Updating advertising’s codes of ethics is now a matter of life and death
The ‘influence industries’ and their role in helping big climate polluters is under increasing scrutiny, thanks to the field of attribution science. Belinda Noble, founder of Comms Declare, explains how Australian advertising’s current code of ethics is no longer fit-for-purpose.
Belinda Noble
It’s not every day that advertising and public relations becomes a matter of life and death. But now, following progress in attribution science, we can demonstrate the direct impact of corporate greenhouse gas emissions.
For the first time, scientists have used attribution science to calculate the number of deaths that will likely be caused by one single Australian gas project. Scientists found Woodside’s Scarborough development off the Western Australian coast could lead to 480 fatalities, push 356,000 people into unlivable heat zones and destroy an extra 16 million coral colonies each time the Great Barrier Reef bleaches.
So how could agencies be caught in this?
