Accord is the first trade union to sign up to CAN
Accord has recently signed up to the Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) — and were the first trade union to do so.
You’re probably thinking, what is CAN and why is it so important? Well, CAN are on a mission to change the ethics of advertising, by making sure it ‘catches up with the technology of modern advertising’.
They want companies to take a look at the way their advertising can have a negative impact on society — such as funding hate speech and fake news.
You can read more about the organisation, their manifestos and what else they hope to achieve on their website
Campaigns to stop funding hate began when a group of people came together online to express concern at the way certain newspapers were using hate and division to drive sales.
Hundreds and thousands of people have now taken action to persuade companies to stop funding hate. Companies like the Body Shop, Lego and Co-op have pulled their support from publications that spread hate and division.
Read more about the ‘Stop Funding Hate’ campaign
The topic of commercial relationships and advertising was hotly debated at Accord’s biennial conference in April 2018.
Motion 94 called on Lloyds Banking Group to only adopt ‘commercial relationships with organisations that demonstrated LBG’s values’ and motion 95 called on the Group to ‘stop their relationship with “hate speech” media and organisations that use misinformation and distortion to further their specific political agenda’.
Both motions were carried with significant majorities, and Accord signing up to CAN is the first step in doing what our members asked for.
Accord’s Assistant General Secretary, Paula Tegg, said:
“I’m in awe of this group of volunteers. The work they’re doing is long-overdue and I’m proud to see Accord as the first trade union to support them. I’d encourage all like-minded Accord members to read their six manifestos to find out more and see how, together, we can make a difference. The next important step, though, is to get the brands we work with to consciously change the way they operate and the content they produce. That’s where we can have the most impact.”
Our next step will be to get representatives from CAN in front of senior stakeholders in both LBG and TSB and ask them to do the right thing too. We want to encourage businesses to be responsible rather than turn a blind eye.
We believe it CAN be done.
If you’ve got any feedback you’d like to share about the topics discussed in this article, contact us at equality@accordhq.org
