Tom Keogh is a Partner at Bruce Mau Design, and when he asked what he wanted his agency to be contributing to the world, it was obvious that fossil fuels couldn’t be a part of their picture. Now before they even start a conversation with a client, they know where they stand, and can make sure they are minimizing their risk of accidental greenwashing or misinformation. Instead, they’re using their incredible power as designers and communicators to build a better world.

Emma King, the founder and managing director of The Friday Street Club in Cape Town decided to take the Clean Creatives pledge because she saw it as part of making a better world. What she didn’t expect was how polluting clients would react when she turned them down. A public pledge gives you a tangible platform to start a discussion about what agencies should and shouldn’t be doing. Instead of being awkward, it’s powerful.

Adrian Ma is the CEO of Fanclub PR and Humankind Comms, and his agencies don’t work for fossil fuel companies. They committed to a clean client list and have seen it pay back huge dividends: staff retention is up, billings have increased, and they find themselves in better position to work with purpose-driven clients. There’s no profit on a dead planet, and for leaders who put their principles into action, there are opportunities to grow.

Volt is a full-service advertising agency in Stockholm, Sweden - but they won’t provide their services to fossil fuel clients. Sofia Austern is the CEO of Volt, and she knows first hand how pledging not to work with fossil fuels can impact a business. As a values-driven agency, their employees want to see climate solutions, which the fossil fuel industry is fighting.

Sibel Asna has been working for 50 years as a part of A&B Communications, the first PR firm in Türkiye. They’ve set the standard for what it means to engage the public, and they’ve never worked with fossil fuel polluters. If your mission is to communicate, not manipulate, you need to have clear standards for how you work, and who you work with. Those principles have helped A&B endure and grow for over 50 years.

As CEO of GALE, Brad Simms has been contemplating the legacy he wants for his influential and global organization. Recently, he pledged that GALE wouldn’t work with fossil fuel organizations - not just because we’ve only got one planet, but because it helped align their work with the values of his staff and clients who are trying to make significant change in the world.

As a recruiter for PR and social media agencies, Dean Connelly and his team at Latte know better than most what it takes to build an effective team. It takes more than talent - it takes vision and values that align with a better world.

Vero is a communications agency that works across Southeast Asia, including countries that are some of the most vulnerable to climate change on earth. COO Raphael Lachkar and VP of Culture Vu Quan Nguyen helped their team take the Clean Creatives pledge to not work with fossil fuels because they wanted to start a bigger conversation about what communication for good looks like.

In the past, the agency done! in Buenos Aires would work with fossil fuel companies - until founder and CEO Marian Ventura became a mother and had a chance to rethink how she wanted to run her company.