Burson Cohn & Wolfe

Background

Burson Cohn & Wolfe is the third-largest PR and advertising agency in the world, following a 2018 merger between Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe.¹ A subsidiary of British PR and advertising conglomerate WPP, Burson Cohn & Wolfe is known for crisis management, public affairs, and integrated communications in the healthcare and technology sectors. In 2020 it won PRovoke Media’s Gold SABRE Award for Global Agency of the Year.² According to PRovoke Media’s Top 10 Global PR Agency Ranking 2022, BCW earned $772 million in fees in 2021.³

Before merging with Cohn & Wolfe, Burson-Marsteller was well known for crisis communications. The PR firm advised Union Carbide after the Bhopal disaster, which killed thousands of people.⁴ Burson-Marsteller has also aggressively deployed third party “grassroots” organizations to defend industry, including the “smokers’ rights” group National Smokers Alliance in the 1990s. Although the National Smokers Alliance presented itself as the voice of smokers fighting anti-smoking legislation, almost all of its funding came from the tobacco industry, especially long-time Burson-Marsteller client Philip Morris.⁵

Burson-Marsteller defended its decades long relationship with Philip Morris, now known as Altria, after Rachel Maddow referenced Burson-Marsteller’s clients on her show and commented, “When evil needs public relations, evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed dial.”⁶

Stance on Climate Change

Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s parent company, WPP, describes its climate change commitments on its website as follows: “We support urgent action to tackle the climate crisis through the Paris Climate Agreement and have been working to cut our carbon footprint since 2006.”⁷

Clients

Key People

Actions

2022

BCW Global, Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s international division, represented General Electric as it announced its “decarbonization roadmap” with Saudi Aramco. These announcements were part of Saudi Arabia’s “Saudi Vision 2030” and its net zero by 2060 strategy.⁸

BCW Global also represented General Electric through its announcement that it was partnering with Shell to decarbonize its liquified natural gas operations in Saudi Arabia by using hydrogen, not natural gas, as fuel.⁹ Shell drew criticism in 2021 for its lobbying in the UK to transition the natural gas infrastructure to a hydrogen-based fuel system, which critics noted would not lead to a net zero system in the UK.¹⁰

2021

From at least 2012 until the Burson Cohn & Wolfe merger in 2018, Burson Marsteller managed Shell’s Eco-Marathon, a corporate promotion event in which students design and race energy efficient vehicles.¹¹ After the 2018 merger, Burson Cohn & Wolfe represented Shell’s Eco-Marathon. In 2021, Burson Cohn & Wolfe was tasked with bringing Shell’s Eco-Marathon to China, in an effort to target both students and Chinese citizens concerned with their environmental impact.¹² According to Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s submission to the Stevie Awards on behalf of this campaign, one of Shell’s main goals was to “ensure more EECs [Energy Engaged Citizens] be aware [sic] of what shell is doing towards a cleaner energy future.” From July to November in 2021, BCW placed print, TV, and social media ads in the Chinese media market to increase awareness of Shell’s Eco-Marathon.¹³

In its award submission, BCW notes that bringing the Shell Eco-Marathon to China helped Shell deliver a message about how environmentally friendly the corporation is, especially since China had recently announced its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. BCW launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #HowFarCanWeGowith1UnitofEnergy to generate buzz for Shell’s Eco-Marathon, and repeatedly emphasized Shell’s darcabonization practices. BCW created a program on Chinese social media platform WeChat and a behind-the-scenes documentary showing students participating in Shell’s Eco-Marathon.¹⁴

In a survey before the PR campaign, BCW found that Chinese respondents most often associated the words energy, global, market, petroleum, and technology with Shell. During and after the campaign, respondents associated Shell with China, vehicle, energy, eco-friendly, and future. BCW reported that its Shell Eco-Marathon content received more than 57 million views.¹⁵

2020

From April to July 2020, Saudi Arabia paid Burson Cohn & Wolfe $1.1 million to design an international media strategy for NOEM, a $500 billion futuristic city project launched by the Kingdom’s government.¹⁶ In 2017, Cohn & Wolfe began representing NEOM. Burson-Marsteller also had public relations contracts with the Saudi Arabian government in 2017, before its merger with Cohn & Wolfe; Burson Marsteller represented the Islamic Military Alliance in 2017. Future Investment Initiative, a project of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund which sought to diversify the Saudi Arabian economy was boycotted by more than 40 global firms following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.”¹⁷ NOEM is another project of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund which seeks to diversify the Saudi Arabian economy. Burson Cohn & Wolfe was hired to sell NOEM in the United States market as the futuristic city project and faced questions over feasibility and half hearted investor interest.¹⁸

