TCCP released the new framework this week at an event with Allbirds and the Environmental Defense Fund. It also announced a new consumer-facing certification called The Climate Label, which it will roll out starting in 2025.
Serviced emissions
On the agency side, ad industry network Purpose Disruptors released a separate framework based on the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign, also during Climate Week NY.
While it retains the language around net zero, it also offers a six-point framework for professional service providers to reduce “serviced emissions,” or those that a company is responsible for based on the work they do for clients. For ad agencies, that’s known as advertised emissions.
“By adopting this work, it will help the industry graduate beyond the focus on operational emissions to change its output and influence in society—away from driving unsustainable consumption and towards embedding the values, attitudes, and lifestyles that will help us live within planetary boundaries,” Jonathan Wise, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors, said in a statement.
Purpose Disruptors worked with two agencies, Oliver and M&C Saatchi, to develop a case study on how this framework applies to agency work.
“It’s time for a new type of sustainable business leadership,” Lucy Usher, U.K. sustainability lead at Oliver, said in a statement. “You don’t have to eat the elephant all at once—learn from others like us, use the Serviced Emissions Action Areas to take your next steps, and become an active participant in building a resilient economy.”
Ripe for disruption
Lastly, activists on the ground at Climate Week NY were focused on expanding networks of climate-minded creatives, educating on greenwashing, and calling out the ad agencies working for major fossil fuel companies.
Clean Creatives released its annual F-List on Tuesday, calling out 590 agencies for their work with Big Oil. Creatives for Climate, a global network of environmentally-conscious ad industry employees, hosted events for ad professionals and influencers.
“It’s the perfect time for adland to be reminded about the UN Secretary-General’s call for a fossil ad ban,” said Lucy Von Sturmer, co-founder and initiator of Creatives for Climate.
