Industry Leaders Get Behind Advertising’s Climate Crisis Summit

The advertising industry in London will convene on 25th June to advance the sector’s response to the climate crisis.

Ahead of the event, a group of concerned people from different agencies have come together to write an open letter and organise the summit.

The letter has already attracted co-signatures from 50+ industry leaders across GroupM, MediaCom, AMV BBDO and Droga5 among many others, showing the clear appetite to tackle climate change at the highest level of the industry.

Held in London on the afternoon of Tuesday 25th June, the Climate Crisis Summit will address how the advertising industry can help limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2030 and will provide an opportunity to get practical about tackling the climate crisis.

Pauline Robson, managing partner at MediaCom and member of the Purpose Disruptors Network that initiated the summit alongside The Comms Lab, said: “We come from different agencies, united by a deep concern about climate change and an understanding that there’s so much as industry we can do to tackle it. For lots of us, this is the first time we’ve done anything like this – we hope this is the start of a movement within the industry.”

Tim Whirledge, strategy director at Droga5 London, said: “To save the planet we are going to need to structure our little corner of it into a much more organised collective. I believe if we build on the recent green shoots of solidarity shown during the Audi pitch process, there is no reason why we cannot all come together to be a part of the 'roster' that solves the brief of our lifetime.”

Jonathan Wise, co-founder of The Comms Lab, said: “The remarkable interest and support for the letter we have written clearly demonstrates many, many people across the industry also want to step into the climate challenge and take action. The event is a way for this wider community to gather and determine, together, what we can do. It's really inspiring what is happening here."

Ella Saltmarshe, Co-founder of The Comms Lab, said: “The scale and urgency of the climate crisis requires all of us to look at what we can do from where we stand. The summit will be an opportunity for the industry to engage with insight from the frontline of the environment movement, to process it collectively and ultimately to work together in new ways to tackle climate change”. 

Helen McRae, UK CEO and Chair of Western Europe, Mindshare, said: “Climate change is a business issue but it’s also a personal issue. I’m signing up because it is important to the people I work with, it’s important to our clients but it’s also important for my two boys who will inherit our actions or indeed our inaction. I believe our industry can contribute in ways we haven’t yet thought about. It’s why we GroupM CEOs support this initiative and are united in our ambition to discover with the wider industry what we can do together. So, let’s get to work!” 

Dear Advertising,

The science is clear. We’ve only got 10 years to transform society to limit climate change to 1.5°C. This will require commitment from all sectors of society, including the advertising industry. Given that as an industry, we are unclear what actions we need to take, we’re inviting others who share our concern and desire to help, to an event on June 25th.

We are aware that as an industry, we have at times been complicit, knowingly or unknowingly, in exacerbating our current climate crisis through promoting unsustainable consumption on behalf of our clients. Yet, the very skills that have been used to shape the values, attitudes and behaviours of consumerism can also be used to help shift society to more sustainable ways of living. What do we need to start, stop and continue doing? What does industry leadership look like in the face of the climate crisis? Our choices now as an industry can help make the difference to the future of life on earth.

On June 25th, we’re going to be convening industry leaders in London to get practical about how we can tackle the climate crisis together. ​Join us​. Can the industry come together and mobilise to stand up for the climate? Let’s tackle the biggest and most exciting brief we’ve ever been given. Let’s choose which side of history we want to be on.

Signatories:

Tom George, ​CEO, GroupM UK

Tim Irwin, ​CEO, EMEA Essence

Paul Hutchison, ​CEO, Wavemaker UK

Helen McRae,​ UK CEO and Chair of Western Europe, Mindshare Marco Rimini​, Global Chief Development Officer, Mindshare

Rob McFaul​, ​Co-lead, Mindshare Purpose

Rosie Kitson​, Joint Head of Strategy and Co-Lead Mindshare Purpose

Josh Krichefski, ​CEO, MediaCom UK

Hannah Harrison​, Head of Sustainability, WPP

Fergus Hay, ​CEO, Leagas Delaney

Arlo Brady, ​CEO, Freud Communications

Bill Scott, ​CEO, Droga5, London

David Kolbusz, ​CCO, Droga5, London

Dylan Williams,​ CSO Droga5

Grace Francis,​ Chief Experience Officer, Droga5, London

Rebecca Lewis,​ Joint MD, Droga5, London

Heather Cuss, ​Joint MD, Droga5, London

Pete Heskett, ​Strategy Director, Droga5, London

Tim Whirledge, ​Strategy Director, Droga5, London

Chris Watling, ​Head of Production, Droga5, London

Toby Allen, ​Creative Partner, AMV BBDO

Alaina Crystal​, Deputy Head of Strategy, AMV BBDO

Mark Graeme,​ Head of Flare, AMV BBDO

Tom Tapper, ​Co-founder, Nice and Serious

Alex Lewis,​ Co-founder, Revolt

Pete Bardell, ​Co-founder, Revolt

Jonny Madderson, ​Co-founder, Just So

Jono Stevens,​ Co-founder, Just So

Natalie Graeme,​ Co-founder, Uncommon

Jane McDaid,​ Founder, Thinkhouse

Claire Hyland,​ Head of The Youth Lab, Thinkhouse

Irene Sandler, ​VP Marketing, Cognizant

Roy Capon​, CEO, Zone, a Cognizant digital business

Adam Fulford, ​CSO, Proximity London

Michael Hines,​ Planning Partner, Saatchi & Saatchi

Jenny Howard, ​SVP Head of Strategy, Sunshine

Simon Hewitt,​ Business Partner, Engine

Bobi Carley​, Head of Media, ISBA

Jonathan Trimble,​ CEO, And Rising

Sally Weavers​, Founder, Craft Media

Jen Smith,​ Founder, Craft Media

James Hillhouse,​ Co-Founder, Commercial Break

Will Collin,​ Strategy Lead, Karmarama

Matt Andrews​, CSO, RocketMill

Flo Heiss​, Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy

Iain Tait,​ ECD, Wieden + Kennedy

Tony Davidson​, ECD, Wieden + Kennedy

Ben Armistead​, CSO, Wieden + Kennedy

Paolo Salamao​, Head of Account Management, Wieden + Kennedy

Helen Andrews​, MD, Wieden + Kennedy

Mary Portas​, CCO, Portas Agency

Beth Bentley​, CSO, Portas Agency

Caireen Wackett​, CEO, Portas Agency Emma Hart​, CEO & Founder, Push PR

Hugh Robertson​, CEO & Founder, RPM

Jon Forsyth​, Partner, Neverland

Jonathan Emmins​, Founder, Amplify

Katie Lee​, CEO, Lucky Generals

Rob Campbell, CSO EMEA, R/GA.