Clean Creatives Issues “THE F-LIST 2021” Report Detailing 90 Ad and PR Companies Working for the Fossil Fuel Industry
This report lands on the heels of last week’s announcement that a Congressional oversight committee has officially launched an investigation of fossil fuel industry disinformation on the climate crisis.
NY, NY, September 21, 2021—Clean Creatives issued a new report today, “The F-List 2021” that documents 90 Ad and PR agencies working with fossil fuel corporations that are responsible for climate change and compares holding company pledges for climate action with their work to greenwash their clients’ image and spread climate misinformation.
The advertising and public relations industry is facing its biggest corporate social responsibility challenge since the war over tobacco advertising. A growing movement of industry professionals and regulators are asking questions about the role of agencies in supporting the fossil fuel companies most responsible for climate pollution and insisting on concrete change that brings agencies and executives in line with the needs of the climate crisis.
Over the past thirty years, communications firms have become some of the fossil fuel industry’s most valuable allies, with contracts spanning years and amounting to billions of dollars in revenues. Since the 1990’s, the five major oil companies have spent over $3.6 billion on reputational advertising, much of it aimed at projecting an environmentally and socially responsible image.
“Fossil fuel companies are the biggest polluters, the biggest greenwashers, and the biggest opponents of life-saving climate action. There is no room for ad and PR professionals to continue promoting companies that are doing so much damage to our future,” said Duncan Meisel, director of Clean Creatives. “The most important step any agency can take to address the climate crisis is to rule out working with fossil fuel companies. We need creatives and communications experts to bring their full energy towards ending this crisis, not extending it.”
The F-List 2021 Report calls out some of the world’s largest and best-known PR and advertising agencies for working with fossil fuel clients to spread climate misinformation, including:
WPP, for its work with BP in Ogilvy, Shell at WundermanThompson, and Exxon in both Hill + Knowlton and Burson Cohn and Wolfe.
Edelman, for its work with Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Dentsu, for its work with Chevron at mcgarrybowen and Ampol at iProspect.
Clean Creatives has convened hundreds of individual creatives and dozens of agencies to reject future contracts with fossil fuel companies. Co-author, Comms Declare, focused on Australia, is building a similar community with ever-growing scale and impact.
“Australia is unique because three Prime Ministers have lost their jobs for trying to limit greenhouse gases,” said Comms Declare Founder, Belinda Noble. “With corporate giants continuing to pump tens of millions into sponsorships, PR, lobbying and marketing every year, it’s no wonder Australia has no net zero commitment and is playing a wrecking role in international climate negotiations.”
The F-List 2021 Report is underscored by last week’s news that the House Oversight Committee officially launched an investigation into fossil fuel industry disinformation. “This is a landmark day in the climate fight,” declared Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media. “For decades, the fossil fuel industry has polluted our political process along with polluting our atmosphere. Exposing the industry’s disinformation is a critical step in holding it accountable for the damage it has done and clearing the way for meaningful change. Congressional hearings like these helped end the stranglehold Big Tobacco once had over our political process. They must now do the same for Big Oil.”
Highlights from the “F-List 2021” Report include:
This report focuses on three major regions: North America, Europe, and Australia.
How the fossil fuel industry has expanded their efforts to oppose and water down major climate legislation under the Biden Administration.
How net zero claims are the new greenwashing
A thorough analysis of the gap between the sustainability policies of major ad holding companies, and the policies of their major fossil fuel clients
How social media platforms are under growing pressure to address paid disinformation in the form of fossil fuel advertisements.
Key examples of the rising filings of both domestic and international legal action addressing disinformation by oil companies about climate changes
How the reality of US Climate Secretary John Kerry’s recently pronounced need for new fossil fuel development contrasts with the business reality with the green-tinted picture painted by agencies for fossil fuel companies in their engagement with the public for polluting clients.
For the agencies listed in this report, the questions raised by their work with fossil fuel companies are not going away. This report serves as a reminder of the scope of these relationships, and an update on the roadmap to ending them.
Clean Creatives was launched last November by Fossil Free Media as a campaign aimed at pressuring PR and Ad firms to sever ties with fossil fuel clients. Their main goal is to further the fossil fuel divestment movement by cutting into oil and gas companies' profit margins through their public relations and ad campaigns. Last month nearly 250 young leaders in the ad and PR industry co-signed an open letter issued by Clean Creatives calling on agency executives to cut ties with fossil fuel companies, and front groups. Less than a year old, the campaign has already generated significant attention with articles in The New York Times, Fast Company, the Guardian, the Financial Times, PR Week, Bloomberg, Axios, Wired, and beyond.