Climate communications group, Comms Declare has launched in New Zealand by publishing the first list of agencies with fossil fuel clients on both sides of the ditch and issuing a warning over greenwashing.
Comms Declare found 14 New Zealand agencies which have ignored the scientific consensus and kept promoting fossil fuel clients. Ampol (Z Energy) is the biggest advertiser with 5 agencies in Aotearoa and 6 in Australia. Ampol has had record sales of petroleum – up 17% in just two years – while still maintaining it is going to reach net zero and is part of the ‘energy transition’.
Matt Halliday, New Zealand Committee Member, Comms Declare said, “To mark the launch of Comms Declare here in Aotearoa, we’re calling out the agencies who are really excelling at growing the fossil fuel market, often while making these clients and their own businesses look like they’re helping fix the problem.”
Belinda Noble, Founder, Comms Declare said, “There’s no excuses when it comes to promoting brands that are the main drivers of global warming. Agencies must understand that coal, petrol and gas companies are not sustainable, not changing and are jeopardising everything we love.
“New Zealand should be close to phasing out fossil fuels, but instead the public is being misled by gas and petrol businesses pretending to be green while fighting climate laws,” added Noble.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, asked all governments and businesses to stop advertising the fossil fuel companies he describes as the ‘Godfathers of climate chaos’.
Comms Declare is calling on the agencies and individuals in the comms industry to heed Guterres’s warning, draw the line now, and divest themselves of fossil fuel clients.
Today’s launch is in conjunction with the global F-list by US-based Clean Creatives, which found more than 1000 fossil fuel contracts with 590 agencies in 2023/24.
F-list lowlights – New Zealand
- Most polluting clients: The Purpose Business, 3 fossil fuel clients.
- Most self-promoting polluter: Z Energy (Ampol) 5 agencies.
- Agencies with fossil fuel clients in 2023/24: 14
F-list lowlights – Australia
- Most polluting clients: GRACosway (Omnicom): 8 fossil fuel clients.
- Most self-promoting polluters: Ampol, 6 agencies.
- Agencies representing fossil fuel lobby groups: 7
- 6 agencies new to the list: BMF, Brookline Advisory, Buck, Nous, Special, Wahoo Advertising
- Agencies with fossil fuel clients in 2023/24: 65
CASE STUDY 1
Public relations company Wright Communications have excelled at promoting themselves as a sustainability superstar. They are a B-Corp, certified carbon neutral, plus a member of the Sustainable Business Council and Climate Leaders Coalition. It claims to specialise “in sustainability and corporate social responsibility”.
However, its clients include petrol retailer, Z Energy (Ampol) and previously, Aotearoa’s only coal plant operator, Genesis Energy. Both of whom saw positive upticks in profits from fossil fuel related sales and their perception as a sustainable brand in NZ simultaneously.
In its 2023 Sustainability Report it also takes credit for an article by Toyota’s CEO rallying against EV mandates. Influence Map ranks Toyota as the top car maker globally for “driving opposition to climate regulations promoting battery electric vehicles in multiple regions.”
Comms Declare is writing to B-Corp, complaining about Wright Communication’s fossil fuel clients. Recently, Havas was stripped of its B-Corp status for taking the Shell account.
CASE STUDY 2
BCG2 has worked for Gas NZ, the methane lobby group trying to pretend that its product is the solution to global heating, not the cause.
The agency is involved with the consumer-facing Future Sure brand which positions gas as “part of the energy solution” with fantasy technological solutions such as carbon capture and storage. There is no mention on the site that gas is methane which is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
In a case study delivered at the World LPG Association, Gas NZ bragged about how it reversed a recommendation by the New Zealand Climate Change Commission to halt new gas connections by 2025 with the help of the Future Sure brand which increased “consumer confidence”.
Read the F-list Australia New Zealand
Read the Global F-list
