Description
Who: Municipality of Tilburg, the Netherlands
What: Local law change to gradually ban fossil ads and meat and fish ads
When: April 2024
The municipality of Tilburg is going to gradually ban fossil advertising and meat and fish advertising. An initiative proposal by GroenLinks (Green party) received support from a majority of the city council. A new municipal advertising policy and talks with advertising operators are the first steps. In addition, the college must start making preparations for banning by local law (APV).
The GroenLinks proposal can count on support from D66, SP, PvdA, Partij voor de Dieren and local parties ONS Tilburg and Voor Tilburg. According to legal experts, a public ban through the local law is the most solid. This would be the General Local Law (APV) or another ordinance. The municipality of Tilburg will first try to get rid of fossil and meat advertising through other means, such as through talks with the operators. If they do not cooperate, eventually the APV will still be on the table. The college should start making preparations for that path ahead of time.
'Social tipping point for climate awareness'
GroenLinks council member Nicky van Wanrooij, drafter and submitter of the initiative proposal, cited in the council meeting the won case of the climate nomas against Switzerland, in which the European Court of Human Rights had ruled on the same day. "I also want to reach a social tipping point with this proposal to raise climate awareness. Because fossil advertisements and meat advertisements create additional CO2 emissions, they undermine climate policies and normalize unsustainable behavior. "
Linda Oerleman of ONS Tilburg stressed the importance of health: "It requires us as a government to put the well-being of Tilburgers first. The health of our residents and children and grandchildren should never be sold out. For ONS Tilburg, well-being always takes precedence over the prosperity of a few."
'First step'
SP councillor Hans Kokke responded to criticism from other parties that residents would be deprived of choices. "I heard that we would no longer be allowed to eat meat, that we would no longer be allowed to fly. It's not about that at all. We are only prohibiting that it can be advertised. And there is something going on in the world. That also means we have to face the reality that meat and flying are not always the best choices. This proposal is about us as a government - as a standard-setter - taking a first step to make it clear what we stand for."
An amendment by Party for the Animals to include advertising for all animal products - rather than just meat and fish - in the text of the initiative proposal did not pass.
D66: 'Positive influence on freedom of choice'
A key role was played by the D66 group. Their vote for or against would determine whether the proposal passed. D66 councilor Jort Molenaar responded in his contribution to a question from the VVD about how D66, as a liberal party, views advertising: "I think, on the contrary, that advertising influences people's behavior and choices. There is no question about that. There is no doubt that large companies want to invest large sums of money to influence us in the spaces we take in to buy their products and services. So that also means that not having them can have a positive impact on people's choices. That doesn't mean we are depriving people of choice; they are still completely free to do as they please. We are running down the options in the right order to see in what ways we can begin to positively improve residents' freedom of choice around behaviors that are not in their best interest."
Consequences
In Dutch municipalities, operators so far show little inclination to cooperate voluntarily. Here they often cite loss of revenue as a reason. However, this has not yet been actually demonstrated. Secrecy has been imposed on an external opinion requested by the college on this subject to the city council. It is therefore impossible to find out whether and, if so, what financial and legal consequences there would be for the municipality, according to this advice, if a ban were to be introduced by APV.
Increase in sales after London ban
However, the operators' arguments are not unlike those of the lobby in other countries, such as those against a ban on junk food advertisements in the London Underground and other London public transport. There too, among other things, there were warnings of a decline in operator revenues, but they actually increased slightly after the ban was introduced.
Yet operators in the Netherlands - this mainly involves the three international giants Global, JC Decaux and Clear Channel - regularly threaten legal action against municipalities. Whether the operators would be able to win any lawsuits, however, is highly questionable, precisely because a solid foundation for their arguments is lacking.
