The environmental industry hasn’t “used the skills of the creative industry terribly intelligently” with the “its potential to reach people” not utilised correctly, according to Sir Jonathon Porritt.
Speaking ahead of the D&AD White Pencil Lab event on 11 June, Porritt explained that the environmental and creative industries have struggled to work together ever since his days as director at Friends of the Earth in 1984.
Of his relationship with creative agencies Porritt claimed that the creative industry often “don’t want to play ball” with the environmental industry as they think they’re only being used for their “firepower” with no intention to be used to “co-create roots”. Though he adds that, in his opinion, this “standoff” is beginning to ease.
As well as holding the role of director at Friends of the Earth, Porritt was a prominent member of the Ecology Party (now known as the Green Party) and held the role of chair between 1978 and 1984. From 1993-1996 he chaired the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, then known as UNEP-UK. With Sara Parkin and Paul Ekins he founded Forum for the Future in 1996, a sustainable development charity and in 1997 he was appointed the inaugural chair of the incoming Labour government's Sustainable Development Commission from which he retired in September 2009.
Despite observing a change in the relationship between the industries in recent years Porritt wonders if it’s too little too late, commenting that his community has only been “vaguely good” at selling messages without the backing of creatives, adding that creative backing hasn’t been well utilised in the past as the environmental industry struggled to see the potential creative agencies had to “reach people in different ways, smart ways, funny ways” which ultimately would have been better than “asking people to be part of another great sacrifice”.
He continues: “The creative industries have a fantastic opportunity to bring about or support, to make change happen in a much more profound and lasting way…[but] we are running out of time and if the creative industries don’t swing behind this agenda very fast indeed and not as a bit of an add on - a little bit of a green thing going on over here while we continue to do our usual earth trashing business over here – but swing behind it completely in every fibre of their corporate being I honestly don’t even know if we have time to do what needs to be done.”
The D&AD White Pencil Lab hopes to ally Porritt’s fears and aims to help businesses develop a plan for a more sustainable future. The half day ‘hack-esq’ event at the Royal Institute will focus on giving the creative community a toll box of reforms that can be quickly implemented to help improve their businesses and products.
More information on the White Pencil Lab can be found on the D&AD site.