Maybe stop advertising Armageddon?

A 2022 survey discovered the UK advertising industry Added 32% The annual carbon footprint of all UK citizens through emissions related to the extra consumption of products and services promoted by advertising, also known as “advertising emissions.”

This challenge to WPP shows a significant increase in the sector’s legal risk, as advertising companies, unlike many of their carbon-intensive clients, are not yet facing litigation on the climate base.

Dr Veronica Wignall, co-director of Adfree Cities, said it was one of two groups reporting complaints. “Advertisers are said to be architects of desire. Between the news of climate disasters and the loss of nature, they see ads everywhere for SUVs, plastic polluters giants, long-distance flights.

“Now it’s a morally permissible and increasingly legal risk to carry out promotional work with toxic brands like Shell and Cola. WPP is currently opposed to the urgently needed environmentally friendly future in the world. The climate pledges and stops promoting polluters.”

Greenwashing

Margherita Cornaglia and Harj Narulla, lawyers at Doughty Street Chambers, co-authored the complaint. Narulla said: “This complaint of the OECD’s UK national contact point illustrates a step change in legal risk for advertisers working to promote fossil fuel companies and other major polluters.

“Our complaints clearly show that by representing high clients of the clients emitted, WPP violates human rights, climate and environmental obligations under OECD guidelines. WPP has concluded that these You must release your clients and begin to meet your due diligence and disclosure obligations.”

WPP investors warn themselves that legal and reputational risks for advertising companies that continue to work as fossil fuel clients have become unsustainable.

Andreas von Angerer, who is head of impact at sustainable investment firm Inyova, said he will lead a group of investors who will hire WPP. “Since 2023, we have been urging PR and advertising companies to address the legal and reputational risks of working for high carbon clients. The OECD complaint against WPP shows how much these risks are It’s a remarkable example of how quickly it’s being implemented.”

According to WPP’s own year Report 2023the company’s policy is “not to take on client work, such as lobbying, designed to frustrate the purpose of the Paris Agreement.”

However, this is in stark contrast to the WPP’s work to promote fossil fuel companies and other polluters. Open the WPP to Greenwash accusations that work for such clients.

action

The “clean energy” ads for shells created by WPP agency Wunderman Thompson (now VML) Prohibited By the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in 2023 to mislead consumers by the oil giant’s large-scale fossil fuel operations and emissions.

The second “Powering Progress” shell ad by VML depicting the shell as an investment in energy transition is now Under investigation By the ASA.

Ogilvy, the WPP agent, has worked with BP for over 20 years. Through Complete brand, reputation management, advertising campaigns, sponsorships.

In 2020, a leaked briefing from BP to WPP institutions led to the BP strategy being “Invest in more oil and gas” Before asking the institution to place an oil major as a leader in the clean energy transition. 2024, bp Abandoned previously declared climate targets It has announced that it is expanding its oil and gas production.

Related concerns included in the complaint include the WPP agency, Ogilvy Government Relations (OGR), which has been “involved repeatedly in work designed to frustrate the goals of the Paris Agreement through its work at the American Petroleum Institute (API). It’s about being there.” APIs are regular opponents for climate action – Lobbying activities Against methane regulations and windfall taxes on oil companies.

Fantasy

WPP has an environmentally friendly reputation and appears to be able to eat it. But you can’t make a climate pledge and still promote the world’s most polluted businesses.

Advertisers may be skilled at creating alternative reality, but if they believe that they can, both WPPs will drop due to their own stock-in-trade illusions and their own rules and broke multinational guidelines.

WPP’s Oil and Gas Company Clients – from BP to Shell, and recently Equinor (someone who’s caught up in the development of Rosebank’s oil fields) has publicly tore Green’s promises. From this perspective, the institution’s claim is that they help them deal with such clients and help them either seem less good or disloyal or self-delusional.

The WPP acknowledges that their work affects the environment by affecting the way people live. “We recognize that our greatest contribution to the planet is through our work: changing attitudes and behaviors to create a sustainable future and a more inclusive society. I know that we can do that,” it says.

the goal

However, WPP has a long list of aviation clients including British Airways and United Airlines, and work for highly contaminated automakers including 80 years of relationship with Ford.

