Ad agency employees are more anxious and demoralised about climate change than the general public, according to new IPA data, released today.
Climate anxiety is far higher for those working in the ad industry than the general public, and perceptions about the ad industry’s impact on the environment are far less positive for those working in the ad industry business versus the general public.
Commissioned by the IPA Media Climate Action Group, the survey found that more than half of agency respondents (53%) feel anxious about climate change, with 37% also feeling demoralised.
These figures are far higher than for the general public, for whom 37% feel anxious and 14% feel demoralised.
Of the agency employees who responded, only a minority feel they have influence over environmental strategy.
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Some 26% of young adults believe the ad industry has a positive impact on climate change and 17% of the same audience believe it has a negative impact. This is in comparison with 21% and 18% respectively for the general population.
Perceptions among the ad agency respondents are, however, more negative with only 12% believing the ad industry has a positive impact on climate change and a considerable 48% believing it has a negative impact.
When asked if the sector was doing enough to address eco issues, almost half of ad agency respondents (49%) said their company was doing too little, while 70% said the industry was doing too little.
“By surveying the level of feeling about the climate crisis, we are seeking to provide insight and stimulus for key decision makers and agency leaders to formulate the right strategies and approaches to navigate the needs of current and future talent, clients, stakeholders and the planet,” said chair of the IPA Media Climate Action Group and EssenceMediacom head of sustainability, Pauline Robson.
“Looking at these results, and on a positive note, it is great to see that a healthy percentage of young people would consider working in our industry and crucially that, contrary to our hypothesis that the ad industry may be off-putting to them in terms of its perceived impact on the planet, it appears this isn’t the case.
“On a more cautious note, however, what we are seeing instead is that those working in our industry are far more anxious about climate change and the ad industry’s impact on it, and so it’s important that our businesses take heed of this and that we explore how we can help support and empower them best – both in the work we produce and in the conversations and feelings around it.
“In short, what we’re seeing is that advertising’s impact on climate change is not necessarily a deterrent to recruitment into our industry but could well become a retention issue, if we don’t address these findings fully.”
