CIC Climate Group highlights role for creative leaders

Creative industries leaders have a key role to play in driving more ambitious future action on the climate and environmental crisis, according to a snapshot survey of senior figures across creative sectors.

The research by the Creative Industries Council (CIC) Climate Group provides an encouraging view of the commitment within the leadership of UK creative organisations to face climate and environmental challenges, and offers recommendations to encourage further action.

The CIC Climate Group’s findings are being released at a time when the potential for creativity to accelerate climate action is in the global spotlight.

London’s recent successful hosting of the World Design Congress brought together preeminent designers to discuss how to speed up climate solutions. The agenda for UNESCO MONDIACULT 2025, the world’s leading cultural policy summit, also discusses how to integrate cultural activities into climate action.

To gauge developments on climate action among UK creative decision-makers, the Climate Group surveyed the 35 industry representatives on the CIC, a joint forum of senior figures from UK creative industries and the government.

The survey asked individuals about their organisations’ experience of areas ranging from sustainability policies and measurement of environmental impact to factors that stimulate or constrain developments in these areas.

Key survey findings include that 76% of respondents have a designated senior figure in their organisation leading on sustainability issues and the commitment of leadership in this area is seen as the most important factor promoting change within organisations (86% of respondents).

A wide variety of external factors are also encouraging organisations to take climate action. Among respondents, 79% said they had participated in an industry-wide sustainability initiative or campaign in the last year.

The survey highlights a number of such industry projects including Ad Net Zero in advertising, the Circular Fashion Programme, the environmental programme of Arts Council England, and a season of programming on Climate Change aired by Channel 4.

However, there is also evidence that commitment to climate issues is not always matched by organisations’ capacity and skills to respond to them. Some 34% of respondents said skills and capacity are an internal constraint on change.

Survey data provides insight into activity since publication in late 2023 of the Creative Climate Charter, in which CIC industry members agreed to take action in response to the climate crisis.

Building on the Charter and the new survey, the CIC Climate Group has identified eight priorities for government and industry to take forward.

Priorities identified by the survey are:

• Establish ongoing and substantial research on the creative industries and the environment, which could build on the survey and other research work already undertaken by the Creative PEC
• Encourage creative employers to improve existing provision of staff training in environmental and climate fields
• Build on existing measurements of environmental impact of more complex carbon emissions and waste streams
• Work with strategic funding bodies to design ambitious programmes to fund development of new ways to decarbonise and reduce waste
• Support environmental accreditation in creative sub-sectors to spread best practice and guide funding and commissioning
• Improve collection and availability of useful environmental data, providing guidance on presentation and practical use of this data
• Work to stimulate the market for green products, services and advice to meet industry needs and encourage sustainable procurement
• Share and enhance the extensive best practice across creative sub-sectors, supporting wider reapplication of initiatives

Minnie Moll, Chief Executive of the Design Council and Co-Chair of the CIC Climate Group, said: “Not only is it imperative that the creative sector reduces its own environmental footprint, it must also be a vital source of solutions and a means of generating new ideas, mobilising action and making connections. This survey provides an encouraging snapshot of the leadership the sector is showing and its levels of commitment and innovation.”

CIC Climate Group Co-Chair Alison Tickell, Chief Executive of Julie’s Bicycle, which has launched the ‘We Make Tomorrow’ campaign to galvanise policy-makers worldwide to put culture at the centre of climate action, said: “We now have the foundations for much more ambitious action, with the government working with industry to address the obstacles to progress.

"This survey, alongside the government’s Industrial Strategy and Creative Industries Sector Plan, will help to provide a framework for how to achieve a creative economy that generates jobs and wealth while also being truly sustainable.” ‍

In November 2023, the CIC published the Creative Climate Charter as a “commitment from the UK creative industries to mobilise ambitious action on the climate and biodiversity crisis”.

CIC members signed up to the Charter’s eight principles, including accountability, collaboration and advocacy, in order to meet this commitment.

This survey provides an update on actions taken to put Charter principles into action. Survey data has been shared with the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, which assisted in the survey design, and will work with the CIC to address knowledge gaps in this area.

The Sector Vision for the creative industries agreed between the CIC and government in 2023, included an objective for the creative industries to play a growing role in tackling environmental challenges, and the Creative Climate Charter was part of meeting that goal.

A Sector Plan agreed by the CIC and the government in office in June 2025 included a commitment to continue to deliver next steps on the Creative Charter.

‍

‍