Agencies affiliated with Havas Corporation have lost their B Corp certification due to their involvement in a questionable contract with Shell.
Hey there! Let's dive into the latest buzz in the corporate world, shall we? The global nonprofit organization, B Lab, has decided to pull the rug on Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse by stripping them of their prestigious B Corp status. But, why?
The reason appears to be connected to Havas Media's new client—everyone's favorite oil giant, Shell. Shell recently awarded Havas Media its B2C strategic media buying contract due to a three-month exhaustive review and took over from WPP's media agency network GroupM in January. With Shell spending approximately $240 million on measured media in 2022, according to COMvergence, one can understand why Havas Media would jump at such an opportunity.
B Lab, renowned for certifying companies that demonstrate a commitment to people, planet, and profit, has bestowed B Corp certification upon more than 6,000 companies across 80 countries and 150 industries. Yet, Havas seems to have stumbled upon some与规則不符的地方（with rules not in line with）.
The recent move seems to be partially linked to parent-level conflicts with B Lab's updated standards and specific client relationships. While the specific connection to Havas London, Lemz, New York, and Immerse isn't exactly clear, B Lab's certification typically applies at the parent/group level for larger organizations, which means individual agencies' status is often tied to the holding company's compliance.
The 2024-2025 standard updates at B Lab have emphasized group-wide compliance for large organizations. Reports suggest that four agencies lost their certification due to actions by "other, unrelated agencies within the Group"[3], hinting that subsidiary agencies might bear the brunt of broader organizational non-compliance.
To add fuel to the fire, B Lab's 2025 certification overhaul has also introduced minimum performance thresholds across seven ESG areas and continuous improvement mandates, particularly targeting companies with over 1,000 employees or $350M in revenue[1]. While Havas has touted its EcoVadis Gold and SBTi-approved decarbonization goals[4], B Lab seems to be more concerned about alignment with stakeholder capitalism principles, a point of contention given their significant fossil fuel clients.
So, it seems Havas Media's new client, Shell, may be at the heart of this whirlwind situation. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more developments in this evolving story! Stay tuned!
- Havas Media's new client, Shell, awarded them a B2C strategic media buying contract, which appears to have contributed to the decision by B Lab to strip Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse of their B Corp status.
- B Lab, known for certifying companies that demonstrate commitment to people, planet, and profit, has introduced updated standards for large organizations in the 2024-2025 timeframe, with a focus on group-wide compliance.
- Some industry experts suggest that the loss of B Corp certification for four Havas agencies may be due to actions by "other, unrelated agencies within the Group," implying that subsidiary agencies could bear the brunt of broader organizational non-compliance.
- The financial implications of this situation could be significant for Havas, given that B Lab's 2025 certification overhaul includes minimum performance thresholds across seven Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) areas and continuous improvement mandates, which are particularly targeted at companies with over 1,000 employees or $350M in revenue.
