In June 2024, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a worldwide ban on fossil fuel advertising to save the climate (BBC). In the UK, a groundswell of local authorities are leapfrogging national government to end the influence of high carbon companies, taking action to protect health and the environment.
Low Carbon Advertising Policies present an opportunity for local authorities to further their policy priorities relating to air pollution, active travel, health, sustainability, climate change and resilient town planning.
Local authorities have control over the following areas:
Advertising billboards and screens located on council-owned land;
The council’s social media, websites, publications and any sponsorship arrangements;
Passenger Transport Executives (such as Transport for London, Transport for Greater Manchester, Merseytravel, etc) have control of advertising policies, and are accountable to local democratic bodies such as Mayor’s offices;
Planning consent for advertising infrastructure (e.g new digital billboards) and some advertising content.
A groundswell of councils in the UK are recognising the negative impacts that advertising can have on achieving greener places to live in.
Edinburgh City Council has banned advertising for fossil fuel companies, airlines, airports, fossil-powered cars, SUVs, cruise ships and arms manufacturers on council-owned advertising spaces. These companies will also no longer be able to sponsor events or other partnerships in Scotland’s capital city. Edinburgh Council noted that “the promotion of high-carbon products is incompatible with net zero objectives.”
Sheffield City Council has introduced a similar policy banning a wide range of polluting advertisements, with city councillors saying the policy would: “tackle some of the impacts of consumerism, advertising and injustice.”
Bristol City Council became the first local authority outside of London to ban advertising for junk food, gambling and payday loans on ad sites it controls such as bus stops in March 2021 but fell short of including high-carbon products.
Other councils that have implemented Low Carbon Advertising Policies are: Leeds, Cambridgeshire County, Coventry, Basingstoke and Deane Borough, Somerset, Medway, Cheshire West and Chester, and Hackney.
Write to your local councillor
Ask your council to implement a Low Carbon Advertising Policy.
Toolkit for local policymakers
Our Toolkit for Local Policymakers provides background, case studies, details of what powers councils have relating to advertising, and Frequently Asked Questions.