Here’s an interesting conundrum two executives at different advertising companies recently faced: Both had committed to measuring and reporting their carbon emissions, but their emissions numbers were going up, not down.
It may seem counterintuitive, but publicly disclosing emissions data that’s “bad news” (i.e. going up) is still a good idea.
It’s critical to our industry’s ability to become sustainable.
While our ultimate and urgent goal is to reduce emissions, getting companies used to reporting even when they have higher emissions is a critical step in the process.
Transparent emissions measurement
Right now, companies in most countries can choose if they want to measure their carbon emissions and report them, but that’s about to change. Already, about forty countries have mandatory emissions reporting in place. And in the US, sixteen states and Puerto Rico have legislation in motion to make emissions reporting a requirement.
Getting started before the regulatory spotlight shines bright can make life a lot easier. It takes time for companies to retain a credible third-party measurement consultancy, get all of the mechanisms in place to perform an audit, and understand how to process the results.
What’s more, companies that are creating baseline emissions numbers for themselves now are understanding the normal fluctuations based on business activity and getting smarter faster.
The two executives mentioned earlier were seeing their emissions rise as a result of their companies hosting more events and conducting more business travel post-Covid.
While many other companies likely also increased their emissions for these same reasons, these companies now understand the direct correlation between their business growth and their CO2 output. The next step is to determine how to grow their business and lower emissions at the same time – and they have the insights to do it.
Measuring scope 3 emissions requires cross-company cooperation
Honest public reporting will be even more important for lowering scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company itself and are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by it. They are created by the third parties contracted to do business with that company. This includes everything from travel to ad agencies and ad tech providers – the whole advertising supply chain.
Consultancies can estimate the brand’s scope 3 emissions, but these estimations will be more accurate if a company has access to actual emissions data as well as overall reports from those third-party companies.
Public disclosure of emissions is an absolute must. We need to know the relative emissions of a business class flight or a video ad.
Executives at companies that fall within a brand’s scope 3 emissions might be nervous that a higher emissions report will put them at a disadvantage. Advertisers might pick a competitor with better numbers (or, while they can get away with it, one that does no reporting at all).
However, the companies that are diving in and figuring out what business activities raise their emissions are getting a head start.
Smarter measurement, more sustainable growth
As we work to create some kind of emissions currency to better understand the relative CO2 footprint of advertising activity, more reporting means more accuracy.
Advertisers are starting to buy and sell ads using mechanisms that estimate the emissions of an ad being served, or certain data being used. That involves a lot of complicated math. The more accurate we can be, the more effective advertisers will become at minimizing their carbon footprint.
There are so many ways advertisers are working to reduce emissions, from keeping production shoots local to using renewable-energy-powered data centers to adopting new technologies and processes that are more efficient.
Weighing the sustainability costs of one shooting location over another or one technology over another requires accurate reporting – both good and bad.
Fortunately, there are a number of organizations that have created resources to help advertisers measure and reduce emissions.
AdGreen is a UK-based nonprofit that has scaled its carbon calculator for creative production. Isla is another nonprofit that offers a robust tool called TRACE, which tracks emissions from events. The WFA’s GARM has created a “Sustainability Quick Action Guide” for media planning and buying.
And advertisers can learn more about setting science-based targets for their business overall through SBTi, SME Climate Hub and The Climate Pledge.
Most of all, remember why our industry is focusing more on sustainability measurement and reporting in the first place: to reduce our carbon footprint! To make positive changes, you have to be honest about where you need to improve. Sometimes, a bad report can be a good thing.
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.
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