Edelman targeted by climate activists at Cannes

Activists from the environmental group Clean Creatives targeted Richard Edelman and other executives from the PR giant Edelman at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Wednesday over the company’s work with fossil-fuel clients.

The activists held placards that read, “This person works with fossil fuel clients” and “This agency is happy to greenwash fossil fuels,” along with arrows pointing to the executives.

One activist also interrupted a panel featuring Amanda Edelman, chief operating officer of Edelman's Gen Z Lab, and Allison Cirullo, Edelman’s global chief operating officer.

“Edelman wants to be part of the change, and we work with clients that are really trying to evolve and do good work,” Cirullo replied to the activist. “When we talk about collaboration, and we talk about being part of what that change looks like, everyone has to be a part of what that is.”

When pressed by the activist, Cirullo declined to respond further.

In a statement to Ad Age on Thursday, Richard Edelman said: “We work with clients committed to change. We have educated every employee on sustainability communications best practice. We have a very thorough process for evaluating new clients. We introduced an important study at Cannes to show best practices in sustainability communications to the festival.”

Edelman has been pressured for years over its work for companies such as Exxon Mobil and Shell. In early 2022, it said it would part ways with clients that don’t adhere to its then-new environmental, social and governance guidelines (ESG), following what was described as a 60-day review of over 330 clients.

Eighteen months later, it continues to work in the sector. On its website, the company states: “We are proud of the work we do to support our energy clients as they work to reduce emissions while continuing to provide reliable, affordable, and ever cleaner energy to meet the demands of a growing global population.”