Earth Day Summit Convenes Industry Leaders and Changemakers to Reimagine the Future of Advertising

Advertising reformers Purpose Disruptors will host the Earth Day Advertising Summit on the 25th of April, 2023, at a renowned London gallery. The summit will convene over 200 industry leaders and change-makers across the advertising ecosystem to reimagine the future of advertising and engage in taking bolder action on climate to support a thriving future. 

The summit comprises two parts, the morning Leadership Summit is a unique conference which will help leaders face into this humanity-defining moment. Musician, artist and activist, Brian Eno will open the Leadership Summit in conversation with Jon Alexander, former advertising insider and author of Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us. They’ll explore the moment in time we're living in, and consider the role the advertising industry plays. 

The Leadership Summit will also feature a curated panel of boundary-pushing speakers on climate, both from within the advertising industry and beyond, including the Head of Strategy and Sustainability Lead at Mindshare, Rosie Kitson, Writer, Playwright, TV Presenter and Founder of Black Mountains College - a new university designed to create a future where nature and humans thrive, Owen Shears, BT Group Brand Lead, Laura Dexter, and proxy for the Nature Director at Faith in Nature, Alexandra Pimor. 

The afternoon will feature a tailored Changemakers Masterclass hosted by Purpose Disruptors. The session is designed to inspire and support a new wave of individuals seeking to drive stronger climate action within their organisations. Purpose Disruptors will share new tools to take on the climate crisis, and host conversations with current industry trailblazers who are working to transform the industry from where they stand, including Laura Costello, Strategy Director at THINKHOUSE, who recently spoke at Irish Parliament about the role advertising plays in the climate emergency. She'll be joined by other industry insiders to be announced soon.

The Earth Day Advertising Summit will also feature the Good Life 2030 immersive exhibition of the future. Morning and afternoon ticket holders will be invited on a journey to explore a curated experience featuring ‘ads for the future’ from a range of creative partners, including IRIS, MGOMD, WeAre8, Creatives for Climate and Bournemouth and Falmouth Universities. The exhibition will also introduce the advertising industry to a growing movement of futures and imagination practices across wider artistic, creative communities. The exhibition will help both industry leaders and changemakers imagine a new future for the industry and the creative work we put into society. 

The advertising industry is at a crucial moment. The IPCC’s 6th Assessment Synthesis Report (AR6), released Monday 20th of March stated “there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all” it’s now or never to act on climate”. The UN secretary general António Guterres urged us "to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe.” Currently, the advertising industry has a major part to play in fuelling the climate crisis and is not taking full responsibility for its climate impact. Purpose Disruptors' latest Advertised Emissions report calculates that the UK advertising industry influences 32% of the carbon footprint of every citizen in the country. 

Nothing short of total industry transformation is required to meet what science demands. The summit is designed to help people understand the scale of transformation needed, and ignite a sense of responsibility, agency and ambition to accelerate the advertising industry’s climate transition.

Lisa Merrick Lawless, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors says, “Right now we are at a sliding doors moment, real transformation means re-imagining everything. The Summit will invite people to do this together. Imagination and collective action is what is needed right now”.

Rob McFaul, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors says, "Four years ago, we hosted the UK’s first Climate Crisis Summit, where we invited the industry to take collective action. That Summit was the genesis of the Advertising Association’s Ad Net Zero, the IPA Climate Charter, and #ChangeTheBrief Alliance. It's now time to ramp up the level of transformation as we host the Earth Day Summit. We know good things happen when we bring the industry together and we’re excited about what can come from this amazing event."

Jonathan Wise, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors says, “It is time that the advertising industry got together and discussed the elephant in the room – our creativity is making the climate emergency worse, what can we do about it? Can we move away from driving unsustainable consumption and towards supporting a thriving sustainable future? The Earth Day Advertising Summit is for those who hope and believe this is possible.”

Alexandra Pimor, proxy for the nature director at Faith in Nature says, “SAVE HUMANITY. That's my call. The current polycrisis is not just economic, social and ecological. It is first and foremost a human crisis - it is about human survival on planet Earth. Humanity currently dominates over the Earth and her resources; Yet, humanity is also a force for good, full of creativity, imagination and great love. We need a narrative of faith in human nature and our ability to live in harmony on this Earth; so it is time to give Nature a voice and the advertising industry can help. 

Laura Costello, strategy director at THINKHOUSE and Purpose Disruptors Ireland Lead says, “We’ve arrived at a humanity-defining moment. The most important brief of our careers is to rework our imaginations to drive truly life-affirming outcomes in our work. We’ve started to shape a response, but we’ve not yet deployed our talents in full force. This requires a reset. At interventions like The Earth Day Advertising Summit, choreographing urgent transformation together as global allies, we can create industry-defining momentum.”

For information on tickets and speakers please visit the Purpose Disruptors website.