2014

In 2014, Peabody Energy Corp., the largest private coal company in the world, hired Burson-Marsteller to oppose the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan.¹⁹ Proof Communications, a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller, created the Advanced Energy for Life campaign promoting the idea of “clean coal” and that continued coal use was essential to ending the “crisis of global energy poverty.”²⁰ Its website tagline was “Solving energy poverty, fueling global economies and improving the environment through clean coal.” They created the Advanced Energy for Life “Clean Coal” awards, which were given to coal plants that were supposedly engaging in carbon capture technology.²¹

The Advanced Energy for Life website, originally registered to Proof managing director Luis Hernandez,²² posted video advertisements featuring Southern Company advocating for clean coal and included an opinion piece from economist Roger Bezdek arguing that carbon dioxide is “Profoundly Earth-Friendly.”²³ The website also included a call to action where people could send comments to the EPA requesting that proposed coal plant regulations be scrapped.²⁴ This webpage said that the solution was more coal power plants, not fewer: “Every large, new supercritical plant delivers the equivalent carbon benefit of removing one million cars from the road,” read the page, referring to the most recent coal plant technology.

The campaign recruited spokespeople who were billed as environmental leaders, including former EPA administrator Jeff Holmstead. Proof Communications described him as “one of the nation’s climate change leaders,”²⁵ but Holmstead was a coal lobbyist and had overseen the rollback of industry regulations during his tenure in the George W. Bush administration.

The advertisements were featured in the United States, the UK, and across Europe. The UK Advertising Standards Authority found the Advanced Energy for Life advertisements “misleading” and ordered Peabody to stop publishing them after the World Wildlife Fund filed a complaint against the ads for obscuring the environmental damage caused by coal.²⁶

2006

In 2008, Burson-Marsteller won the Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award along with the Shell communications team and A Brink & Company for its 2006 campaign to improve Shell’s brand image.²⁷ The award submission detailed how Burson-Marsteller was brought in to improve Shell Oil’s “reputational crisis” as high oil prices led to outpourings of public anger at oil companies and the U.S. Senate summoned Shell’s U.S. President to appear before the chamber.²⁸ The campaign had a specific goal: stave off proposed legislation for an oil profits windfall tax.²⁹

Burson-Marsteller helped Shell Oil do just that with “A National Dialogue on Energy Security,” a PR campaign which featured the US President of Shell Oil going to all 50 states to meet with business and community leaders to “to counter the ‘big oil’ image with a human, face-to-face campaign.” Burson-Marsteller invited influential people to these town hall meetings, where participants were asked how they thought the United States should increase its oil supply. These survey responses were compiled into a booklet which was shared with policymakers and the US Chamber of Commerce in February 2008.³⁰

The campaign found that at the beginning of the tour, Shell had a favorability rating of 48 percent with the American people “among those aware of the tour”; following the tour that increased to 61 percent. The award submission noted that NGOs in particular were more likely to label Shell as “environmentally sound” following the tour. Shell’s messaging also found its way into political discourse. The award submission ends with “most important, the key messages, including access to domestic supplies, diversity of fuel sources, and the need to moderate demand, have been increasingly picked up in key discussions among elected officials and other influencers.”³¹

2002

As the government of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien prepared to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Burson-Marsteller’s Canadian subsidiary National Public Relations was hired by Canadian industrial groups³² to fight against the ratification.³³ National Public Relations created the Canadian Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions (CCRES) to lobby Canadian leaders and turn public opinion against ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.³⁴ When CCRES was launched, public opinion polls showed a majority of Canadians supported the Kyoto Protocol.³⁵ According to a filing with the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters directly controlled CCRES.³⁶ Using the tagline “Made in Canada,” CCRES advocated for voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reductions as an alternative to ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. For several weeks CCRES ran a TV and radio ad campaign which advertising executives estimated cost $225,000 a week and which was funded almost entirely by the coalition’s oil industry members.³⁷ Earned media placements were part of the campaign as well. Coalition leaders such as Nancy Hughes Anthony, the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Tom D’Aquino of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives were interviewed by the Canadian public broadcasting service saying that implementing Kyoto would destroy the economy and lead to 200,000 job cuts.³⁸

