Creatives & Impact in Shanghai
A recap of the event
This gathering was about starting a conversation on how media, communication, and advertising professionals can help address today’s polycrisis. The current media landscape is steeped in fear, sensationalism, and hopelessness, which often leaves people feeling numb and convinced that change is impossible.
But communication has a powerful role in driving positive action. Our industries can shape public perception and culture. We’ve seen campaigns redefine how we think about everything from milk to technology to ambition. So, how can we harness that same influence to promote sustainable lifestyles, reconnecting with nature, and well-being? How can we shift the narrative toward solutions and hope?
This isn’t about judging or blaming the industry for its role in consumer culture. It’s about recognizing the opportunity we have right now. With our skills and platforms, we can create real impact—and it all starts with coming together. By sharing ideas, resources, and collaborating, we can explore what’s possible. A global shift is already underway, and Asia needs to be part of it. Together, we can shape what that future looks like and support one another in driving positive change.
Let’s tap into that.
Key Questions We Were Asking:
What is our role in the polycrisis and how can we be part of the solution?
What are things we can take “agency” over?
How can we change the media landscape and narrative into something that is more solution-driven, hopeful and imaginative of a better future?
How can advertising promote sustainable lifestyles and help brands communicate more authentically about it?
What does a just and regenerative future look like?
How can we influence people to care more about each other?
How can we shape a more people and nature connected culture?
And where and how can we begin?
Current Challenges In Asia And China:
We touched on some of the current challenges in Asia and China and they included:
Top-Down Systems: In China, change typically follows a top-down approach, with a perception that significant progress on sustainability won’t happen unless led and enforced by the government. This reliance on central authority can stall grassroots initiatives and limit innovation.
Sustainability as a Checkbox: A broad lack of understanding about what sustainability truly means often reduces it to a box to check, rather than a core value or strategy. Without deeper awareness, sustainable practices are frequently treated as superficial tasks rather than impactful core actions with long term benefits.
Financial Pressures: Businesses are under intense pressure to cut costs, meaning sustainability isn’t prioritized, especially in procurement. Sustainable practices are often considered “nice-to-haves” rather than necessities, perceived as costly with little immediate return.
Limited Impact: Even when efforts are made, there’s a sense that the impact is minimal and particularly within the media and advertising sectors. This perceived limitation can dampen motivation to invest time and resources into sustainable initiatives.
But! There’s Movement…
Government Action Coming: Regulations are on the horizon and it's only a matter of time. We’ve seen this with recent policies on food waste, waste separation, and pollution. China’s new ESG guidelines, though still in early stages, signal the beginning of a shift. As these standards evolve, companies will eventually need to adopt them.
Consumers Getting Smarter: Around the world, consumers are becoming more savvy about greenwashing and holding brands accountable. In Asia, countries like Korea are already drafting laws to regulate misleading sustainability claims. As consumers continue to push for transparency, this shift will only grow.
Client-Driven Incentives: Global brands are raising their ESG and sustainability standards, requiring not only creative work that aligns with these values but also pushing agencies as organizations to comply. This shift means agencies must eventually meet higher ethical and environmental expectations in both their campaigns and operations.
Challenges For Creatives In The Industry:
The Advertising Paradox: Many felt the tension—we’re in the business of helping brands sell more products, but increased consumption contributes to the problem. Yet, if we don’t sell, we’re out of a job. This raises a tough question: how do we balance our roles in driving consumption while also pushing for sustainability?
Cost-Cutting Culture: Agencies are constantly pressured by procurement departments to produce projects as cheaply as possible, leaving little room for sustainable or innovative practices. When cost is the priority, sustainability often takes a back seat.
Industrial Barriers in China: In China, there’s a lack of unions or industry alliances to support collective action. The competitive landscape focuses on individual survival, not collaboration, which makes it difficult to come together and drive meaningful change in sustainability.
Ideas And Initiatives:
We discussed some potential ideas and existing initiatives that could be starting points for driving positive change.
Give NGOs a Voice: We can use our creative skills to support NGOs and non-profits, balancing out the commercial work we do for big corporations by helping those driving real change.
Create Alternative Frameworks: Develop frameworks tailored to China’s cultural and economic realities. This could mean creating new funding streams independent of client demands, giving you the freedom to create campaigns that truly make an impact. It could also involve helping Chinese brands adopt genuine sustainable practices before expanding globally.
Create Local Solutions: Develop best practices tailored to specific production needs, such as reducing waste on production sites. This could involve a collaborative process to create industry guidelines, sharing information, and connecting with recycling partners or other essential resources.
B-Corp and Clean Creatives: Movements like B-Corp and Clean Creatives are gaining momentum. They provide clear standards for what it means to be socially and environmentally responsible, helping us identify the right clients to work with. Plus, they offer a network of like-minded professionals and agencies to collaborate with in the journey toward climate solutions.
Creative Campaigns: We can find ways to integrate authentic sustainable messaging or representation into our creative campaigns. And if we’re running a sustainability-focused campaign, we can explore more creative ways to make it engaging and interesting for our audience.
Consumer Power: Imagine rewarding consumers for making eco-friendly choices. By incentivizing sustainable purchases, we can help drive demand for greener products and encourage brands to adopt more sustainable practices.
Positive changes that are already happening worldwide
A movement of advertisers, PR professionals, and their clients cutting ties with fossil fuels.
A global creative non-profit network working together to share knowledge, ideas and opportunities for action to build a just and regenerative world.
An organization that aims to transform the advertising industry to help drive sustainable behavior and transform society. Their mission is to align the advertising industry with the IPCC’s 1.5 degree global warming target.
A creative studio and film production company igniting global action, one story at a time. Pioneering as a 100% planet-positive, impact-driven studio, they deliver high-quality concepts and production value. They are committed to addressing sensitive topics in creative ways and focus on making a real-world impact with every project they take on.
A strategy and creative agency focused on making real-world impact. They specialize in creative marketing and advertising campaigns that inspire action, building a reputation over the years as the go-to agency for clients seeking impact-driven campaigns. As a B-Corp certified company, they are also actively involved in the intern foundation program and contribute to charitable donations.
Vero is a B-Corp communications consultancy that helps brands build influence in Southeast Asia while dedicating its work to social and environmental progress. As a B-Corp certified company, they continually invest in sustainability and impact-based knowledge, advising clients and raising awareness despite the unique challenges in the Asian market.
A music initiative to recognise the value of nature and inspire millions of fans to take environmental action. For the first time, NATURE can generate royalties from its own sounds to support its own conservation.
Earthrise studio is an impact-driven media company for people and planet. They create stories to transform climate, culture and consciousness.
An initiative to eliminate single-use plastics on set and screen, aiming to set a new standard and shift toward a plastic-free world.
The first company to give nature a voice and a vote on business decisions. By making nature a director of their company, they hope to make better informed decisions around topics that impact it.
Thanks to everyone who showed up and participated in the discussions. As usual, there was not enough time, so we will see you at the next one to continue the conversation.
RAN Collectives is driven by a love for nature and human connection, mobilizing creatives to use creativity, storytelling, and media to advocate for biodiversity, support impact-driven projects, and shift the narrative toward solutions for a just and regenerative future.
