The Comms Lab

The science is clear. We’ve only got 10 years to transform society to limit climate change to 1.5°C.

As an industry, advertising has at times been complicit, knowingly or unknowingly, in exacerbating our current climate and nature crises through promoting unsustainable consumption on behalf of our clients. Yet, the very skills that have been used to shape the values, attitudes and behaviours of consumerism can also be used to help shift society to more sustainable ways of living.

Our choices now as an industry can help make the difference to the future of life on earth.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY

On 5th June 2019 we wrote an open letter to the advertising industry, urging it to use it's powerful influence to take action against Climate Change and inviting it to our Climate Crisis Summit where we will work together to generate ideas around how we go about creating change. This letter gained enormous support and was co-signed by over 50 leaders across the sector.

READ THE LETTER

OUR STORY

Founded by an ex-planner and a climate geek, we founded the Comms Lab because we were both deeply concerned about climate change

Back in 2007 after a stint working with the ClimateWorks Foundation in India, Ella published a Creative Review piece called Can Indian Adland Save the World. Following 15 years as a strategic planner, Jonathan quit the industry in 2012 after completing a Masters in Sustainability and Responsibility at Ashridge Business School.

While from different worlds, we were both animated by the same question: how can the strategic and creative firepower of the industry be harnessed to help address tackle the big challenges of our time?

Together we founded The Comms Lab, launching with the Reclaiming Agency report in 2015, which made the case for agencies to take the purpose-turn. Since then we’ve worked to support individuals in the industry through training programmes, events, campaigns and ideas.

We’re seeing a growing wave of people in the industry who are deeply concerned about the accelerating ecological crisis and their role in it. They are asking ,“how can we use our skills to be part of the solution, not part of the problem?” We exist to help people answer that question.