The F-List 2025: Shining a light on fossil fuel ties in the ad industry
The Clean Creatives “F-List” for 2025 delivers a stark message: despite public pledges, many major advertising and PR agencies remain deeply entangled with fossil fuel clients, often behind closed doors.
The list catalogs 1,217 contracts from 709 agencies worldwide, offering unprecedented transparency on who is still championing fossil fuel interests. Not only does this undermine agency climate commitments, it exposes creatives and brands to reputational risk.
By revealing these hidden ties, the F-List helps to dismantle one of the fossil fuel industry’s most effective disinformation pipelines: polished campaigns designed to delay climate action.
For years, the ad industry has quietly justified these relationships as helping clients transition to cleaner energy, despite fossil fuel expansion continuing. According to the International Energy Agency, global capital is now flowing to clean energy at twice the rate of fossil fuels, and investment in renewables is expected to hit a record $2.2 trillion in 2025. Agencies that cling to fossil fuel contracts are not only risking their reputations, but also exposing themselves to significant financial risks.
Key findings:
- 1,217 fossil fuel contracts across 709 ad & PR agencies in 74 countries
- 293 contracts from holding companies
- 924 contracts from independent agencies
- 773 continued contracts from the 2024 F-List
