Monitoring Desk
Edelman has reviewed its client list through the lens of climate principles unveiled in November, but the PR giant isn’t severing any ties despite finding problems — yet.
Why it matters: Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm, is a focal point for activist campaigns against the industry’s work with fossil fuel clients.
Driving the news: The company reviewed 330+ clients and did a “deep dive” on 20 emissions-intensive ones, CEO Richard Edelman said in a post on Friday.
- The review showed that some lack a position on the Paris Agreement. It also found clients without emissions data “readily available” and “a few” without net-zero goals.
What’s next: The firm is launching client discussions on “pathways forward” and “re-scoping” work to ensure consistency with their principles.
- “However, we anticipate that we may have to part ways in a few instances,” Edelman writes in the post that also added more details to the firm’s approach unveiled in November.
The other side: “If Edelman wants to be trusted on climate, they need to drop fossil fuels,” Duncan Meisel, campaign director of the group Clean Creatives, said in a statement.
- The group tells Axios they’ll try to get more of Edelman’s sustainability-related clients to pressure the firm for “real action.”
Courtesy: (Axios)
