TotalEnergies' campaign of deceit, Creative Cleanup and the F-list
This newsletter gives a broad update about all we've been up to in recent months and how you can contribute. Enjoy the read!
In this newsletter:
TotalEnergies’ PR firm awarded for campaign of deceit
Fossil Ad Ban campaign empowers coal-facing community
F-list names and shames agencies promoting fossil fuels
Meet the young Creative CleanUp competition winner
Chat to our interns − at a mall near you
TotalEnergies’ PR firm wins award for campaign of deceit
Clean Creatives SA director Stephen Horn has drawn attention on social media to a far-reaching campaign of lies and “astroturfing” by public relations company MetropolitanRepublic (MR), working for TotalEnergies in Uganda.
Astroturfing means creating fake grassroots campaigns, as MR did to discredit the real protests against TotalEnergies’ planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Stephen found MR’s admissions of deceit in a “truly alarming” video that the company sent to Uganda’s top advertising and public relations gala, the Silverback Awards, supported by the South African Loeries − and which, appallingly, gave MetropolitanRepublic a bronze award for the campaign.
Fossil Ad Ban campaign empowers coal-facing community
Greenwashing is a “fancy word” for the deceit by coal-mining companies that has led to disappointment, land dispossession and disease for members of the Carolina community in Mpumalanga.
This was some of the report-back from community leaders at a recent workshop organised by our Fossil Ad Ban (FAB) campaigners. The aim was to empower the community to discern greenwashing by mining companies, in order to better protect the community’s rights and wellbeing.
The workshop was held in collaboration with the Albert Luthuli Municipality, non-profit organisation Legal Aid, Umphakatsi Ecovillage and the Albert Luthuli Human Rights Advice Centre. The Black Women’s Caucus (BWC) contributed ideas on regenerative socio-economic enterprises.
Clean Creatives’ F-list report names and shames agencies promoting fossil fuels
Our Clean Creatives South Africa (CCSA) campaign has produced the second edition of its F-list report, called “A Flood of Greenwashing”, which names and shames the 42 South African public relations and advertising companies we know are promoting the fossil fuel industry.
“The report highlights who the major enablers are of the fossil fuel industry’s lack of commitment to climate action, and how these collaborations have costly and deadly consequences for the environment and human life,” said Noni Poni, Clean Creatives campaign manager in South Africa.
The upside is that Clean Creatives’ work, including the report, is having an influence: three of the agencies featured in last year’s F-list have since signed our Clean Creatives pledge to shun contracts with fossil fuel companies. They join the 190 creatives and 68 agencies in South Africa who have signed.
Announcing our Creative Cleanup winner
"Winning this competition has shown me that a lot more is possible than I thought… Helping create a cleaner future has always been a goal of mine, and entering this competition allowed me to do my small part by using my skills.”
These are the words of first-year design student Vusumzi Maseti at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology upon winning the Creative Cleanup 202𝟦 award for 18 − 25-year-old creatives recently.
The Creative Cleanup challenge is run by Clean Creatives SA, a project of Fossil Free SA. It invited young creatives to design an A1-sized poster encouraging The Loeries not to accept entries from advertising companies that work for the fossil fuel industry.
Maseti’s entry, titled “Why Reward Bad Behaviour?”, asks why the Loeries would reward work that deceives the general public and ultimately exacerbates the climate crisis. Over 380 people have signed a petition asking the Loeries to take this stance. Keen to participate? You can add your voice here.
Meet our #InvestFossilFree interns at a mall near you
Look out for the seven bright, energetic young interns who have become the face of our to our #InvestFossilFree campaign at malls, markets and other public venues.
Their purpose is to gain more sign-ups for and raise awareness of our #InvestFossilFree campaign. Chosen for their confidence, climate and investment knowledge, and activist experience, some are graduates in fields related to sustainability while others are completing post-graduate studies.
“They’re all such bright, confident, passionate people that they are a great asset to IFF,” said our divestment campaigner Sandrine Mpazayabo.
Did you know?
Confused about COP29’s main take-aways? Find a Carbon Brief synopsis here. There’s an intro on the new finance pledge, the global emissions stocktake, and the implications of Donald Trump’s upcoming US presidency.
Trump’s election as president of America is a definite setback for global efforts to prevent climate catastrophe, but he won’t stop the green energy revolution, many climate experts say.
An international team of scientists recently supported our cause by calling for divestment from fossil fuels.
Curious about our Planet A Investment Guide? Find the document on our website and watch the full panel discussion at the launch below: