What London Climate Action Week revealed about the future of media sustainability 

How will you respond when the next heatwave, regulatory shift or major client tender makes the question of sustainability unavoidable? Dee Davison reflects on London Climate Action Week.

London Climate Action Week (LCAW) coincided with record-breaking June temperatures in the UK, serving as a stark reminder to LCAW attendees of why sustainability matters. 

What stood out was how much the conversation has matured. Many businesses have moved beyond just asking whether sustainability delivers commercial value. Instead, the focus has shifted towards how sustainability can be embedded into everyday business decisions to strengthen resilience, improve efficiency and support long-term value creation.

Media businesses occupy a unique position in this landscape. As well as managing their own environmental impacts, they are well placed to shape public discourse through climate storytelling, information sharing and education. This is an incredibly powerful position.

The business case for sustainability is clear

The global media and entertainment industry accounts for an estimated 4% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, driven by physical production, data storage, and streaming. 

At Reset Connect, one of LCAW’s main events, the keynote addressed organisational maturity, distinguishing between organisations that are lagging, progressing, or leading on sustainability. A recurring message was clear: while the ethical case remains, leaders now see resilience and economics as equal drivers. 

There was evidence to support this too. A recent survey by Ecologi found that 84% of businesses had experienced at least one climate-related impact in the past two years, with 70% reporting subsequent impact on turnover.

We know this is already playing out in the media sector. Extreme heat is hitting production schedules, office operations and outdoor advertising. Manufacturing of technology and hardware can be disrupted by raw material availability, water shortages and shipping routes. Employee expectations are increasing, particularly among younger workers, who often want to be associated with companies that both say and do the right thing when it comes to climate and social impact. A robust sustainability approach can help businesses to be more resilient to these impacts and better prepared for the future.

Building business value starts with good data

For media businesses serious about building value from sustainability, the most important step is to understand their material impacts.

Media operations are complex and varied. If we consider greenhouse gas emissions for a broadcaster, an outdoor advertising company, a publishing group, and a digital media business, each has different hotspots.

Their footprints will include energy use across offices, data centres, travel, and commuting, as well as supply chain products and services. The variances come when we look at studios, embodied carbon in screens, signage, printing, hardware, or the energy intensity of digital distribution, for example.

Getting a clear picture requires methodical data collection and analysis across all three emission scopes. Many organisations are still in the early stages of this, and supplier data can be sparse, assumption-based and varied, making Scope 3 (supply chain) calculations especially challenging.

Improving Scope 3 data doesn’t happen overnight, but it matters hugely. Stricter rules, like the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, mean that green claims must be backed by clear evidence. Better supplier data not only helps a business set more realistic targets and measure progress but also provides a more credible foundation for communicating with regulators, investors, customers and employees.

Data is vital for open and transparent communication

The risk of greenwashing has left some companies reticent about communicating progress for fear of regulatory scrutiny or public backlash. This practice, known as ‘greenhushing ’, was also discussed at LCAW. 

Greenhushing carries particular risk for media companies. Silence may feel safe, but it can leave audiences and employees unsure of what a business stands for or what progress it is making. It creates an information vacuum, leaving stakeholders to draw their own conclusions. 

In a sector where trust and editorial integrity are a core value, it is best to communicate openly about your sustainability journey, including what’s working and what’s challenging, as well as giving credible evidence to support your statements.

Moving from data to action

While good data is the foundation, it’s what you do with it that generates value. Media businesses making the most progress are those that have embedded sustainability across their operations, rather than treating it in isolation. 

Ocean Outdoor, the international digital out-of-home business, illustrates what this looks like in practice. Ocean built a rigorous baseline measurement of its emissions footprint, established clear reduction pathways through a decarbonisation plan and Science Based Targets, and developed sustainability awareness and ownership across the business.

Ocean Outdoor and Watts Sustainability were recently Highly Commended in the Net Zero Strategy of the Year category at the 2026 UK Green Business Awards for this work. 

While this recognition is welcome, the more important point is the discipline behind it. Ocean treats decarbonisation as a strategic and operational programme, not a communications exercise. This has enabled a significant reduction in Scope 2 emissions. It also supports conversations with clients who are themselves under pressure to account for emissions across their value chains.  

Beyond broad ambition

So, we have seen a case for action, even if some companies aren’t talking openly about it. Data is the foundation for growth, and embedding sustainability into the fibres of a business is where we can build real value.

Thankfully, the version of sustainability that lives solely in annual reports and award entries is becoming increasingly difficult to justify as scrutiny from regulators, clients and employees grows. Another version that lives in energy management systems, procurement policies, supply chain audits, and company KPIs demonstrates that this is where real business value can be uncovered.

At LCAW, the overriding message was optimistic but realistic. Businesses pushing ahead on sustainability are doing so because the economics are clear and the risk of inaction is too high. 

For media companies, the question is how quickly we can unlock the business value of sustainability. Experience tells us that early movers will be better placed when the next heatwave, regulatory shift or major client tender makes the question of sustainability unavoidable.

Dee Davison is principal consultant at Watts Sustainability, a consultancy supporting media and creative businesses with decarbonisation strategy, carbon measurement, and sustainability communications.