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Clean Creatives warns shareholders of Interpublic Group and Omnicom that their proposed merger consolidates significant risks linked to fossil fuel clients, including legal liabilities, reputational damage, and future revenue losses as energy markets transition.

Clean Creatives calls on Netflix to implement fossil-free procurement criteria for its agencies and urges Dentsu, which recently secured a $190 million partnership with Netflix, to offramp all fossil fuel clients.

The report argues that the marketing industry must transition away from fossil fuel clients to future-proof revenue. It estimates that the top 29 oil majors spent approximately $6.97 billion on media, creative, and PR in 2024, which represents less than 1% of global marketing spend. While this spend generates an estimated $3.03 billion for major global holding companies and specific firms like Edelman, Accenture Song, and Stagwell, the report notes that for most agencies, these clients account for less than 1% of annual revenue.

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.

Clean Creatives urges The North Face to address the conflict between its goal of becoming climate positive and the fact that its agencies work for fossil fuel polluters and climate deniers. The document specifically cites Edelman as an agency working with Shell and Charles Koch, arguing that such partnerships allow polluters to promote misinformation and obstruct climate action. Clean Creatives notes that over 900 agencies have already pledged to stop working with fossil fuel companies.

The report 'Toxic Accounts' by Clean Creatives examines how BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell shifted their marketing strategies from 2020 to 2024. The analysis finds that these companies moved away from net-zero ambitions and 'greenwashing' toward a strategy of 'fossil fuel dominance,' emphasizing energy security and the indispensability of oil and gas. The document details the use of 'false solutions'—such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), blue/gray hydrogen, and certain biofuels—to justify continued fossil fuel production. It highlights specific campaign evolutions, such as BP's shift from 'greening companies' to 'energy security' and ExxonMobil's 'Breaking Free' anti-EV campaign, arguing that these narratives delay the clean energy transition to prioritize short-term shareholder returns.

Clean Creatives calls on Microsoft to stop its agencies from working with fossil fuel polluters, noting that firms like Edelman continue to work with Shell and Charles Koch despite scientific pledges.

The report argues that the UAE used extensive PR campaigns to rebrand itself as a climate leader to secure the hosting of COP28, while simultaneously planning to expand oil and gas production. It identifies 18 agencies that worked for the UAE, COP28, ADNOC, or Masdar between 2021 and 2023, noting that many of these firms simultaneously held contracts with major fossil fuel polluters. The document details specific tactics used to manipulate public opinion, including the editing of Wikipedia pages by COP28 staff and the use of AI-generated social media bots for astroturfing. It concludes by calling on the creative industry to stop working with fossil fuel clients to support a genuine energy transition.

A group of over 100 sustainability experts and advocates is publicly demanding that Edelman, the world's largest PR firm, drop all fossil fuel clients, including ExxonMobil and Shell. The signers argue that Edelman's work for these companies spreads climate denial and misinformation, which obstructs government action and contradicts the firm's stated commitment to the Paris Agreement.

A collective statement by over 450 scientists calling on PR and advertising agencies to drop fossil fuel clients, arguing that industry misinformation campaigns are a primary barrier to necessary government climate action.

Over 400 scientists have called on Hill+Knowlton Strategies and its parent company WPP plc to drop fossil fuel clients, arguing that representing companies like Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil is incompatible with the agency's role in leading public communications for the COP27 UN climate talks. The signatories claim the agency has enabled disinformation campaigns and that its clients' plans to increase production contradict the goals of the UNFCCC.

The document outlines five steps for media agencies to refuse pitching for Shell, citing the company's decision to freeze renewable energy investments, its history of denying climate science despite internal knowledge since 1989, and the fact that clean energy investments comprise less than 2% of its capital expenditures. It also warns agencies about the reputational risks associated with Shell's history of human rights abuses and misleading advertisements.

The document alleges that Wavemaker has spent over two decades helping Chevron mask its environmental and human rights record through misleading advertising. It highlights Chevron's toxic waste dumping in the Ecuadorian Amazon and pollution in Richmond, California, as evidence of the company's actual impact, contrasting these with its public image campaigns.

A group of creators and experts argues that Edelman's simultaneous representation of COP30 hosts and at least 10 fossil fuel polluters, including Shell, creates a conflict of interest that threatens the integrity of climate communications. The signers call on UN leaders and the Brazilian government to ensure COP30 updates are untainted by oil industry influence, suggesting Brazil should terminate its relationship with Edelman if the firm does not drop its fossil fuel clients.

The report details the efforts of Clean Creatives South Africa to encourage agencies and individuals to pledge to decline work for fossil fuel companies. It highlights South Africa's high carbon intensity and vulnerability to climate change, while listing specific agencies that maintain contracts with fossil fuel entities. The document criticizes 'greenwashing' practices by companies like TotalEnergies and Sasol, and calls for the creative industry to stop rewarding fossil fuel advertising campaigns.

The report presents the 2024 South African F-List, detailing 42 contracts between local agencies and fossil fuel clients, and highlights the reputational risks of such partnerships. It critiques the role of PR in masking the environmental and health impacts of companies like Sasol and TotalEnergies, while calling for industry awards like The Loeries to stop rewarding fossil fuel advertising.

The report details how fossil fuel companies have historically used advertising to spread climate disinformation and currently engage in 'greenwashing' to mislead consumers about their transition to clean energy. It highlights a surge in global climate litigation, noting that as of May 2021, there were 1,841 cases across 39 countries. The document warns advertising agencies that they are not immune to litigation and may face talent loss or financial penalties for their complicity in these campaigns. It provides case studies of legal actions against BP, Shell, and other 'Big Oil' companies to illustrate the growing trend of holding polluters accountable for deceptive trade practices and human rights violations.