Creative agency Futerra wants the ad industry to declare a climate emergency

Impact-focused consultancy and creative agency Futerra has called on the creative and advertising industries to disclose what they call ‘climate conflicts’ in their work.

The move comes six weeks after leading climate campaigners Extinction Rebellion also asked advertisers to consider the consequences of their work on the crisis, sending out a letter to high-ranking executives at major agencies across the globe.

Seeking fundamental change within the industry, Futerra has now published a letter of its own, seeking to find signatories who are prepared to put pressure on themselves and their employers to be frank, honest, and open about any climate-related conflicts that might arise as the result of taking work on by certain clients.

“As creatives, communications agencies and media experts, we see the climate emergency,” the letter begins. Like Extinction Rebellion, they are also declaring a climate emergency.

The open letter asks agencies and individuals to commit to one of two things. Individual creatives who sign the letter are pledging to “simply not work on fossil fuel briefs” while the agencies are promising to reveal the “percentage of our turnover categorised by industry, including income from fossil fuel companies and other high carbon clients,” whilst ensuring that client confidentiality is respected fully.

Agencies are also being asked to submit client disclosure reports, detailing revenue sources in an attempt to engender fiscal transparency and future-focused climate accountability. Thus far Republic of Everyone and Forster Communications have consented to publishing their reports, and Futerra hope other agencies, consultancies, and companies will follow suit.

At the time of writing 18 agencies and 32 individuals have signed.

“Creativity will help solve the climate emergency. That’s the power of imagination, invention, problem solving and storytelling,” says Solitaire Townsend, the co-founder of Futerra. “But not if the advertising, PR and marketing industry keep serving the problem.”

Solitaire goes on to add that, “At Futerra we’ve spearheaded this letter to help put agencies on the right side of history.”