Liverpool Council bans advertising for some harmful products - but not fossil fuels

On 10 September 2024, Liverpool City Council passed a motion to ban advertising for junk food products on council-controlled ad sites.

The policy to remove adverts for High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) products is a welcome public health measure to reduce the harms caused by commercial advertising - and follows the lead of many other councils in Britain and across the world.

The September 2024 motion explicitly considered whether adverts for environmentally-damaging products should also be banned:

“Environment and Sustainability. 4.3 Consideration has been given as to whether [Liverpool] Council should introduce additional advertising restrictions in support of its environmental aims. There is currently a lack of national standards and few local authority precedents to identify and restrict particular industries, goods and services in this area. The Council will continue to work with city partners to explore practical options for environmentally friendly advertising standards and how this could be applied more broadly in the city. “ (Page 79)

Curiously, Liverpool was actually the first local authority in the UK to pass a motion proposing a ban on adverts for high-carbon products back in January 2021. However, the motion was never implemented. The 2021 motion read:

“This Council therefore resolves to review its current contractual advertising arrangements, to investigate the possibility of amending the current set of prohibitions and restrictions agreement to include products that contribute to climate change and air pollution; and to implement a Low Carbon Advertising Policy as part of the council's planning policies, to apply to bus stops, billboards and advertising spaces.” (See page 15 of these council minutes)

Badvertising would be happy to meet with any councillors or council officers to discuss how to implement restrictions on adverts for high-carbon products.

Existing local authority precedents

A number of councils have banned advertising and sponsorship for high carbon products in the last 12 months.

Sheffield City Council’s Advertising & Sponsorship Policy, passed in March 2024 prohibits adverts for the following categories on council-controlled sites:

  • “Fossil fuels: All firms and associated sub-brands or lobbying organisations that extract, refine, produce, supply, distribute or sell any fossil fuels.”

  • “Airlines & airports: Content which might reasonably be deemed to promote more flying”

  • “Cars – content promoting petrol, diesel and hybrid electric plug-in vehicles”". (page 4)

Edinburgh City Council (May 2021) banned adverts for the following categories in May 2024. (Page 18 of this document)

 
 

Badvertising will be discussing these policy measures with lawyers and campaigners at a side-event in Liverpool during the Labour Party Conference in September 2024:

Event: Taking Demand Reduction Seriously
Monday 23rd September 2024, 6pm - 7pm
LMA, Liverpool city centre (Metquarter, 35 Whitechapel, Liverpool, L1 6DA)

Free to attend and open to members of the public.
More details and registration here.

Robbie Gillett