Advertisers: Take the Lead in Reducing Carbon Emissions

How Advertisers Can Take the Lead in Reducing Carbon Emissions

Global warming due to human activity is an increasingly pressing issue for businesses and the aviation industry has been labeled a notorious contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the digital ecosystem is now the fastest-growing source of GHG emissions, with a 6% annual increase each year for the last five years. With digital advertising’s growth powering everything from connected TV platforms, retail media and outdoor advertising, the carbon cost of online advertising has become impossible to ignore.

Advertisers, large and small, are making bold promises to eradicate the industry’s carbon footprint in the next decade. However, the lack of accurate and reliable data on the real carbon impact of digital campaigns has been a significant roadblock to achieving net zero. To address this, fifty-five, a global martech consultancy, conducted a study to better understand the carbon impact of brands’ digital advertising campaigns. The study found that a typical digital advertising campaign from a single advertiser produces approximately 323 tons of carbon dioxide or the equivalent of 160 round-trip flights between Paris and New York.

By making several small changes, advertisers can reduce the impact of their digital campaigns by nearly 50%. Here are five recommendations for reducing emissions without harming the efficiency of a campaign:

• Opt for sustainable shoots. A video shoot can easily emit upwards of 200 tons of CO2eq (carbon dioxide equivalent), with transport making up more than 80% of the total emissions. By opting for local shoots or recycling existing content, advertisers can drastically limit emissions from a campaign.
• Output lighter video content. Reducing the size of a video involves making it shorter or using a lower resolution. Shortening a video by 3 seconds reduces CO2eq emissions by 20%, while shooting the video in 720p instead of 1080p reduces CO2eq by 30%.
• Use Wi-Fi instead of mobile networks. Mobile networks emit around six times more GHG than Wi-Fi. Adopting more energy-efficient digital technologies can help significantly reduce carbon footprint.
• Maximize ad targeting. Targeting is a better use of marketing budgets, drastically reducing pointless impressions that needlessly generate carbon emissions.
• Reduce the number of bidding parties at auctions. The more competition and middlemen there are in the auction process, the more calculations become necessary, leading to higher carbon emissions. To combat this, advertisers should reduce the number of stakeholders involved in the process.

True change calls for industry-wide collaboration. Organizations led by marketers and analysts from all industries have stepped up to lend industry-level expertise to the growing issue of sustainable advertising. Scope3, a leading force in creating standardization around carbon footprint measurement in advertising, is recognized as a trusted source for sustainable programmatic optimization. The organization has introduced Green Media Products (GMPs) as carbon-neutral media that can be easily measured per advertising campaign. By allocating spend to GMPs, carbon can be priced into decisions for reducing emissions.

By evaluating the advertising channels and marketing strategies behind digital campaigns, advertisers can build systematic carbon accounting and an accelerated reduction plan for their media buy. This ultimately creates new standards to decarbonize the industry’s supply chains. There is still ample progress to be made in the advertising industry’s sustainability journey. By working hand in hand and adopting more sustainable practices and technologies, the industry can play a significant role in the fight against climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/how-advertisers-can-take-the-lead-in-reducing-carbon-emissions/
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