Guy Giorno, a National PR staffer, organized a dinner between members of CCRES and the Conservative Party.³⁹ Giorno followed up with each member of parliament with an email suggesting how they should describe the Kyoto Protocol in op-eds or in letters to their constituents, according to James J. Bradley, a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly who received the email.⁴⁰

1998

In 1998, as California and Washington state prepared to enact tough emission standards on cars, Burson-Marsteller was hired by auto manufacturers and the California Chamber of Commerce to fight a proposal that the same emissions standards apply to light trucks.⁴¹ As part of this campaign, Burson-Marsteller created Californians for Realistic Vehicle Standards, a group run out of the offices of the California Chamber of Commerce. Californians for Realistic Vehicle Standards’ phone number was the same as Burson-Marsteller’s office in Sacramento.⁴² A National Resources Defense Council analysis of the discrepancy between automakers’ estimated costs of compliance with California Air Resources Board’s emissions standards and the actual costs found that Californians for Realistic Vehicle Standards estimated that to comply with California’s LEV II program would cost $7,000 per vehicle and result in 33 percent fewer full-sized vehicles available to consumers. In comparison, the California Air Resources Board estimated the cost of compliance per vehicle to be $206.⁴³

1995

In 1995, the American Petroleum Institute and other trade associations tied to the fossil fuel industry hired Burson-Marsteller to fight stricter air quality regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.⁴⁴ As part of this campaign, Burson-Marsteller created the Foundation for Clean Air Progress (FCAP), a group which positioned itself as “a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that was formed in 1995 to provide public education and information about air quality progress.”⁴⁵ However, its operations were run entirely from Burson-Marsteller’s offices.⁴⁶ The American Farm Bureau Foundation, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were all members of FCAP, and their represented industries stood to bear the brunt of the $6 billion price tag for following the EPA’s ozone regulations.⁴⁷

Burson-Marsteller created TV and radio ads attributed to FCAP in the battle over EPA’s air pollution regulations. Burson-Marsteller also heavily publicized studies commissioned by FCAP showing that air quality was improving; articles discussing these studies showed up in local papers across the country in the late 1990s.⁴⁸ In one op-ed published in the Connecticut Insider in 2001, FCAP’s president Bill Fay wrote:

“Further evidence of the public’s misperception of our actual environmental status is a 1999 Roper poll that showed 56 percent of Americans fear that the next decade may be the last chance to ‘save the Earth from an environmental catastrophe.’ Clearly, the alarmists have dominated the public dialogue. What is absent from the debate is a balanced picture of both accomplishments and needed improvements still to be implemented.”⁴⁹

FCAP’s website even included a section where teachers could find lesson plans on air pollution, which announced that “The Foundation for Clean Air Progress provides teachers with the tools and resources they need to present air pollution lesson plans to all age groups – from kindergarten to high school.”⁵⁰ FCAP often asserted that air quality had been improving over the previous 20 years, so additional regulations were not only unnecessary but costly to businesses.⁵¹ FCAP was active through 2008.

1994

In December 1994, Burson-Marsteller executive Thomas J. Mosser was killed when a package delivered to his home exploded.⁵² Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, confessed to the murder in 1995. Kaczynski said he murdered Mosser because he worked for Burson-Marsteller, and incorrectly asserted that the PR firm had cleaned up Exxon’s image after the Valdez oil spill in 1989.⁵³ Burson-Marsteller responded to Kaczynski’s claims, saying that it had worked with Exxon in the past but did not advise the oil company in the wake of the Valdez oil spill.⁵⁴

1993

In 1993, a division of Burson-Marsteller called the Advocacy Communications Team organized a public relations campaign to defeat a proposed BTU tax, which would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions.⁵⁵ A few weeks after proposing a tax on fuel based on how many British Thermal Units (BTU) of energy were sold, President Bill Clinton announced a program to reduce the United States’ emissions to 1990 levels by 2000.⁵⁶ With funding from the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Burson-Marsteller created the American Energy Alliance to oppose the BTU tax. Like other astroturf organizations, it signed up other members to give the appearance of a broader coalition, rather than just representing industry interests.

In order to persuade Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee to oppose the BTU tax, Burson-Marsteller sent more than 45 staff members to 23 states to drum up opposition to the proposed tax.⁵⁷ These Burson-Marsteller staffers sent anti-BTU editorials to local newspapers, helped school boards calculate their tax burden if the BTU tax became law, and organized press conferences to publicize the results of studies commissioned by Burson-Marsteller showing that the tax would lead to job losses. Burson-Marsteller also ran advertisements featuring local businesses opposing the tax.

