The PR risk from climate change
A full-page advert in last Thursday’s FT had a huge picture of Thomas Buberl, the chief executive of Axa, and an open letter.
“Climate Leaders Don’t Insure New Oil and Gas” said the ad, paid for by Reclaim Finance, Insure Our Future and SumOfUs, three climate change groups.
The words offer some praise for Mr Buberl, who may be wondering what he did to deserve such special attention.
“You have shown climate leadership before…” run the words, the clear implication being that he isn’t doing enough now.
And since this is already a campaign in the FT, what might they do if in future he disappoints?
I don’t recall seeing anything quite like this before.
It’s persuasion, by way of threat, from organisations that can afford to pay for ads in the world’s second best financial newspaper.*
It is also a nod to other CEOs, one that says, we aren’t just monitoring the organisation you run, we are monitoring you. And we’ll go after you personally if we find you wanting.
How personal would the attacks have to get before the FT declined to run the ad?
Given the £35 million loss reported last week, I’d say, very.
The PR risk from talking the talk but failing to walk the walk on climate change looks big and getting bigger.
*The best is the WSJ. Get over it.
