The public relations and ad firms refusing fossil fuel clients

Image source, Done!

Three years ago, Marian Ventura stopped working for oil and gas companies, but she still works for other companies.

The founder of Done!, which is based in Argentina, says he was pushing change from the inside.

In Latin America, the fossil fuels industry is seen as pretentious. They are the best clients to have for their large budgets, and they sponsor every sustainable event in the region.

When Ms Ventura decided to certify her business as a B Corp organisation, her feelings began to shift. Firms aim to meet the best social and environmental standards through this certification scheme.

In order to fulfill our corporate purpose, we have to ask who we are selling to. I'm wondering what I'm selling. Ms Ventura wants to know if she will be proud of what she sells in 10 years.

She began to reduce her oil clients in 2021.

She decided that Done! would join a movement called Clean Creatives. They pledge to refuse future work for fossil fuel companies if they join the movement.

Ms Ventura says that they dropped off at least four active clients related to oil and gas.

Her decision has been criticized. People with strong relationships with us told me that they don't agree with our position because they think oil and gas can be developed in a responsible way.

Some government and business leaders are saying one thing but doing another according to the UN Secretary General. He said that high emitting governments and corporations are adding fuel to the fire.

According to a report this year by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, corporate advertisement and brand building strategies may attempt to divert corporate responsibility. The study wanted to know if tighter advertising regulation was needed.

The director at Clean Creatives thinks there is a shift happening. Agencies that aren't taking the pledge have told us that they aren't pitching to fossil fuel clients anymore. It is a step in the right direction.

The fossil fuel industry uses advertising agencies and PR agencies to make it hard for governments to hold them accountable. Advertising makes companies seem more committed to climate action than they really are.

Some advertising firms, such as the UK's WPP, have subsidiaries that work with fossil fuel clients.

The transition to a low carbon economy is important to our clients and how they communicate their actions must be accurate. To fairly represent their environmental commitments and investments, we apply rigorous standards to the content we produce.

We won't take on anyone who wants to frustrate the policies required by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The world's largest PR firm was criticized for its work for fossil fuel companies at the end of last year. Exxon Mobile is one of its clients.

The US based firm carried out a 60-day review of its climate strategy and boss Richard Edelman said in a company post that it might have to part ways with clients not committed to net zero emissions.

It was not possible for Edelman to give a comment to the news organization.

It is wrong to criticize PR and advertising firms that work with the energy sector.

"Pressuring agencies to avoid working with companies involved in oil and gas is counter-productive to combatting climate change, as they're also the ones with the decades of energy expertise that are developing and rolling out the cleaner technologies that are needed," said Jenny Stanning, director of external

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The Advertising Association does not believe that the fossil fuel industry should be banned from advertising, but it does recognize the right of individual companies to decide who they work with.

"Accuracy and honesty in advertising is very important," he says. Advertisers are expected to show evidence for any claims they make on the environmental impact of the products and services they feature.

Clean Creatives are exercising their right to free speech. Our end goals are the same but we think a more nuanced approach is needed.

Solitaire was no longer working with oil and gas clients.

If firms want to attract the best staff, they will have to follow her example.

A lot of agencies will have to make a decision if they want to be able to recruit the best people. Young people don't want to work with oil and gas companies.