“Ten years ago, you could have used 10 to 15 lobbyists to kill this thing on Capitol Hill,” Jim McAvoy, senior vice-president of Burson-Marsteller’s Advocacy Communications Team, told Time Magazine in 1993. “Now you have to hire 45 people and send them to 23 states. That’s because all the noise is supposed to have more credibility. Lawmakers have to hear it echoed from the folks back home.”⁵⁸

Burson-Marsteller’s strategy to target vulnerable Senate Democrats worked; the BTU tax passed the House of Representatives but died in the Senate.⁵⁹

Awards Won

WPP — Parent organization.
National PR — Canadian subsidiary.
Proof Communications — Subsidiary.

Contact & Address

Website: https://bcw-global.com

US Phone Number: +1 212-798-9700

BCW New York Address:
200 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010

+1 212 601-3000

Facebook: @BCWGlobal
Instagram: bcwglobal
Linked In: BCW Global
Twitter: @BCWGlobal

Resources

1
Aarti Shaw. “WPP Creates 3rd Largest PR Firm With Burson Cohn & Wolfe,” PRovoke Media, February 27, 2018. Archived June 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/oT5VH
2
(Press Release). “BCW Named Global Agency of the Year at the 2020 SABRE Awards,” BCW Global, October 22, 2020. Archived May 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/g4Xzz
3
“Top 10 Global PR Agency Ranking 2022,” PRovoke Media, May 15, 2022. Archived June 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TDZl4
4
Michael Isikoff. “Crisis Management: Has Carbide Met the Test?” The Washington Post, February 24, 1985. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/isfex
5
Myron Levin. “Smoker Group’s Thick Wallet Raises Questions,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived April 16, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zD9Ww
6
Rose Gordon. “Penn defends firm post Maddow show,” PR Week, March 7, 2009. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.is/qbdhL
7
“Our Climate Change Commitments,” WPP. Archived September 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Tyzt0
8
(Press Release). HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman inaugurates GE MENA decarbonization COE,” Zawya, May 19, 2022. Archived July 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LjSmT
9
(Press Release). “GE Gas Power and Shell sign development agreement to collaborate on LNG decarbonization pathway using hydrogen,” Zany, November 7, 2022. Archived November 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IT3N3
10
Alex King and Sean Benstead.“How the Hydrogen Lobby Is Greenwashing Fossil Fuel,” Tribune Magazine, June 18, 2021. Archived October 18, 2021. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/yyoyy
11
“TRE NUOVI RECORD ALLA SHELL ECO-MARATHON EUROPE 2012 – Molto buoni i risultati dei team italiani,” Burson Marsteller Italia, May 22, 2012. Archived April 10, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iKLWI
12
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
13
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
14
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
15
“IMC Performance Report For Shell Eco-marathon 2021,” Shell International, December 10, 2021. Archived April 25, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
16
“Exhibits A, B, and Short Form Registration Statements Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended” (PDF), U.S. Department of Justice, July 2, 2020. Archived September 28, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
17
Saudi summit begins amid boycott,” BBC, October 23rd, 2018. Archived October 23, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.is/IQSpI
18
Davide Barbuscia, Saeed Azhar, Stephen Kalin. “Saudi Arabia faces reality check as Wall Street heads to Riyadh,” Reuters, October 24, 2019. Archived November 1, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nSzll
19
Kate Sheppard. “World’s Biggest Coal Company, World’s Biggest PR Firm Pair Up To Promote Coal For Poor People,” HuffPost, December 7, 2017. Archived September 2, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xc3tz
20
(Press Release). “Advanced Energy for Life Campaign Launched to Build Awareness and Support to End “World’s Number One Human and Environmental Crisis” of Global Energy Poverty,” Peabody Energy, February 26, 2014. Archived June 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/SLi3p
21
“Advanced Energy for Life,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DKBuO
22
Kate Sheppard. “World’s Biggest Coal Company, World’s Biggest PR Firm Pair Up To Promote Coal For Poor People,” HuffPost, December 7, 2017. Archived September 2, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xc3tz
23
“Environment and Technology,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DKBuO
24
“Join Our Campaign,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.is/HoKgj
25
“Environment and Technology,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DKBuO
26
Derek Urbaniak. “Advertising Standards Authority rules Peabody’s ‘clean coal’ ad misleading,” The Guardian, August 26, 2014. Archived August 27, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.is/05N6G
27
“Shell Oil Program to Receive Golden Ruler Award at Summit on Measurement,” Institute for Public Relations, September 18, 2008. Archived October 17, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YMEyw
28
The U.S. Communication Team of Shell Oil Company, with Burson-Marsteller and A Brink & Company. “Jack Fenton Golden Ruler Award Entry: A National Dialogue on Energy Security,” 2008. Archived April 10, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
