Closing the 6.74 Billion Ton Loophole in Ad Net Zero
Current and recent fossil fuel clients represent 77,080 times the carbon footprint of the UK ad industry.
October, 2021
Ahead of the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow, Scotland, the UK ad industry has embarked on a historic examination of its role in achieving global net zero carbon pollution. This process is culminating in a two-day gathering, the Ad Net Zero Summit on November 3rd and 4th, hosted by the UK Advertising Association, while the UN negotiations themselves are underway.
The dialogue started by UK-based advertising leaders has galvanized action plans by some of the industry’s largest holding companies. WPP announced a Net Zero plan on Earth Day 2021, and since then other holding companies have stepped forward to match or exceed them.
However, none of these plans address the core challenge of the impact of work done on behalf of the UK ad industry’s dirtiest clients: the fossil fuel industry. The energy sector makes up approximately three quarters of global carbon emissions, and their pollution is currently escaping through a loophole in the Ad Net Zero framework.
The magnitude of this loophole threatens the integrity of efforts to restore public trust in the ad industry. The next phase of this initiative to address the ad industry’s carbon pollution needs to begin with addressing its work for the fossil fuel industry.
Comparing Carbon Footprints:
The UK Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) represents the major advertising agencies of the UK. In 2020 they issued a report on the path to Net Zero for their industry, and found “total UK agency operational CO2e emissions, from IPA-member agencies, exceed 84,000 tonnes a year.”
The table below documents current IPA members with known recent or current relationships with fossil fuel clients. In total, these clients represent 6.47 billion tons of carbon pollution in 2020 - approximately 77,080 times greater than that of the UK ad industry. Taken another way, if the UK ad industry reduces its carbon emissions to zero, providing even .001% worth of growth to major polluters would wipe out the impact of the industry-wide pledge.
In addition, current and recent fossil fuel clients of UK agencies invested $57.9 billion annually in new fossil fuel projects in 2020. This financial data demonstrates an unswerving commitment to a polluting business model that is threatening the safety of the planet, one that is out of step with public opinion, and the stated values of UK ad industry leaders.
Conclusion:
The ad and PR industry’s main products are brand trust and influence, which result in increases in sales for their clients. In the context of the fossil fuel industry, those increases in sales result in massive expansions in carbon pollution. Other industries in the UK are building sustainability plans around addressing the carbon footprint of their main products, and it’s time for the ad and PR industry to join them.
UK agencies should evaluate the carbon impact of fossil clients when considering their contributions to climate action, and close the major loopholes in Ad Net Zero accounting. Clean Creatives is helping convene the conversation about the path forward among aligned creatives, and will continue offering opportunities for UK executives to lead on sustainability transformation.