Don’t Panic Heads to the Global Climate Strike 2019

The strikes last month saw millions of people taking to the streets, demanding an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for all. In recognition of the Global Climate Strike, people were urged to shun schools and offices in order to highlight the urgency of change and hundreds of companies across the UK backed this notion and shut up shop for the day.

Taking Action

Alongside Create & Strike, an organisation which brings together those from creative industries to put their talents behind the voices that matter, we used our abilities to amplify the message of the climate emergency. On the morning of the 20th, we left our desks and took to the streets with our placards and joined thousands of others who were striking to get the message heard. Our OOO’s were set, “Sorry, we're all currently out at the climate strike. Today is the day to panic about our planet's future. Join the strikes!”.

As an agency, we tend not to panic, hence the name. But in the words of Greta Thunberg, we must act like our house is on fire. Because it is.

To ensure this message was communicated as clearly as possible, we temporarily re-named ourselves ‘Panic’, using our email signatures to showcase the re-naming, and spreading the word to our database of contacts.

Our Creative Director, Rick Dodds comments "For months on end now, we've been reading about division”. “Today we're reading about unity. The world coming together as one voice, under one banner - to save our planet. At the time of writing this, the USA hadn't woken up yet to add their voice to the millions, by the time they do, I am sure this will go down as the biggest global protest in human history".

On Reflection

One month later, protests like Extinction Rebellion's International Rebellion continue to highlight the global emergency and are set to continue until drastic changes are made. But what is the role of agencies beyond strike action? Alongside internal efforts to be more sustainable, like our Meat Free Mondays, our wider purpose is to produce work which makes the world a better place. More officially, we've joined others in pledging not to work for big oil companies through the Creative Climate Disclosure.

You can read more about Don’t Panic’s protest on Prolific London here and on Campaign here.