4 Havas Agencies Stripped of B Corp Status Over Shell Contract

Following a months-long investigation process, B Lab has stripped Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse of B Corp status because their sister agency Havas Media has a contract with oil giant Shell.

Havas Media won Shell’s media business in September, following a three-month review, and took over B2C strategic media buying from WPP’s media agency network GroupM in January. Shell spent roughly $240 million on measured media in 2022, according to COMvergence.

B Lab, a global nonprofit network that certifies companies based on their commitment to people and planet in addition to profit through a rigorous assessment process, has given B Corp certification to more than 6,000 companies in 80 countries and 150 industries. B Corp certification is an intensive process, which requires companies to assess all aspects of their business. It has to be redone every three years to ensure they are continuing to meet the certification’s requirements. It took two years for Havas New York to complete it.

Now, all Havas agencies are “ineligible to certify,” according to a B Lab spokesperson.

“Havas’ actions constitute a breach of the B Corp community’s core values,” the spokesperson said via email. “[Havas has] resolved not to adopt the remediation actions required to maintain certification.”

Climate-focused advocacy group Clean Creatives and a coalition of 26 B Corp-certified agencies filed formal complaints to B Lab in October, arguing that agencies working for oil majors like Shell shouldn’t be eligible for the certification due to the fossil fuel industry’s outsized role in accelerating climate change.

B Lab notified those who submitted complaints via email this morning and confirmed the change to ADWEEK.

A win for climate activists

Activists and B Corp-certified agencies behind the complaint applauded the decision.

“The best outcome would have been Havas respecting the hard work they’ve put in to become a B Corp, and dropping their work with fossil fuel polluters,” Duncan Meisel, executive director of Clean Creatives, told ADWEEK. “In the absence of that, B Lab’s decision is the correct one, and they deserve thanks for upholding their standards so decisively. No agency should be working with the biggest polluters on the planet, and B Lab is showing the path forward for the creative industry when it comes to climate action.”

Some criticized B Lab for waiting too long to take action.

“Whilst the delay has been damaging to B Lab’s reputation, and undermines confidence in the accreditation, we are pleased that there is now a precedent that establishes this principle. We hope that this is now replicated as standard practice across all B Corp agencies,” said Chris Norman, founder and CEO of GOOD Agency.

Havas maintains that the agencies that lost B Corp status don’t touch the Shell account. That still puts Havas agencies at risk, B Lab said. The company’s “structure and use of a common brand name across some of its agencies means that the entire group is ultimately required to earn certification, per B Lab rules; this places the group’s actions in scope for this investigation,” a spokesperson said.

Havas said in a statement that its commitment to sustainability “remains unchanged.” The agency network also pointed to the EcoVadis Gold Medal certification that the company received earlier this month and its decarbonization plan that was validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative in 2023.

“Havas has cooperated in good faith throughout B Lab’s investigation, while simultaneously preserving the integrity of confidential client information,” the company said. “Whilst the investigation recognizes that our certified agencies (Havas London, New York, Lemz and Immerse) do not have a relationship with Shell, we accept the ruling and they will cease to be B Corp certified.”