List’ reports, which revea contracts between fossil fuel firms and agencies, while also holding major agencies like Edelman and Havas accountable, and advocating for stricter regulations and accreditation from sustainability bodies like Ad Net Zero.
On May 8, Clean Creatives will host its upcoming ‘F-List Awards,’ a satirical event recognizing the most notable instances of fossil fuel industry greenwashing. The show will feature ad industry creatives, comedians and climate leaders. Its host will be WGA Award-winning comedian and writer Nicole Conlan, known for her work on The Daily Show and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
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