Greenwashing allegations against Mars lead to AMV BBDO facing employment tribunal

AMV BBDO is facing an employment tribunal claim from former creative partner Polina Zabrodskaya, who alleges she was forced to resign after raising concerns about misleading sustainability claims in campaigns for Mars-owned brands Galaxy and Sheba.

AMV BBDO is facing an employment tribunal claim from former creative partner Polina Zabrodskaya, who alleges she was forced to resign after raising concerns about misleading sustainability claims in campaigns for Mars-owned brands Galaxy and Sheba.

The case was first reported by the Financial Times.

According to action group Climate Whistleblowers, which is supporting her claim, Zabrodskaya claims she suffered harassment and discrimination at the UK agency after highlighting concerns about environmental and labour practices in Mars’ supply chains.

Zabrodskaya claims that after raising objections to a Galaxy advertising campaign in 2021 that promoted the brand as “making chocolate better, one piece at a time”, she was allegedly excluded from meetings and eventually sidelined. 

She says she pointed to reports linking the cocoa supply chain to child and forced labour, as well as environmental harm. In 2023, a CBS News investigation reported that Mars sourced cocoa harvested by children as young as five.

In 2022, Zabrodskaya says she was reassigned to work on campaigns for Sheba, a premium pet food brand, and raised concerns about claims that its fish supply chain was “100% sustainably sourced”. She questioned the reliability of the Marine Stewardship Council certification used by Sheba, citing criticism from environmental organisations such as Bloom.

She alleges that after discussing these issues with a senior Mars executive, she was suspended by AMV BBDO for making “unprofessional and inflammatory comments”. Following a month-long investigation, she was cleared of wrongdoing. However, her subsequent grievance regarding a hostile work environment was dismissed by the agency, and she resigned in 2024.

“We are in the middle of an urgent environmental crisis. Our planet is being destroyed for profit, and top ad agencies conceal the damage from the public,” Zabrodskaya said. “There are six million people working in advertising globally. Many don’t support greenwashing but feel unable to speak up. I won't be taking any settlement, and I won't sign an NDA. The case has to be heard in public.”

Gabriel Bourdon-Fattal, co-director at Climate Whistleblowers, added, “Polina eventually felt she had to resign because the advertising industry tries to conceal dissident voices. We can't let them. As one of the first environmental whistleblowers in her sector, she is bravely paving the way for others to speak out. If more people like her come forward, we can hold these industries accountable.”

Lawrence Davies of solicitors Equal Justice, representing Zabrodskaya, described the case as “likely the most significant climate and environmental sustainability whistleblower tribunal claim to date”. 

He said, “Those who speak out on the global climate crisis and challenge exploitative supply chains that undermine human progress must be protected and supported.”

AMV BBDO has been contacted for comment by Campaign.