B Lab strips Havas of B Corp certification globally
French holdco Havas has lost its B Corp status globally due to its work for oil and gas company Shell.
Per DeSmog, Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse are no longer certified, while other entities in the group have been made ineligible to certify.
The investigation completed by B Lab – the non-for-profit organisation that leads and verifies the B Corp community – found that Havas’ actions constituted a breach of the community’s core values.
B Lab found that although these agencies don’t directly work with Shell, but other Havas agencies do, it was deemed appropriate to remove their certifications since Havas uses common branding.
“While the Certified B Corps are not directly involved in providing services to the client, Havas’ structure and use of a common brand name across some of its agencies means that the entire group is ultimately required to earn certification, per B Lab rules,” the organisation said.
B Lab said the holdco was cooperative throughout the investigation, and accepted the ruling.
However, Havas has resolved not to adopt the remediation actions requires to maintain the B Corp status.
As Havas’ Australian network did not have the B Corp status, Mumbrella understands there is little local impact from the ruling.
Last year, Havas suffered major backlash after taking the global Shell account, with 26 communications and advertising agencies calling on B Lab to strip the agency of its certification.
“There are B Corp agencies working with the fossil fuel businesses that derive 95%+ of their revenues from fossil fuel, and that % has been growing,” said Chris Norman, founder and CEO of GOOD Agency (the UK’s largest and highest-scoring B Corp agency), in light of the Havas news. “They are also working with the businesses that enable and fund these fossil fuel companies. This is ambiguous at best, disingenuous and hypocritical at worst.”
Belinda Noble, founder of Comms Declare, a climate comms agency who often campaigned against Havas’ B Corp status, wrote on LinkedIn: “Huge! Havas has lost its B Corp status for working with Shell. The entire advertising group is now ineligible to be certified.
“You cannot be ethical or sustainable while promoting fossil fuels.”
Noble issued a warning to agencies earlier this year, as Shell Energy Australia’s creative account went to pitch.
She described Shell as an “Olympic gaslighter” as it has “talked up” its energy transition, while also “weakening its 2030 emissions reduction target and abandoning its 2035 target entirely”.
“Shell heavily promoted its net zero target in Australia, while internal emails revealed it was ‘not a Shell business plan’,” Noble alleged. “These greenwashing claims are being investigated by the corporate regulator.”
Mumbrella has contacted Havas for comment.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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Having taken numerous companies through preparation for B Corp certification, the rigour built into the process and the 70+ pathways a business can be taken down leave no room for ambiguity. No proof, no points.
Stripping a business of certification is rare – B Lab Global would have undertaken a thorough assessment to come to this decision.
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