Havas London stripped of B Corp status after Shell investigation
Top advertising agency Havas London has been stripped of its B Corp status after an official investigation found the work its sister agency does with Shell was a “breach of the B Corp community’s values”.
B Lab—gatekeepers of the B Corp accreditation—have been investigating the French media giant’s four B Corp accredited agencies since January, after its media buying agency Havas signed a global contract to place advertisements for Shell late last year.
News of the contract caused an uproar among many B Corp PR and creative agencies, 27 of whom submitted a formal complaint to B Lab in October, which claimed that working with a fossil fuel giant was irreconcilable with B Corp values.
After a lengthy investigation, B Lab concluded that Havas’s actions did breach the code, despite the fact that the B Corp accredited agencies are not involved in the contract.
B Lab offered to suspend Havas’s B Corp status pending a remediation process, but Havas refused to fulfil the actions asked of them, meaning their certifications were revoked.
In a statement, B Lab said: “The investigation found that Havas’ actions contstitute a breach of the B Corp community’s core values as expressed in our Declaration of Interdependence.
“While the Certified B Corps are not directly involved in providing services to the client, Havas’s structure, and use of a common brand name across some of its agencies, means that the entire group is ultimately required to earn certification…
“B Lab’s investigation… resolved that suspension with remediation would be required for Havas to maintain certification. Havas has cooperated throughout B Lab’s investigation and accepts the ruling; however, they have resolved not to adopt the remediation actions required to maintain certification.
“Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York and Havas Immerse are no longer certified B Corps. Other entities in the Havas group are also ineligible to certify.”
The decision was made despite remarks made by the firm’s chairman and CEO, Yannick Bolloré, who in October last year claimed not to be concerned about any retrospective action from B Lab.
Speaking to advertising trade magazine Campaign late last year, Bolloré maintained that “as long as we are making things better, B Corp agrees that we can partner with [controversial] industries”.
‘A precedent has been established’
The controversy of Havas working with Shell despite its B Corp-accredited agencies and the subsequent investigation became a lightning rod for debate in the PR and advertising sectors.
Some industry veterans believe it is important that energy companies are able to communicate the efforts they are making to transition away from fossil fuels. But others say that working for the sector invariably involves greenwashing an industry that has been integral in worsening the climate crisis.
Earlier this week, Chris Norman MBE, the founder and CEO of Good Agency, a London creative firm that works with the likes of the RSPB and used an interview with Morning Wire to call for Havas’s accreditation to be revoked.
Reacting to the news, he said: “There should never have been any doubt that an agency helping promote and support a fossil fuel company should retain its B Corp accreditation.
“Whilst the delay has been damaging to B Lab’s reputation, and undermines confidence in the accreditation, we are pleased that there is now a precedent that establishes this principle. We hope that this is now replicated as standard practice across all B Corp agencies.”
Norman’s Good Agency was one of the original signatories to an official complaint to B Lab lodged by Clean Creatives, a pressure group that campaigns against the ‘influence’ sector working with fossil fuel clients.
Duncan Meisel, the group’s executive director, told Morning Wire: “Creative agencies should not be working for the companies destroying the planet. I want to thank B Labs for doing the right thing and revoking certification for agencies that promote fossil fuel polluters.
“They listened to the dozens of B Corps who spoke out about this and took the right steps to protect their community from agencies that wanted to use certification as a cover for greenwashing.”
Havas Group said: “Havas has cooperated in good faith throughout B Lab’s investigation, while simultaneously preserving the integrity of confidential client information. Whilst the investigation recognises that our certified agencies (Havas London, New York, Lemz and Immerse) do not have a relationship with Shell, we accept the ruling and they will cease to be B Corp certified.”