The Shell Energy pitch situation might make life difficult for agency CEOs, but that’s what they’re paid to do
James Greet, co-founder of The Payback Project, argues that if your values don’t stop you from going green, then commercial interests should.
Last night I saw an awesome movie at the cinema: A Difficult Year. I won’t spoil the story, other than to say it began with footage of various French presidents over the years, each beginning a different national address with “____ has been a difficult year”.
Earlier in the day, I’d also read that the World Meteorological Organisation’s State of the Global Climate report confirms that 2023 broke every single climate record – not the kind of records we really want to break. Another difficult year and proof of progress of a climate crisis that is entirely human-made.
(Read the IPCC 2021 report approved by 195 governments – or at least the management summary if you don’t want to read the full 3,949 page report – to better understand how and why.)
Suffice to say, this human-made climate crisis is only going to make life more difficult – every year.
Now, I’m very much aware that many organisations across the wider agency world have a clear position on the climate crisis, acknowledging that it exists with varying levels of action in play, from basic offsetting of emissions to harder reduction activities.
Which is why Comms Declare’s position around the Shell creative pitch is a no-brainer. After all, if an agency acknowledges the existence of the climate crisis, why would you also promote an industry that’s fuelling it anyway?
As Darren Woolley observes, “fossil fuels are becoming the new tobacco”. So, if your values don’t stop you, then commercial interests should. Now, I get it might make life difficult for agency CEOs struggling to deliver the numbers, but then again, that’s what they’re paid to do: to embrace difficulties and find new ways, like engaging and supporting the emergence of newer players in this massive transition – not to hang on to the old world.
But to be honest this is really the tip of the looming iceberg – ‘scuse the pun.
Because, yesterday, I also saw Sunita Gloster’s Linkedin post from the AICD Governance summit; specifically, the panel conversation expressing concern about the falling confidence in directors to power the change in energy transition and climate governance, and the question posed by former CSIRO chief Larry Marshall: “How do we drive change without impacting profits?”
This has a direct and far broader impact on the future relevance and role of the marketing industry and its associated agency world. I don’t believe we can just ‘market’ our way greener out of this crisis.
For many marketing has only ever been in service of profitable growth. But, as the economist Kenneth E. Boulding once said: “Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist”.
This challenge of delivering perpetual profitable growth in a world of finite resources is a difficult reality that modern marketers and their communications associates will most likely have to face up to at some stage.
Yet only last week I read about the AANA’s single-minded agenda for their RESET 2024 conference – Growth. Seems the looming difficult future is not on the agenda just yet. Not here in Australia, anyway.
Elsewhere, however, it is.
There’s already great work being done overseas to help get the marketing industry’s head around this inconvenient truth and difficult challenge, with The Purpose Disruptors in London a leading example of this.
Started by former agency execs who’d realised “the better I am at my job the worse I am making the situation”, what began with the three of them meeting in a pub has turned into a growing movement with over 4,000 members from across the Marcomms industry and the birth and establishment of several powerful initiatives – including advertised emissions and the #changethebrief campaigns. Turning difficult conversations into progressive movement and real action.
We’ve yet to do the same in any impactful way here.
But we need to start. Beginning with addressing the difficult conversation about what can we do. To be honest this is something that needs leadership from the industry – CEOs of agencies, leading marketers, the industry bodies, to drive and endorse this.
Now we’re not going tell anyone what to do, how to run their businesses, who to pitch for or not. That’s up to them. If you want to continue with plan A, cool. Go for it.
But I know there are many across the industry who do believe we need a plan B.
A plan built around marketing that’s also in service of the long-term wellbeing of social (people) and environmental (planet) systems, not just profit. But many don’t know where to begin. Or, even how to start the conversation, or who to start it with. Indeed, they don’t want to be seen as ‘difficult’, when they question and challenge the status quo with their bosses.
What’s also true, is that ‘difficult’ only gets ‘more difficult’ over time, if not dealt with.
So, we’ve teamed up with Zali Steggall MP and gathered a panel from across the marketing and agency world to share their views at a Town Hall in a couple of weeks. And we’re inviting everyone from across the industry who dares to be difficult to come along, and be part of the start of a difficult conversation.
