Media giant Havas’s B Corp certifications continue to hang in the balance after the gatekeeper of the revered accreditation chose to delay the results of its investigation into whether the agency’s work with Shell is reconcilable with B Corp values.
B Lab, the organisation responsible for B Corp accreditation, assesses a company’s performance in various areas against what it sees as best practice.
If the company meets a certain score across its categories, it will be certified as a “B Corp.” In 2018, Havas London became the first major advertising agency to gain this recognition, to great industry fanfare at the time.
However, B Lab announced a 90-day investigation into Havas in January after it received a “significant” number of complaints about Havas agencies retaining their B Corp statuses despite the major work it won with Shell in September.
Now, with the initial 90-day investigation having concluded on Sunday (21 April), B Lab has confirmed it needs more time to assess whether Havas London and three other Havas agencies should remain “B Corps”.
The pitch win that rocked the ad industry
News of Havas’s successful pitch for Shell prompted considerable disquiet in the communications industry last September.
The global deal, which is believed to be for somewhere in the region of £22m, means Havas Media, the media buying division of French media giant Havas, is now responsible for placing the bulk of adverts for the energy company.
The win also cost Red Havas, Havas’s PR subsidiary, one of its clients, after the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative walked away from a short-term project they had with the agency.
Commenting on the delays, a spokesperson for B Lab UK told City A.M.: “We are dedicated to [completing the investigation] in a timely manner. We are also committed to following due process, which means we are not always able to come to a decision when many would like us to. We ask for your patience as we work to conclude our investigation.”
A source familiar with the process expects B Lab to publish its findings by the end of July 2024.
It is understood that the delay is partly due to the integrated nature of Havas’s multiple different agencies, some of which are B Corp accredited and others of which aren’t. Distinguishing the amount of work that B Corp-accredited Havas agencies—such as Havas London—are doing on Shell is believed to be taking longer than B Lab originally allotted the investigation.
When the investigation concludes, B Lab has five options, including revoking Havas agencies’ B Corp certification, suspending it for a remediation process, and upholding it with no further action.
B Lab investigating B Corp despite confident comments from CEO
B Lab has progressed with the investigation despite bullish comments from Yannick Bolloré, Havas’s Chairman and CEO, about the chances of any action from B Lab after the deal became public.
Speaking to advertising trade magazine Campaign late last year, Bolloré maintained that “as long as we are making things better, B Corp agrees that we can partner with [controversial] industries”.
His comments prompted a direct rebuke from B Lab UK, which said that fossil fuel companies pose a “significant risk” to achieving transition to net zero, and that it would “review the eligibility of certification” of any companies who work with them.
Havas’s work with Shell has become something of a lightning rod for a divisive debate in the advertising and PR industries.
Some in the sector believe energy companies have the right to market their transition away from fossil fuels as any other company might. Others believe that promoting the sector is to “greenwash” an industry that has played an integral role in worsening the climate crisis.
Havas London declined to comment.