Join the new wave of creatives
Agency CEOs at the Clean Creatives Climate Mixer described how purpose-driven businesses reap better profits and encouraged their peers to be "part of the climate solution, not part of the problem".
In this newsletter:
A wave of Clean Creatives is on the rise
Engaging universities and asset managers
Does divestment work?
A wave of Clean Creatives is on the rise
A new wave of creative agencies is on the rise, driven by integrity. They are shunning work with sectors that pain their consciences, especially the fossil fuel industry, and are experiencing how “purpose-driven” businesses reap better profits.
These were some of the messages at the Clean Creatives’ Climate Mixer held in Cape Town on the evening of Thursday, March 13, 2025, where agency CEOs spoke about why they had signed the Clean Creatives pledge to shun work with fossil fuel companies, described the consequences, and offered advice to others.
Quipped Cape Talk radio host Lester Kiewiet, who was MC at the event: “For those who don’t believe in climate change, don’t worry, it believes in you! Creatives, you have to ask yourself, are you helping to create a sustainable future?”
Engaging with universities and asset managers
EcoMaties had asked students at a Stellenbosch University residence to create something from trash that told a story relating to the climate crisis. One made a robot “because in twenty years time, there might be only robots, not people, roaming around Earth.”
“That might seem a little morbid, but it tells us something about the climate anxiety young people are experiencing,” observed our campaigner Sandrine Mpazayabo.
This tale sprang from one of our many engagements with university students, and some lecturers at UCT and Stellenbosch University this year − who were far more receptive to our divestment message than than the asset managers Allan Gray and Ninety One, whom we’ve also met. (If you have not yet petitioned your own asset manager to stop funding the fossil fuel industry, please add your voice here.)
Does divestment work?
Divestment is the withdrawal of shares in coal, gas and oil companies, for reinvestment in ethical and sustainable alternatives. The aim is to accelerate positive climate action. Does it work?
It’s a question we needed to revisit recently after our meetings with Allan Gray and Ninety One (see story above), to update our knowledge and bolster our motivation.
The upshot: divestment alone cannot stop climate breakdown, but it does have massive influence. It stigmatises fossil fuel companies, in a first step towards sanctions against them; makes more money available for ethical investments, and in many instances, boosts financial returns.