Advertising is also helpful Increases demand It was a larger, heavier, more pollution-related sports utility vehicle (SUV), which was responsible for more than 20% of global energy-related CO2 emission growth in 2023. Prohibited To promote environmentally irresponsible driving.

Similarly, WPP successfully completed a $4 billion Coca-Cola marketing account in 2021.A serious human health crisis.

Coca-Cola is the world’s worst plastic polluter. Responsible person 11% of branded plastic pollution worldwide. James Quincy, Cola CEO in 2023, 2023 dubbing Marketing for “Motors for Growth.” The following year, the company Weakening Water its recycling and reuse goals, as well as carbon emission targets.

Contaminator

The guidelines that the complaint says have been broken by the WPP are government-supported voluntary standards for OECD countries to promote responsible business behaviour by multinationals.

They are considered the most comprehensive set of obligations regarding business behavior available today, and allegedly breaching the WPP will be a potentially important moment in corporate governance.

This complaint is designed to enforce the WPP and its many subsidiaries simply by following registered international rules and enforce the promises and claims it has made.

In reality, it means they have to own, disclose and deal with the extra climate pollution caused by promoting some of the biggest polluters on the planet.

This means they must see who and what they are stepping in and start implementing appropriate due diligence to find, prevent and reduce damage from business relationships.

Irresponsible

Essentially, they have to drop clients that aren’t in line with climate targets, like major oil and gas companies, and drop clients who are against climate action. The WPP must also stop making false and misleading claims about its own climate behavior.

All this is merely in line with what the WPP claims to be already alive. If the WPP has not taken these measures, the complaint requires that the company should be officially found to be found to be in violation of OECD guidelines.

All wildfires and extreme weather events remind us that we are in an age of climate impact.

Advertisers are working on briefs that intentionally target young people, politicians and consumers with misleading ads and pro-porter messages. For those who are irresponsible enough to actively promote pollution, the outcomes they face may include ending in court.

Reply right

A WPP spokesman said: If the UK and other countries want stronger economic growth and the benefits this brings to society, companies need to be able to sell goods and services within a clear framework of rules and codes of practice. Together with our clients and the other advertising industries, we are meticulous in following all marketing regulations and are proud to act as a catalyst for growth in every sector of our economy. ”

A spokesman for the Advertising Association said: “It is important to remember that advertising plays a fundamental role in helping businesses hire, compete, innovate and invest in products and services that will benefit the economy today and in the future. All ads in the UK must comply with strict content rules enforced by the ASA, and environmental claim regulations must also comply with the CMA’s green claim code. Very rarely, advertisers will be able to qualify for these It negatively affects the rules and ads will be revised or withdrawn. Major advertising businesses are working hard to decarbonize their supply chains, and WPP is setting an ambitious zero target for 2030. Advertisers have a variety of commitments, and SBTI’s latest data shows a rapid increase from companies around the world targeting emissions in line with Paris’ goals.”

A spokesman for the IPA said: Regulations governing what can be said in this area are natural, but despite this, unintended violations can occur. Other regulations related to environmental claims. Furthermore, as one of the world’s leading communications networks, he will be one of the leaders of the peer group to focus his attention on the broader actions taken by WPP and work towards the net zero goals of their business. It is well established that many of the world’s largest companies are working to produce more sustainable products and services. The ability to continue promoting your brand plays a key role in encouraging consumers to turn their purchasing habits into greener choices. ”

A spokesman for ISBA said: “If we want to make the economy and environment right in the 21st century, sectors from energy to FMCG need to be able to invest in change. In part, that investment comes from continuous operations, but is more sustainable. We will research, develop and switch between the products and services that will support the future.”

This author

Andrew Sims is co-director New Meteorological Research Instituteco-founder of Budbert Campaigncoordinator of Fast Migration Allianceand co-author of the original Green New Deal. Follow Bluesky @andrewsimms.bsky.social. Please see more details on Case for WPP, here.