29
“Oil executives to defend record profits,” NBC, November 2, 2005. Archived October 22, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/sDOoZ
30
The U.S. Communication Team of Shell Oil Company, with Burson-Marsteller and A Brink & Company. “Jack Fenton Golden Ruler Award Entry: A National Dialogue on Energy Security,” 2008. Archived April 10, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
31
The U.S. Communication Team of Shell Oil Company, with Burson-Marsteller and A Brink & Company. “Jack Fenton Golden Ruler Award Entry: A National Dialogue on Energy Security,” 2008. Archived April 10, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
32
“Coalition members,” Canadian Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions. Archived April 7, 2003. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
33
Zoe Cormier. “Fighting Dirty,” THIS Magazine, September/October 2006. Archived July 3, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.is/jLjB7
34
“Registration – Consultant: CANADIAN COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS / DOUGLAS BLACK, Consultant,” Officer of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. Archived July 30, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.is/UtwNQ
35
“Alberta launches campaign against Kyoto,” CBC News, September 18, 2002. Archived April 15, 2005. Archive URL: https://archive.is/sjjXg
36
“Registration – Consultant: CANADIAN COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS / DOUGLAS BLACK, Consultant,” Officer of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. Archived July 30, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.is/UtwNQ
37
Hugh Windsor. “Oil patch candour needed on ad campaign,” The Globe and Mail, November 13, 2002. Archived April 17, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/PcGOb
38
“Canadian business bashes Kyoto as destructive,” CBC News, September 26, 2002. Archived March 13, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.is/EfzpY
39
Josh Matlow. “BIG OIL’S KYOTO PARTY,” Now Toronto News, October 24, 2002. Archived February 23, 2003. Archive URL: https://archive.is/LcREP
40
“Legislative Assembly of Ontario: October 17, 2002,” Legislative Assembly of Ontario, October 17, 2002. Archived April 15, 2003. Archive URL: https://archive.is/JiVPW
41
Keith Bradsher. “Light Trucks Face Tougher Air Standards,” The New York Times, November 3rd, 1998. Archived May 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.is/byt0r
42
Keith Bradsher. “Light Trucks Face Tougher Air Standards,” The New York Times, November 3rd, 1998. Archived May 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.is/byt0r
43
Roland Hwang and Matt Peak. “Innovation and Regulation in the Automobile Sector,” the National Resources Defense Council, April 2006. Archived January 19, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
44
Jo Warrick. “A Dust-Up Over Air Pollution Standards,” The Washington Post, June 17, 1997. Archived April 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/AbtgN
45
“About,” Foundation for Clean Air Progress. Archived April 12, 1999. Archived copy available on Document Cloud.
46
Jo Warrick. “A Dust-Up Over Air Pollution Standards,” The Washington Post, June 17, 1997. Archived April 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/AbtgN
47
Jo Warrick. “A Dust-Up Over Air Pollution Standards,” The Washington Post, June 17, 1997. Archived April 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/AbtgN
48
“Georgia’s air cleaner than expected,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, May 20, 1997. Archived November 3, 2002. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5UjCQ
49
Bill Fay. “Atmosphere gets cleaner every day,” CT Insider, February 1, 2001. Archived April 17, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/5dy4Q
50
“Air Pollution Lesson Plan,” Foundation for Clean Air Progress, February 24, 2008. Archived February 24, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/AtZup
51
“Studies and Statistics,” Foundation for Clean Air Progress, 1999. Archived August 19, 2000. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TS7iH
52
Pierre Thomas and Benjamin Weiser. “Reputed ‘Manifesto’ Recovered,” The Washington Post, April 13, 1996. Archived September 29, 2000. Archive URL: https://archive.is/bEj4c
53
Neil MacFarquhar. “One focus of inquiry: the selection of targets,” The New York Times, April 8, 1996. Archived March 27, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.is/LPGAl
54
Neil MacFarquhar. “One focus of inquiry: the selection of targets,” The New York Times, April 8, 1996. Archived March 27, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.is/LPGAl
55
Michael Wines. “Tax’s Demise Illustrates First Rule Of Lobbying: Work, Work, Work,” The New York Times, June 14, 1993. Archived February 5, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.is/2CVMQ
56
David E. Rosenbaum. “Clinton Backs Off Plan for New Tax on Heat in Fuels,” The New York Times, June 9, 1993. Archived May 16, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ermfd
57
Michael Duffy. “I Hear You, I Hear You,” Time, June 21, 1993. Archived April 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/HzGO9
58
Michael Duffy. “I Hear You, I Hear You,” TIME Magazine, June 21, 1993. Archived April 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/4EIR2
59
David E. Rosenbaum. “Clinton Backs Off Plan for New Tax on Heat in Fuels,” The New York Times, June 9, 1993. Archived May 16, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ermfd

