Climate activists seeking to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels are getting more creative. While fossil fuels companies are often in the crosshairs of NGO litigation, industries tangential to the extraction of fossil fuels are increasingly catching NGO eyes now. We’ve seen banks that finance fossil fuels projects become targets of NGO complaints. Most recently, a complaint was filed with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) against global advertiser WPP. DeSmog covers the complaint in a recent article:
“[The NGOs] charge that WPP’s work for major fossil fuel polluters like BP, Saudi Aramco and Shell, along with its work for other heavily polluting industries such as carmakers, airlines, and plastics, makes the company accountable for enabling pollution as well as human rights violations. According to DeSmog’s research, WPP — the world’s largest advertising agency by revenue — also works with TotalEnergies, as well as a number of other oil and gas clients.”
OECD decisions are not legally binding. However, a previous OECD complaint filed by ClientEarth caused BP to stop running a series of ads in 2019, so there is precedent for OECD proceedings altering company action. NGOs are likely to expand their view beyond fossil fuels companies to their business partners. It is worth knowing your company’s relationship to the fossil fuels industry and understanding reputational, business and legal risks that may arise from those relations.
Our members can learn more about climate litigation here.
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