Are fossil fuel sponsorships going the same way as tobacco?

Should fossil fuel companies sponsor, or be allowed to sponsor, sporting organisations, athletes, or competitions? Should sporting organisations accept fossil fuel money? These are some of the questions being asked after Tennis Australia dropped oil and gas producer Santos as an Australian Open partner, and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting will be a sponsor through to 2026.

Climate activists have jumped on both announcements likening fossil fuel sponsorship to tobacco advertising. Dan Gocher from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility told The Guardian that fossil fuel companies were using sport sponsorship to “buy social licence… like Tobacco did for a generation.”

Tobacco advertising was banned in Australia in the 90s and athletes and activists are now calling for sport organisations to decline fossil fuel money. But can you blame cash strapped sporting organisations from accepting much needed funds for their sport? Without a regulatory framework the onus on whether these sponsorships are acceptable can unfairly fall on sporting organisations and athletes. However, will the increasing media and activist focus on these sponsorships mean fossil fuel companies think twice?

The reality is sport has a special place in Australian culture and society and sport will always provide companies a platform to generate goodwill. It is also very unlikely that an Australian government will ban fossil fuel sponsorship in the near term despite fossil fuel induced climate change responsible for potentially creating conditions where athletes are at risk.

Santos has clearly decided the benefits of sport sponsorship outweigh the potential negative media coverage as their sport sponsorship book covers cycling, the Wallabies and grassroot community sporting competitions such as the Festival of Rugby in Narrabri. But will a sustained focus on these partnerships mean the negative media coverage becomes too much of a risk for fossil fuel companies?

As the issue evolves over time, we believe it will become more and more unacceptable for fossil fuel companies to attempt to ‘wash’ their image through sports sponsorship.