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Green lobby groups all over the world have also taken the challenge to sports federations to stop being billboards for fossil-fuel companies that sponsor them.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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The campaign to stop advertising agencies from working with fossil fuel companies has received a major boost from the UN.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a special address on Climate Action, that agencies should “stop taking on new fossil fuel clients from today, and set out plans to drop your existing ones.”

Guterres characterised the greenwashing done by agencies for fossil fuels as enabling destruction.  

“Fossil fuels are not only poisoning our planet, they are toxic for your brands. Your sector is already full of creative minds who are already mobilising around this cause. They are gravitating towards companies that are fighting for our planet, not trashing it."

Green lobby groups all over the world have also taken the challenge to sports federations to stop being billboards for fossil-fuel companies that sponsor them.

Recently, the South African Fossil Ad Ban campaign lodged a complaint against TotalEnergies with the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB).

Thameena Dhansay, Fossil Ad Ban Campaigner, said: “The advert we’re contesting claims that TotalEnergies is ‘committed to sustainable development and environmental protection.’ This is a false claim that clearly constitutes greenwashing.”

Clean Creatives South Africa said that TotalEnergies was continuing to explore for new sources of oil and gas, including in an exploration block not far from the Western Cape coastline, despite  promises of a Paris Agreement-aligned transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

In May, Clean Creatives awarded TotalEnergies an ‘F-List’ greenwashing award for its ongoing partnership with SANParks.

Last year, the UK’s advertising regulator banned Shell’s sustainability advertising campaign for being “likely to mislead.”

A recent Oil Change International report found that all of the oil majors assessed - including companies which operate in South Africa like TotalEnergies, Shell and BP - were “lobbying against climate action, greenwashing, and otherwise manoeuvring to undermine the energy transition.”

Clean Creatives South Africa said that Guterres’ challenge piled on pressure for agencies to join the more than 1,000 advertising and PR agencies which have signed the Clean Creatives pledge to decline future work with the fossil fuel industry.

By adopting this position, they support the relentless work by civil society organisations to realise a fossil fuel-free South Africa, and a just transition to renewable sources of energy that spare human and environmental life.

Sylvester Chauke, Founder and Chief Architect at DNA Brand Architects said: “The UN's stance is highly commendable, as the advertising and PR industry must acknowledge the significant environmental impact of fossil fuel clients. Thousands of agencies have already committed to this cause, and it is crucial for more to join. As a powerful industry of ideas, we have a responsibility to prioritise sustainability and positive impact over actions that harm our planet. It is time for us to make better, more responsible choices.”

Guterres also called on governments to ban fossil fuel advertising. Cities like Amsterdam and Edinburgh, and entire countries, like France, are increasingly banning fossil fuel advertising, and South Africa now also has a civil society pressure campaign working on instituting a local ban.

TOYOTA CAMPAIGN

Meanwhile, current and former Olympians have written to the International Olympics Committee lobbying it to cancel its sponsorship deal with Toyota.  

“Instead of phasing out combustion engine vehicles in line with settled climate science, Toyota is ramping up production - it plans to add more than 11 million to the roads this year,” the Olympians said.

“This means Toyota’s emissions are massive: at a self-reported 575 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the company already has far higher emissions than France, and they’re rising.”

The Olympians also highlighted how global warming had affected past games.

“During the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, marathon and race-walking events were moved 800 kilometres north of the intended venues, due to high temperatures.  The women’s Olympics soccer finals were not only rescheduled, but the stadium was changed due to extremely high temperatures - a first in the history of the Olympics. In addition, an archer fainted, and three tennis players retired during their matches due to heat-related illnesses.”

They added that increasing heat levels and poor air quality would adversely affect athletes’ performances and careers in the Paris Olympics this year.

“As current and retired Olympians who care deeply about facing up to the climate emergency and support the IOC’s impressive work on this urgent issue, we are writing to urge you to not renew your sponsorship deal with the world’s largest producer of conventional fossil-fuelled cars, Toyota.”

CAF URGED TO CUT TIES WITH TOTALENERGIES

Green lobby activists have set their sights on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to cancel its sponsorship deal with TotalEnergies, which has gone on a massive exploration campaign in the continent.

The World without Fossil Ads said that sportswashing saw oil and flight companies from the Middle East infiltrating the English Premier League and luring prominent footballers such as Ronaldo to their shores while their governments used oil money to host big sporting events and divert attention from human rights abuses.

Skiing in Europe gets support from fossil fuel companies, which, ironically, are responsible for global warming that is melting the snow and potentially destroying the sport.