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The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a diplomatic and communications campaign promoting a clean energy transition and funded by the Earth Island Institute, has a new public relations agency of record (AOR): the Stagwell-owned global PR and marketing firm, Allison.
The announcement, shared exclusively with ADWEEK, comes nearly five months after the Treaty cut ties with Havas Red—a decision which came immediately after it learned that Havas Media had won the Shell account in September.
“We are excited to work with Allison to forward our mission to foster international cooperation to accelerate a transition to clean energy for everyone,” Nathalia Clark, communications director for the Treaty, said in a statement. “Critical to our success is ensuring our message and aims are heard loud and clear across the globe and that we continue to build momentum and diplomatic support behind this big, bold idea commensurate with the scale of the crisis we face.”
A shift toward clean agencies
The Treaty’s new AOR, Allison, is a signatory to the Clean Creatives pledge, meaning it has committed to refuse work from fossil fuel companies due to their outsized role in the climate crisis.
These changes could signal an industry trend away from heavy polluters and their agency partners as the effects of climate change become more tangible.
“Agencies that have major fossil fuel clients have a conflict of interest when it comes to clients with a genuine climate agenda,” Duncan Meisel, said executive director of Clean Creatives. “A company like Shell that is increasing its production of fossil fuels will be pushing for behavior and policy that is directly opposed to both environmental NGOs and any company that sees reducing its reliance on polluting fossil fuels as a priority.”
Allison became the largest agency to sign the Clean Creatives pledge last fall, shortly after the Treaty split with Havas Red.
Michael Poland, campaign director for the Treaty, said in September that the group “had been really impressed by a lot of [the Havas Red] team and there seemed like potential for lots of work on climate.” The parent company’s decision to work with Shell “closed that door,” he said, adding that it would begin looking for a new PR agency.
