Campaign group Clean Creatives has put forward a way for the marketing industry to exit fossil fuel relationships while taking up the opportunities available to them from emerging high-growth industries such as renewables, the circular economy and healthcare.

The whitepaper ‘Profitable Growth Without Fossil Fuels: Strategic Opportunities for a Fossil Fuel Free Future for the Marketing Industry’ also highlights the first-mover revenue and reputation-building advantage to marketing agencies in making this strategic shift.

The report claims that the top 29 fossil fuel majors spent an estimated $7bn on media, creative advertising and PR annually. This represents 0.7% of global marketing spend. PR spend from oil majors averaged $2.7bn annually across 2021, 2022 and 2023; media spend from fossil fuel majors averaged $2.09bn annually across the same period; and creative advertising spend from fossil fuel majors averaged $630m annually across this period.

To amplify the problem that the planet and its communities are facing as a consequence of climate change and the opportunities of climate action arising for business, Clean Creatives says that, by 2050, healthcare costs projected to arise from the climate crisis will be $1.1tr, annualised to $55bn per year between now and then. In 2024, global investment in clean energy was over $2tr, more than twice spent on fossil fuels. And, in 2026, the circular economy is expected to reach a $712bn market opportunity. By 2030, this will rise to $4.5tr globally.

The ambition of this whitepaper, says Clean Creatives, is to help future-proof marketing industry revenue and shift the conversation about transitioning fossil fuel clients from risk to opportunity.