BREAK THE FOSSIL INFLUENCE

Fossil-Free Health Communications

Fossil fuels are making people sick. As health professionals, we know the evidence: air pollution, heatwaves, water contamination, wildfires -these are not abstract risks. They are public health emergencies. Yet the fossil fuel industry continues to pollute and mislead, enabled by powerful PR and advertising firms.

It’s time for the health sector to take a stand.

 #BreakFossilFuelInfluence

About the campaign

Health organisations have influence. We hire creative agencies to help us communicate with the public. That makes us customers with a choice – and with that choice comes power.

By choosing to work only with agencies that are fossil-free, we:

• Refuse to subsidise greenwashing and misinformation.

• Hold the communication industry accountable.

• Send a message that protecting health must come before protecting polluters.

Just like health leaders once stood up to Big Tobacco, it’s time to stand up to Big Oil.

What Does “Fossil-Free Health Communications” Mean?

Signing the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment means your organisation is:

• Expressing a clear intent to avoid future partnerships with agencies that work with fossil fuel companies.
• Committing to ask new vendors about their fossil fuel ties in future procurement and RFP processes.
• Taking a step – however gradual – toward integrity and climate accountability in communications.

We understand this is a transition. Many health organizations have ongoing contracts that can’t be ended immediately. This commitment is not about immediate perfection – it’s about public direction.

Each organisation can define its own timeline. What matters is moving forward.

Commitment

The Commitment for Fossil-Free Health Communications

As organisations dedicated to protecting and promoting public health, we recognize the profound and growing threats that fossil fuels pose to human health and the environment. The fossil fuel industry’s contribution to climate change, air, water and soil pollution, and related public health crises makes it incompatible with our mission to safeguard the well-being of current and future generations. 

In order to align our communications practices with our commitment to public health and climate action, we intend not to employ PR and advertising agencies that represent fossil fuel companies As an intermediate step toward aligning our communications practices with our commitment to public health and climate action, we will initiate a review of the PR and advertising agencies we work with, assessing their policies and client portfolios for alignment with our values. During this period, we will prioritize collaboration with agencies that demonstrate transparency, commitment to truthful communication, and shared goals for a healthier, more sustainable world. Our ultimate aim is to work exclusively with agencies that do not represent fossil fuel companies.

We the undersigned medical and public health organizations, commit to the following:

1. Commitment to Fossil-Free PR and Advertising Agencies

We intend to work exclusively with PR and advertising agencies that do not have ongoing relationships with fossil fuel companies or related industries, including those connected to oil, gas, coal, and associated lobbying organizations

2. Rejection of Greenwashing and Disinformation

We aim to avoid collaborating with agencies that have engaged in or promoted campaigns that mislead the public about the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuels. We seek to work with agencies that prioritize transparent, evidence-based communication on climate change and public health issues.

3. Transparency and Accountability

We will require any PR or advertising agency we employ to disclose their client portfolios and confirm their commitment to not representing fossil fuel interests. We will prioritize agencies that have made public statements or taken actions to distance themselves from the fossil fuel industry.

4. Alignment with Public Health and Climate Values

We will employ PR and advertising agencies that align with our public health mission and that are committed to promoting climate action and health equity in their campaigns. We will seek out suppliers who actively support the transition to a clean energy future and promote sustainable solutions to protect human health.

5. Advocating for Ethical Communications

We will use our platforms and influence to encourage other health organisations, agencies, and sectors to adopt similar fossil-free commitments. We will advocate for ethical communications practices that prioritize the health of people and the planet. 

We encourage all medical, public health, and allied organizations to join us in this commitment to reject fossil fuel influence in communications and to align with agencies that support a just, healthy, and sustainable future. By making this commitment, we take an essential step in dismantling the disinformation campaigns that fuel climate inaction and health harm, and we stand up for the integrity of public health communication.

