Medway Council and Cheshire West & Chester Council both ban fossil fuel advertising

Two more english councils have aligned their climate and net zero goals with their commercial advertising and sponsorship policies.

Medway Council (covering Rochester and Gillingham in Kent, south east England) has banned fossil fuel advertising on council-controlled advertising sites.

"Medway Council  will not enter into any agreements with any organisations and individuals if, in the reasonable opinion of the Council, the goods or services being promoted conflict with the Council’s carbon reduction targets for Medway and Climate Change Action Plan, for example the promotion of fossil fuels."

(See page 7 of Medway Council’s Advertising & Sponsorship Policy)

Cheshire West & Chester Council in north west England have also banned advertising by "manufacturers of fossil fuel products"

(See page 3 of Cheshire West & Chester Council’s Advertising & Sponsorship Policy)

The advertising and sponsorship stipulations will cover all advertising sites controlled by those councils including bus stop advertising panels and sponsorship of council events.

Growing momentum

Cheshire West & Chester and Medway councils join a gowing number of local authorities who have banned advertising by fossil fuel companies and other other high carbon products including Edinburgh, Sheffield, Cambridgeshire, Hackney, Coventry and Basingstoke & Deane (correct as of March 2025).

Internationally, cities and transport authorities in Sydney, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Gothenburg region, Tornoto and Montreal who have all introduced measures to restrict fossil fuel advertising as well. See the World Without Fossil Ads website for more examples.

In December 2024, London Mayor Sadiq Khan instructed Transport for London officials to meet with C40 Cities and other councils to understand how similar measures could be implemented in the capital.

You can write to your councillors asking them to implement a ban on advertising for high carbon products via our online tool below.

Additionally, you can download our Toolkit for Local Policy makers on: Low Carbon Advertising Policies