1
Aarti Shaw. “WPP Creates 3rd Largest PR Firm With Burson Cohn & Wolfe,” PRovoke Media, February 27, 2018. Archived June 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/oT5VH
2
(Press Release). “BCW Named Global Agency of the Year at the 2020 SABRE Awards,” BCW Global, October 22, 2020. Archived May 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/g4Xzz
3
“Top 10 Global PR Agency Ranking 2022,” PRovoke Media, May 15, 2022. Archived June 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TDZl4
4
Michael Isikoff. “Crisis Management: Has Carbide Met the Test?” The Washington Post, February 24, 1985. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/isfex
5
Myron Levin. “Smoker Group’s Thick Wallet Raises Questions,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived April 16, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zD9Ww
6
Rose Gordon. “Penn defends firm post Maddow show,” PR Week, March 7, 2009. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.is/qbdhL
7
“Our Climate Change Commitments,” WPP. Archived September 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Tyzt0
8
(Press Release). HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman inaugurates GE MENA decarbonization COE,” Zawya, May 19, 2022. Archived July 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LjSmT
9
(Press Release). “GE Gas Power and Shell sign development agreement to collaborate on LNG decarbonization pathway using hydrogen,” Zany, November 7, 2022. Archived November 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IT3N3
10
Alex King and Sean Benstead.“How the Hydrogen Lobby Is Greenwashing Fossil Fuel,” Tribune Magazine, June 18, 2021. Archived October 18, 2021. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/yyoyy
11
“TRE NUOVI RECORD ALLA SHELL ECO-MARATHON EUROPE 2012 – Molto buoni i risultati dei team italiani,” Burson Marsteller Italia, May 22, 2012. Archived April 10, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iKLWI
12
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
13
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
14
BCW. “Shell Eco-Marathon ‘How Far Can We Go with 1 Unit of Energy’ Campaign,” The Stevie Awards. Archived April 25, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0pekR
15
“IMC Performance Report For Shell Eco-marathon 2021,” Shell International, December 10, 2021. Archived April 25, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
16
“Exhibits A, B, and Short Form Registration Statements Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended” (PDF), U.S. Department of Justice, July 2, 2020. Archived September 28, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
17
Saudi summit begins amid boycott,” BBC, October 23rd, 2018. Archived October 23, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.is/IQSpI
18
Davide Barbuscia, Saeed Azhar, Stephen Kalin. “Saudi Arabia faces reality check as Wall Street heads to Riyadh,” Reuters, October 24, 2019. Archived November 1, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nSzll
19
Kate Sheppard. “World’s Biggest Coal Company, World’s Biggest PR Firm Pair Up To Promote Coal For Poor People,” HuffPost, December 7, 2017. Archived September 2, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xc3tz
20
(Press Release). “Advanced Energy for Life Campaign Launched to Build Awareness and Support to End “World’s Number One Human and Environmental Crisis” of Global Energy Poverty,” Peabody Energy, February 26, 2014. Archived June 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/SLi3p
21
“Advanced Energy for Life,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DKBuO
22
Kate Sheppard. “World’s Biggest Coal Company, World’s Biggest PR Firm Pair Up To Promote Coal For Poor People,” HuffPost, December 7, 2017. Archived September 2, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xc3tz
23
“Environment and Technology,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DKBuO
24
“Join Our Campaign,” Advanced Energy for Life. Archived July 24, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.is/HoKgj
25
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