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Mike, I’d never claim to be morally superior. In the past I’ve worked on fags (BAT, Philip Morris, even a brand called Death cigarettes), fossil fuels (MCA, BP, Texaco), gambling (Tabcorp, Ladbrokes), probably heaps of other bad stuff too. I wish I hadn’t but I have, and I can’t change that. What I can do now armed with more knowledge is apply my time and abilities in a different way – as many who are part of the global transition are doing. Hence The Payback Project (name pretty self explanatory). What I’d also never claim to be is familiar with the oil rig Industry. I’ll leave that to that industry’s experts to lead that difficult conversation regarding its transition. Instead I’ll stick to this industry that I’m familiar with. I’m also not simply sitting behind a keyboard – we’ve created a public event to continue this conversation and have invited everyone interested to join. Which we’ve done. If you’d like to be part of that conversation regardless of perspective please connect (you have my mobile) and / or come and join the panel discussion – see humanitix link. Be great to have you there. Ps Bring any oil rig workers you know too. Be nice to meet one. Best, James
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I worked in the oil industry for thirty years. My hobby is classic car ownership so full disclosure. That said I am agnostic as regards where any individual sources their energy. I am How ever I am against simplistic arguments that 100% renewables is a clean silver bullet. I live in Australia and these observations are from here.I recently was at West Glenrowan where a 250 hectare site with @350000 solar panels has just been commissioned. Quite a sight as well as site. To put that in perspective it is equivalent to 3% of the Latrobe Valley coal stations. Less than many of the small gas powered suppliers dotted around suburban and regional areas. On the same journey I spent time behind a Nissan EV proudly wearing an emissions free badge. It is only emissions free if charged totally from non grid power and I am not even mentioning the emissions deficit that it leaves the factory with that takes about 3 years to negate when compared with an equivalent ICE vehicle. Nobody is prepared to mention the two things we can do to reverse climate change in our lifetime. Population control is the answer to the all problems other than economic growth and corporate profits. So how genuine are we? A distant second is nuclear power. I live in a geographically stable island nation with vast areas of unpopulated land. We have our own uranium and a political stability. Despite this it is impossible to have a civilised conversation on the subject. Meanwhile we blunder on.
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@Cameron J, now I don’t know who you are given your choice to be anonymous but I do know Steve Bannon’s ‘flood the zone with s*@t’ playbook when I see it. In one para you chuck everything in from man made climate crisis denial, tangential comments about Qantas and Woolworths, EV sales going backwards – actually 87,000 sold here in 2023 and 100,000 forecast in 2024 with Feb a record share of all cars sold at 9.6% source: FCAI, – whilst also suggesting Darren Woolley doesn’t know an industry trend when he see’s one.
What I’d suggest however is please do reach out to me via LI so we can have a proper conversation. Or even better still please come and join us for the conversation with Zali and the panel. All perspectives are important and welcome. Hope to see you there.
James
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“proof of progress of a climate crisis that is entirely human-made!” Really! I think not but I will leave that for another day.
Australians have shown time and time again that they don’t want to be lectured to by industry. I refer to the damage done to the Qantas brand over the last 5 years in particular and lets not mention Woolworths.
So as Agencies why would we do the same? Our business will continue to support products and services that Australians need and want.
The tide is turning particularly when it comes to EV’s for example with virtually all major automakers revising EV forecasts down, so labelling fossil fuels as the “new tobacco” is naive.
Yes we have a responsibility to encourage responsible comms from our clients but it’s a fine line and go too far and it will be damaging for your client and your Agency.
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I sense that those who claim to be morally superior and have only ever in their careers worked on “ethical” clients (whatever that means) would never have the balls to front an oil rig worker and tell him to give up his job. But white collar bullying from a keyboard is about all that they are capable of . “He without sin cast the first non disposable coffee cup”.
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James
To be frank my comments were principally aimed at Comms Declare who I find utterly repugnant in their hypocrisy. I’m not from a white collar background and the guys I know on the north west shelf do 28 days on 28 days off so I’m not certain they’ll be available – I’ll be in touch .
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You’ll do what you’re told.
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