Clean Creatives Uses @AdNetZero Social Media Handles to Demand Ad Net Zero Address Fossil Fuel Polluters
Industry pressure group demands Ad Net Zero publicly post plans to address fossil fuel sponsorship on the same day as their launch in the US
Austin, Texas, Tuesday 07 February 2023: As Ad Net Zero prepares for its US launch today, anti-fossil fuel group Clean Creatives announces it will be using the social media accounts @adnetzero on Twitter, @adnetzero on Instagram and @adnetzero on TikTok to ask for evidence of a true plan to transition to net zero that includes member agencies ending promotion of Big Oil.
All agency sponsors of Ad Net Zero, which positions itself as ‘Advertisting’s response to the climate crisis’, work with fossil fuel polluters. Clean Creatives will begin using the @adnetzero social media accounts to share information about how agencies’ work with polluters is at odds with Ad Net Zero’s goals.
Clean Creatives spotted the opportunity of reserving the @adnetzero social media channels as the Ad Net Zero network had not registered them. Clean Creatives is offering to provide access to the @adnetzero social media channels once a public plan for how to transition out of working for fossil fuel clients is shared by the leadership of Ad Net Zero. If that plan is not offered, Clean Creatives will use the accounts as a hub for information on genuine efforts towards achieving Net Zero in the ad industry.
Video content for the @adnetzero posts is being written and produced by creative industry leaders Tolmeia Gregory, Francesca Willow (@EthicalUnicorn), and Jacob Simon, as well as Clean Creatives’ campaign team.
WPP, Omnicom and Interpublic are examples of Ad Net Zero sponsors, yet they work with ExxonMobil. Together, these agencies report approximately 6 million tons of CO2 in their carbon footprint, whereas Exxon reports 690 million tons. Growth of less than 1% by Exxon would render any action from Ad Net Zero redundant.
Ad Net Zero’s ‘Action Plan’ from its 2020 Report - an agency guide on how to reduce emissions and transition to net zero - lists an agency’s flight emissions, office energy use, production and media buying impacts, but not emissions produced by the companies an agency promotes. Clean Creatives argues that any plan to ‘get our own house in order’ should include the industry’s primary product: its impact on brand reputation and sales for their clients.
“We’re not trying to impersonate Ad Net Zero; we just think that Ad Net Zero is impersonating a real climate plan. You cannot effectively respond to the climate emergency while working with the people responsible for it.
The carbon impact of working for fossil fuel clients is bigger than all of the advertising industry's operations and offices. We feel it's a fatal loophole for an industry benchmark for climate action to ignore the impact of their sponsors’ work for fossil fuel companies.
We will happily share access to the @AdNetZero accounts if Ad Net Zero can share a plan about how they will get their member agencies out of working with fossil fuel clients. Until then, we’ll use these channels to distribute information about how the industry’s work with fossil fuel clients undermines Ad Net Zero’s goals.” Duncan Meisel, Director, Clean Creatives
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About Clean Creatives
Clean Creatives has mobilised over 450 agencies and 1000 individuals to pledge not to work with fossil fuels, including Top 150 UK-ranked Hope&Glory, strategic design studio Bruce Mau Design, global creative services company The Moon Unit, and TRIPTK from the holding group Havas, brand commitments range from Everlane to Gentleman Farmer to S’well and more.
Clean Creatives created an open letter signed by 273 creative professionals under 30 who promised they would not work for fossil fuel clients. In partnership with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Clean Creatives also released a letter from 450 scientists condemning the advertising and PR industry’s work with fossil fuels.
Clean Creatives Website: cleancreatives.org
Clean Creatives Twitter: @CleanCreatives
Clean Creatives Instagram: @clean_creatives
Clean Creatives Director Duncan Meisel Twitter: @duncanwrites
Statistics
“Together, these agencies report approximately 6 million tons of CO2 in their carbon footprint, whereas Exxon reports 690 million tons.” Various sources include: