How to Get Started With Clean Creatives

The guide advises agency staff to build diverse internal coalitions and leverage existing company values regarding sustainability and social justice to advocate for the termination of fossil fuel client contracts. It emphasizes that an agency's client list is the primary driver of its carbon footprint, noting that a single oil company contract for the holding company IPG produced more carbon than the entire global holding company. Recommended actions include identifying supportive leadership, using non-confrontational questioning to highlight business risks, and utilizing staff-wide forums like townhalls or Slack to organize. The document links the fossil fuel industry to systemic racial injustice, arguing that commitments to racial justice are inconsistent with working for companies that disproportionately harm marginalized communities.

• An agency's client base is the most significant contributor to its carbon footprint, often outweighing internal sustainability efforts such as reducing electricity use or offsetting flights. For example, one oil company contract for the holding company IPG generated more carbon than the entire global holding company.
• Advocates are encouraged to align their goals with the agency's stated values on sustainability and social justice, specifically arguing that fossil fuel business practices are incompatible with commitments to racial justice due to the industry's disproportionate impact on Black people and marginalized communities.
• The guide recommends a strategic approach to internal advocacy: identifying supportive high-ranking leadership, asking questions that highlight risk rather than inducing defensiveness, and using general staff forums like townhalls or digital communication tools to build a diverse core team.

APA

Clean Creatives (n.d.). How to Get Started With Clean Creatives. https://cleancreatives.org/start

Chicago

Clean Creatives. How to Get Started With Clean Creatives. n.d. https://cleancreatives.org/start.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Creatives |title=How to Get Started With Clean Creatives |url=https://cleancreatives.org/start |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleancreativesndhow, author = {{Clean Creatives}}, title = {{How to Get Started With Clean Creatives}}, institution = {Clean Creatives}, url = {https://cleancreatives.org/start}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }