B Lab Revokes Havas’ B Corp Certification Following Backlash to Shell Contract
In a major win for Clean Creatives and a supporting group of 27 B Corp communications and advertising agencies, Havas has lost its B Corp certification following sustained pressure.
In response to Havas winning Shell’s media account, Clean Creatives and the coalition of B Corp agencies submitted an official complaint letter to B Lab in 2023 requesting immediate action on B-Corp-certified agencies working with the fossil fuel industry.
B Lab opened an official review following the complaint, which led to the decision to revoke Havas’ certification.
B Lab Statement - 18 July 2024
B Lab has concluded its investigation of a group of Certified B Corps (Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse) following complaints, including yours, regarding a new contract between Havas and Shell plc.
The investigation found that Havas’ actions constitute a breach of the B Corp community’s core values as expressed in our Declaration of Interdependence. While the Certified B Corps are not directly involved in providing services to the client, Havas’ structure and use of a common brand name across some of its agencies means that the entire group is ultimately required to earn certification, per B Lab rules; this places the group’s actions in scope for this investigation.
B Lab's investigation followed our Public Complaint Process and resolved that suspension with remediation would be required for Havas to maintain certification. Havas has cooperated throughout B Lab’s investigation and accepts the ruling; however, they have resolved not to adopt the remediation actions required to maintain certification. Their agencies Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse are no longer Certified B Corps. Other entities in the Havas group are also ineligible to certify.
B Lab’s investigation was based on our current standards and complaints process. Simultaneously, B Lab is actively evolving our standards to include rigorous due diligence requirements for human rights (HR 3.9) and environmental impact (ESC 2.7) that will require companies to assess the impact of each client or project and take action to mitigate negative impacts. As we work to finalize and implement these new standards, complaints about B Corps that work with clients in controversial industries require a case-by-case analysis. We thank the complainants in this case for their role in the investigation and encourage individuals with concerns about Certified B Corps to continue to use B Lab’s Public Complaint Process.
Supporting Quotes
“Creative agencies should not be working for the companies destroying the planet. I want to thank B Labs for doing the right thing and revoking certification for agencies that promote fossil fuel polluters. They listened to the dozens of B Corps who spoke out about this and took the right steps to protect their community from agencies that wanted to use certification as a cover for greenwashing.” Duncan Meisel, Executive Director, Clean Creatives.
“There should never have been any doubt that an agency helping promote and support a fossil fuel company should retain its B Corp accreditation. Whilst the delay has been damaging to B Lab’s reputation, and undermines confidence in the accreditation, we are pleased that there is now a precedent that establishes this principle. We hope that this is now replicated as standard practice across all B Corp agencies. We are grateful to the community of B Corp agencies who spoke out, and to Clean Creatives for driving this through." Chris Norman MBE, Founder and CEO of GOOD Agency.
Earlier this month, Clean Creatives discovered another five B Corp accredited communications agencies–Cullen Communications, Edit, SEC Newgate, Tinkle Communications (Havas subsidiary), Total Media–that have worked with fossil fuel clients in the last three years, and submitted another letter to B Corp on Wednesday 10 July 2024.