Branding has the power to create change. Whether it’s inviting a single customer to rethink their purchases or shifting cultural perceptions of an industry, branding shapes thought and behavior. And branding can create urgency — we need a bit of that right now.
When you read about Earth’s future, it can seem bleak. Record high temperatures year after year. Extreme weather events that grow more and more severe. Wildlife and habitat loss. These are all symptoms of a rapidly warming planet. And an urgent call for us to do more.
As a global B2B brand agency, we believe in leading by example. We also believe in a thriving future for our planet. So I’m proud to announce that Focus Lab has signed the Clean Creatives pledge, a commitment made by more than 1000 agencies in 38 countries who’ve promised to stop working with fossil fuel clients.
“Fossil fuel corporations are the world’s leading polluters, and the biggest greenwashers — and they have no substantive plans to change,” according to Clean Creatives. “Even as their campaigns focus on renewable energy, 99% of their investments are spent on producing more oil and gas.” By joining the Clean Creatives Club, all of us at Focus Lab hold ourselves accountable to do more. After all, this pledge embraces one of our agency’s core values, All Over Ego. This is where we believe a combination of individual effort, collective collaboration, and admiration for those around us helps every voice hit the high note. In this sense, hitting that note takes some healthy acknowledgment: While we’re a remote agency and our own pollution footprint is relatively small, we can further reduce it by making intentional decisions about the industries we serve. And we can be transparent about why we’re doing it.
So, why? Because we hope others will join in and contribute to the positive change needed for our world’s future. And who better than creatives, where our strong suit is original thinking — a skill desperately needed to solve these big challenges. Truly, branding is an exercise in planning for the future. We write mission and vision statements for the organizations we aspire to be and the world we dream of creating. We design visual systems that inspire, delight, and evolve. Whether you’re a freelancer or an agency, you’re leading people toward something greater. This is our calling. Let’s lead together.
