Calls for Birmingham Council to show climate leadership ahead of Commonwealth Games

This summer 2022, the city of Birmingham is hosting the Commonwealth Games. This event is expected to bring thousands of sports fans from across the world to attend this four-yearly event. 

Organisers of the Games are making sustainability a core theme running through the event in order to deliver what they intend to be “the most sustainable Commonwealth Games since the event began nearly a century ago”. This is a very ambitious and welcome precedent for the field of global sports whose contribution to global heating is estimated to equate to the equivalent emissions of a country like Bolivia (at the lower end) or that of Spain or Poland (higher end). Besides, Badvertising’s own research shows that big polluters, in particular car manufacturers and airlines, are making great use of the advertising platform that global sports provides them with. As of 2021 figures, more than 250 sponsorship deals were signed between big polluters and major sporting clubs and organisations. 

From high-carbon sponsors to adverts: there is only one step

To deliver on its sustainability commitment, the Commonwealth Games are looking at a range of interventions including sustainable procurement policies, low-carbon modes of transport. And, a first in the world of international sporting events, the organisers made a point not to take any sponsorship money from high-carbon brands. As a result no major polluter features in this year's Commonwealth Games’ official list of corporate sponsors. We strongly welcome this engagement which supports efforts to remove big polluters’ social licence to operate. 

To further this commitment, we wrote to the leader of Birmingham City Council suggesting they take the next logical step by clearing the view from all high-carbon adverts in the city, at the very least, for the duration of the Games on the advertising spaces they hold. 

Read our open letter to Birmingham City Council

Now is the time to act: demand Birmingham Council take down high-carbon adverts

The leader of Birmingham City Council, Cllr Ian Ward, replied to our demand with concern that such a policy might have a negative impact on the Council’s finances and that, given the financially-restrictive context local authorities are faced with, they should give priority to policies having the greatest positive climate impact. This financial argument is questionable considering that following its ban on adverts for HFSS products, Transpot for London didn’t see a loss in advertising revenues. On the contrary, they increased by £2.3m between 2018/19 and 2019/20, according to the group’s own figures.

Read Birmingham City Council’s response

These arguments do not hold in the face of increasing evidence supporting the view that advertising is a large contributor to climate breakdown. A recent study finds that globally car and airline advertising in 2019 could account for  between 202-606 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) - i.e., the equivalent of the entire GHG emissions of the Netherlands up to almost twice  of Spain’s total emissions for 2019. Another study finds that for the UK, advertising activities contribute to an additional 28% GHG emissions to the carbon footprint of every single habitant.

Policies like these are also increasingly popular with the public. A recent poll found that a majority of UK adults (68%) would favour restrictions on environmentally-harmful adverts. 

Local authorities across Europe and the UK, including Amsterdam, The Hague, Liverpool, Norwich, and North Somerset Councils, have already taken the necessary steps to limit the damage done by high-carbon advertising by passing motions to introduce low-carbon and ethical advertising policies.

In the face of the climate and cost of living emergency, we simply cannot afford adverts promoting ‘business as usual’ polluting consumerist lifestyles. Taking down harmful ads should be seen as the other tenet of policies promoting low-carbon modes of transport and sustainable purchasing behaviours. Failing to act on this risks strongly compromising local authorities’ climate targets by sending mixed and clashing messages to local citizens about what is the responsible behaviour to adopt. 

Harmful ads have got to go.