Calling Out the BS + Building Creative Resilience

Call Out the BS: How to Speak Up & Push Back in Advertising and PR

It’s been almost a year since United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on nations to ban fossil fuel advertising, and urged the advertising and PR industry “to stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction.” And yet, the numbers tell a different story: over 1,000 contracts with fossil fuel companies were signed across nearly 600 ad/PR agencies in 2024 alone.

With the new administration, climate conservation is no longer a priority — it's been systematically dismantled. (Wild to think the “ping pong” dynamic I wrote about back in 2017 still holds true.) You can track the rollbacks in real time here.

The green-colored glasses are off. Brands and big business™ are showing their cards — cutting corners, weakening climate goals, and continuing work with fossil fuel clients. The result? A media landscape filled with misleading climate narratives, favoring PR wins over actual wins for the planet.

These aren’t isolated shifts — the rollback of corporate DE&I programs from some of the largest companies with the deepest pockets follows the same pattern: a retreat from accountability, and a prioritization of profit over people and planet. When climate and equity commitments are treated as expendable, now is not the moment to ease off — it’s time to turn up the heat even more. 

Instead of falling complicit to the woes of purporting greenwashing claims or misaligning with your agency’s client portfolio, we have power — to start dialogue, to push for truth, and to use our creativity for good. I recently had the privilege to demonstrate that power by co-leading my first Clean Creatives workshop last week, alongside Drew Solomon and Laura Ranzato. In the workshop, we helped our audience recognize greenwashing and backpedaling, gave them real-life examples and strategies to call it out, while protecting yourself and your colleagues.

While it was a great reminder of the power we have, I do wrestle with striking the right balance between industry influence and personal values: “It’s PR, not ER.” But also, we have a responsibility to call out environmental racism and greenwashing when we see it. However, this conversation offered a glimmer of hope. With over 100 sign-ups within a week of posting about the event, and a lively Zoom discussion, it’s clear: we’re not alone. 

We’re a growing collective of creatives, strategists, and communicators who likely have the same questions, doubts, and fire in our bellies. We’re here to ease concerns, build community, and take action — together. 

Whether you’re at the frontline of a climate protest, reading a new client brief with some questionable language choices around their sustainability commitments, or somewhere in the middle, consider the following to turn your anger into action:

1. Draw a clear line between what scientists say we must do and what agencies are actually doing. For the first time, the largest ad firm WPP is being held accountable for its heavily polluting client portfolio. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argued that the firm should not make climate pledges while helping to promote the world's most polluting companies. This marks a step-change in legal risk for advertisers working to facilitate fossil fuel companies and other major polluters.

2. Call out greenwashing. Question the feel-good “climate work” in agency decks, trade pubs, and online. Not all greenwashing looks the same. Here’s a guide to greenwashing vocabulary in all its shapes and forms, with examples to help you spot them.

3. Bring the dirty work into the light — with real examples. The research process does not have to be big and scary. You can check agency websites and socials for their latest work, subscribe to news outlets like DeSmog, and see if your agency is one of the gas-guzzling spinsters (or on the flip side, has taken the Clean Creatives pledge to not work for fossil fuel clients).

4. Find your people. We have the power to shape public opinion, and steer profits to the clients we work for. Let’s do it on behalf of clients that are doing good, not fossil fuel companies. If you work in the marketing/advertising/PR space, consider signing the pledge and connect with the 4.5K (and counting) individuals part of the Clean Creatives community.

5. Prepare for impact. While we cannot anticipate how someone may react to your questions (or be as iconic as Tolly when calling out Edelman at Cannes), we must remind ourselves that the climate conversation is not solely on one’s shoulders. I also want to acknowledge that we do not all have the privilege of turning down values-misaligned work. To whatever degree you feel comfortable, you’re equipped with the community to lend an ear or find alternative ways to partake in events, from happy hours with like-minded people, to trainings to build your climate resiliency arsenal.

As Earth Day greenwashing makes its way across our social feeds in the form of limited edition “sustainable” products and celebratory, so-called progress statements, I’m giving myself grace. Grace to refill my cup, to remember I may not be able to solve the climate crisis alone, but I can continue to be an active participant in holding the biggest climate polluters accountable, speaking up in agency/industry settings, and holding space to nurture our creative community.