Amsterdam based New Zealander Lucy von Sturmer has been making waves across Europe, founding Creatives for Climate, a non-profit global network of 30,000 professionals committed to climate action.
Today, the non-profit announces the appointment of youth change agent Antonia Estall as Asia-Pacific Chapter Lead to kick-start action across the region to empower professionals to tackle greenwashing and build a movement of professionals taking climate action.
Many roles such as advertising, design and marketing are at the forefront of communicating corporate sustainability journeys, while capacity and confidence to push back on greenwashing is low. Creatives for Climate works to bridge this gap.
There is a need to empower communicators to upskill with misinformation emerging as the single top global risk according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risks Report 2024.
On the back of local engagements in 2023 with Auckland Climate Festival and Sustainable Business Network to introduce the network, with Estall at the fore Creatives for Climate will be:
Launching a series of regional events to drive engagement within local communities.
The first community event kicks off in Sydney, Australia on March 21st and events are already planned in Auckland and Wellington with loca partner Design Assembly
Onboarding new members to join its free education platform to upskill and take action and promote awareness of its anti-greenwashing courses and certification through the landmark training the ‘Greenwash Watch’
Establishing a regional Ethical Agency Alliance, onboarding agencies that commit to upskill staff in anti greenwash programme
Delivering workshops in agencies on anti-greenwashing principles and emerging legislation
As Estall explains:
“We aim to shift the industry from promoting pollution to promoting solutions, by building a groundswell of values-driven professionals and agencies tackling greenwashing and taking action as a collective.”
The Asia-Pacific expansion kicking off in New Zealand allows Creatives for Climate to address region-specific challenges, leverage local indigenous expertise, and tailor initiatives to resonate with diverse cultural contexts.”
Local support for Climate for Climate
The launch of Creatives for Climate is a welcome move for many engaged in the advertising, sustainability and consumer industries in New Zealand.
“The stories we tell about the net-zero transition are fundamental to the pace of progress toward our 2030 targets. The climate transition has huge implications for New Zealand, where access to markets, customers and capital is at stake. The launch of the global Creatives for Climate non-profit in Aotearoa offers creative industries much needed tools for advising clients on how to communicate with credibility. It’s a great way for NZ creatives to get in the game on sustainability,” said Joanna Kelly, Chief Executive at the Centre for Sustainable Finance.
“The reality of the New Zealand market is it’s vey easy for a company to make a false or misleading sustainability claim about a product or service, and go unchecked, because greenwashing is essentially unmonitored. Shoppers can find it hard to differentiate between what is legitimately sustainable versus what is greenwashing, so the creative industry plays a crucial role in holding the line when it comes to genuine sustainable communication. Any efforts to empower more truthful advertising and marketing are very welcome, said Gemma Rasmussen, Head of Research and Advocacy at Consumer NZ.
“It’s exciting to see Creatives for Climate in Aotearoa. Having an organisation calling out greenwashing in the industry and helping creatives draw a line in the sand is important. We can all see which way the wind is blowing. Creatives for Climate are trying to help us prepare for the storm,” said Matt Haliday, Senior Lecturer in Advertising and Brand Creativity AUT.
Antonia is a young emerging leader with an established background as a research lead in the consulting and NGO fields. Antonia’s Cook Island heritage, drives her passion for decolonising climate impact discussions. As a designer, solution building lies at the heart of Antonia’s work, informed by an underlying and unrelenting focus on creating tangible solutions to the climate crisis.
