How the EU can help cities reduce ads
European cities are taking action to regulate citizens’ exposure to ads, but they need clear and harmonised regulations to support their efforts
Fair economiesCan we regulate advertising at the EU level?
What is the current state of affairs?
As more and more European cities feel the need to reduce advertising in their public spaces, Lyon Métropole (France) is an inspiring example. At Energy Cities, we think it is time for EU institutions to address this issue and facilitate local initiatives.
Rethinking our exposure to ads
Ads are everywhere. On billboards in our streets, on buildings, filling up huge screens. These spaces are either managed by the municipality or private companies and could be freed. Nowadays, several European cities have started thinking over the relationship between public spaces and advertising for various reasons, including:
- Deterioration of the urban landscape
- Light pollution and significant energy consumption for digital billboards
- Problematic content leading to ethical questions: sexism, racism, over-consumption.
In recent years, cities such as Nantes (France), Utrecht (the Netherlands), and Krakow (Poland) have taken measures to regulate and reduce out-of-home advertising. Some local governments, such as Lyon, have even chosen to ban it from certain areas. Philippe Guelpa-Bonaro, Vice-President of Lyon Métropole for climate, energy, and reduction of advertising, explained they are committed to reducing “the number of advertising billboards in the Lyon Métropole area by at least 75%, and reducing their maximum size from 12 to 4m². Moreover, we no longer want digital screens in public spaces, as they attract the eye and capture our attention without our consent.”
Limiting, if not banning advertisements is not an easy task. Municipalities face several obstacles: lack of clear regulation, opposition from the advertising industry and budgetary constraints. Advertising remains an important source of revenue for cities after all.
No European legislation is in charge of regulating advertising in public spaces (yet)
Some member states have already developed their own regulations on out-of-home advertising. For instance, in France and Germany, advertising is generally forbidden outside urban areas and regulated by regional and local laws inside cities. But this is not enough. Philippe Guelpa-Bonaro believes we can go further: “In France, local authorities have the right to regulate the size and number of advertising billboards, but not their content. […] We passed the Evin law in the 90s to reduce alcohol and tobacco advertising, so why shouldn’t we have a law to ban advertising for products or services that exacerbate global warming? Or to allow local authorities to regulate advertising content in public space?”
There is no European law on outdoor advertising yet. Europe should increase efforts to protect consumers, boost the internal market, and encourage member states to meet energy-saving and climate targets. Over the last few years, some MEPs, such as the French Green David Cormand, proposed motions and amendments to ban fossil-fuel products from advertising – unfortunately, most of them were rejected.
Brainstorming with its members, Energy Cities has drafted some suggestions to be included in future European discussions:
- Regulate the content of the ads bybanning fossil-fuel-related products or services and giving priority to local businesses rather than e-commerce services and multinational products.
- Define the maximum brightness, energy consumption, and size for illuminated billboards.
- Forbid advertising in certain critical areas (historic centres, schools, etc.).
- Standardise sizes for any kind of billboard all over the EU.
But cities can already act!
Although cities’ capacity to legislate on advertising should be increased, numerous European cities have started to reduce advertisement, often through public space regulations. Lyon Métropole and other cities such as Brussels, Krakow, Grenoble, Nantes, and Bratislava can act as role model for cities willing to take actions.
While waiting for the EU to move forward, cities can follow Philippe Guelpa-Bonaro’s suggestion to engage with citizens. “At least 80% of our fellow citizens are in favour of reducing advertising. This helps a lot when it comes to convincing professionals and other elected representatives to implement measures to reduce advertising.”
Read the full interview with Philippe Guelpa-Bonaro here.
Curious to learn more about sufficiency and the measures needed to improve citizens’ well-being? Read our manifesto here and get inspired by the work carried out in other cities here.