Signatories:

1. Afghanistan Center for Epidemiological Studies

2. Afghanistan Medical Students Association

3. Africa Bioethics Network (ABN)

4. Africa Climate And Health Alliance (Acha-Africa)

5. Afro-Egyptian Journal of Infectious and Endemic Diseases (AJIED)

6. AIHMS-GLOBAL

7. Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

8. Amref Health Africa

9. AMSB

10. ANEM Portugal

11. Banka BioLoo Limited

12. Berufsverband der Fachärzte für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie (BPM) e.V.

13. Billion Minds Institute

14. Botshabelo Unemployed Movement

15. British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians

16. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

17. Canadian Health Association for Sustainability and Equity (CHASE)

18. Carolina Advocates for Climate, Health and Equity

19. CECOP

20. Clean Air Fund

21. Climate and Health Alliance

22. Consociazione Nazionale Associazioni Infermiere/I – CNAI Italian Nurses Association

23. Doctors for the Environment Australia

24. EarthMedic and EarthNurse Foundation for Planetary Health

25. Emonyo Yefwe International

26. EMSA-BahirDar

27. EuroHealthNet

28. European Lung Foundation

29. Extinction Rebellion, Bonn

30. Faculty of Public Health UK

31. Federacion de Asociaciones Medicus Mundi en España

32. First Do No Harm

33. Galician Health Service SERGAS

34. Global Coalition of TB Advocates (GCTA)

35. groundWork South Africa

36. Health Action International

37. Health and Environment Leadership Platform

38. Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF360)

39. Health for Future

40. Health In Harmony

41. Health Systems Global

42. IFMSA Algeria

43. IFMSA Pakistan

44. IFMSA-Quebec

45. InciSioN

46. International Centre for Environmental Health and Development

47. International Federation of Medical Students Association

48. International Pediatric Association

49. International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF)

50. Irish Doctors for Environment

51. Jordan Health Aid Society International

52. Kaduna State University

53. Kampala International University

54. Khyber Medical University Journal (KMUJ), Peshawar

55. KlimaDocs e.V.

56. KLUG Deutsche Allianz Klimawandel und Gesundheit e.V.

57. Komeza youth hub

58. Laudato Si’ Movement South Africa Chapter

59. Lung Care Foundation/Doctors for Clean Air

60. Medact

61. Medical Alliance against Climate Change

62. Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health

63. Medical Students’ Associations of Kenya (MSAKE)

64. Medical Students’ Association of Pakistan

65. Medical Students for Climate Action Pakistan

66. Medicus Mundi – Spain

67. Médecins Sans Frontières

68. MMBSHS Trust

69. Motheo Advancing Health Forum

70. New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine

71. Nuffield Centre for International health and Development, School of Medicine, University of Leeds.

72. Nurses Across the Borders Humanitarian Initiative

73. ONG “Plus de Sida dans les Familles”

74. People Power Health

75. Physicians for Social Responsibility

76. Physicians for Social Responsibility- Colorado

77. Physicians for Social Responsibility – Kansas City

78. Physicians for Social Responsibility – New York

79. Physicians for Social Responsibility- Oregon

80. Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco Bay Area

81. Portuguese Society of Environmental Health

82. Psychologists/Psychotherapists for Future

83. Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA)

84. Public Health Protection Network – Iraq

85. Race & Health

86. REACH Trust

87. Regenerate Africa

88. Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO)

89. Royal College of Pathologists (UK)

90. RWANDA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION

91. Ryculture Health and Social Innovation

92. SAF-TESO

93. SeeChange Initiative, Montreal Canada

94. Sierra Leone Association of Environmental Health Professionals

95. Sociedad Chilena de Medicina del Trabajo (SOCHMET)

96. Sukaar Welfare Organization

97. Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University

98. Swiss Doctors for the Environment

99. The Lancet

100. The New Environmental Justice Solutions

101. The Science and Environmental Health Network

102. Training and Research Support Centre

103. Tree Adoption Uganda

104. Tswelopele Climate Justice Foundation

105. UK Health Alliance on Climate Change

106. Vaada Hope Foundation

107. Venezuelan Federation of Medical Students’ Scientific Societies

108. VIKASH-SAMUKHYA

109. Vokkaligara Sangha Dental College and Hospital

110. Vote Earth Now

111. WASUP – World Against Single Use Plastic

112. World Federation of Public Health Association

113. World Organisation of Family Doctors

114. Yale Center on Climate Change and Health

115. YOUNGO Health Working Group

116. Youth Association for Development (YAD)

117. ZIPSHAWA

118. Zwaluwstaart Zorgadvies