The World Federation of Advertisers’ (WFA) Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) has partnered with the Advertising Association’s (AA) Ad Net Zero initiative to launch a guide to sustainable media for advertisers.
The guide identifies areas where advertisers can consider action now to reduce the direct carbon emissions of their advertising activity.
These include detailed recommendations for sustainable supplier selection and infrastructure practices, optimising assets for media decarbonisation, and sustainable media planning and buying practices.
The guide, GARM Sustainability: Action Guide to Reduce Media Greenhouse Gas Emissions, will be formally published as part of Beet.TV’s Sustainability Summit today at Cannes Lions.
Earlier this week at Cannes, Ad Net Zero announced it will require all of its supporters to publicly declare a “science-based net zero target” and measure and report their progress annually.
The guide seeks to consolidate current best practice on media sustainability. Top brands like Diageo, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Mars, Mastercard, Reckitt, and L’Oréal, as well as trade bodies the 4A’s, ANA, and ISBA and agency holding companies, publishers, data and technology provides have played a part in creating the guide.
Among the suggestions are ways to reduce duplication in programmatic actions and infrastructure, create a supplier “greenlist”, maximise value from existing creative, and compress digital ad formats to reduce the energy needed to play them.
“Anyone involved in the media planning and buying of advertising campaigns can take immediate steps to decarbonise their impact,” said Ad Net Zero chair Sebastian Munden. “This guide sets out very clearly what you can do and where to remove carbon emissions from your day-to-day media plans. As a result, you can reduce the negative impact while retaining the full effectiveness of your adspend. Climate change is a real and present issue in all our lives – there is no excuse for inaction and we urge you to ensure industry colleagues do the same.”
In addition to the guide, GARM has also created a Climate Science Expert Group to ensure industry efforts are aligned with current science. The group consists of members from Brain Oxygen, the British Standards Institution, and brand-side chief sustainability officers from Mastercard, Reckitt, and Unilever.
