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

A Call to Health Leaders

The Break the Fossil Influence campaign is calling on health organizations to lead by example: Stop working with PR and ad agencies that also work for the fossil fuel industry.

This is about aligning our communications with our core mission: to protect life and promote health.

Contact us to express your interest in signing up to the campaign. 

 

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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.

News & resources

Join us at the launch of the Break the Fossil Influence campaign on Thursday, 22nd May, 8 – 9.00 am, Geneva Press Club at the World Health Assembly.

Keep updated with all the latest campaign news via #BreakFossilFuelInfluence

The Guidance Document provides organisations with practical advice on how to screen PR, marketing, and media agencies, and key questions to ask potential partners.

El documento de orientación de GCHA proporciona a las organizaciones consejos prácticos sobre cómo seleccionar agencias de relaciones públicas, marketing y medios, preguntas clave para hacer a socios potenciales.”>El documento de orientación de GCHA proporciona a las organizaciones consejos prácticos sobre cómo seleccionar agencias de relaciones públicas, marketing y medios, preguntas clave para hacer a socios potenciales.

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:
 
Name of the Organization
Name of the person signing on behalf of the organization.
Designation
Africa Climate And Health Alliance (Acha-Africa)
Raymond Ruyoka
Regional Director
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Katie Huffling
Executive Director
Amref Health Africa
Gitinji Gitahi
CEO
British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians
Bethan Davies
Sustainability Lead
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Leah Temper
Director of Health and Economic Policy Program
Canadian Health Association for Sustainability and Equity (CHASE)
Kim Perrotta
Executive Director
Climate and Health Alliance
Michelle Isles
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Consociazione Nazionale Associazioni Infermiere/ I – Cnai Italian Nurses Association
Walter De Caro
President
Doctors for the Environment Australia
Kate Wylie
Executive Director
Emonyo Yefwe International
Luke Kapchanga
Director
EuroHealthNet
Caroline Costongs
EuroHealthNet
Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF360)
Mahesh Nakarmi
Executive Director
Health Systems Global
Tolib Mirzoev
Board Chair
International Federation of Medical Students Association
Lucía Pérez Gómez
VP for External Affairs
International Pediatric Association
Naveen Thacker
President
Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
Lisa Patel
Executive Director
Médecins Sans Frontières
Christos Christou
International President
Nurses Across the Borders Humanitarian Initiative
Pastor Peters Omoragbon
Executive President/CEO
ONG”Plus de Sida dans les Familles
EDENG Marie Laure
Fondatrice
Public Health Protection Network – Iraq
Goran Zangana
Advisor
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO)
Doris Grinspun
Chief Executive Officer
SAF-TESO
Anguria Michael
CEO
The Lancet
Richard Horton
Editor
Tree Adoption Uganda
Wanyama Emmanuel
Climate and Health Project Officer
UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Elaine Mulcahy
Director
Vokkaligara Sangha Dental College and Hospital
Sushi Kadanakuppe
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry
World Federation of Public Health Association
Emma Rawson
President
World Organisation of Family Doctors
Harris Lygidakis
CEO
Yale Center on Climate Change and Health
Jennifer Wang
Executive Director
Youth Association for Development (YAD)
Atta ul Haq
CEO