Only 35% of creative and advertising agencies have already set objectives focused on achieving carbon neutrality.
The echoes of carbon neutrality resonate increasingly strongly in the advertising industry. However, not all players in this field of activity make equal efforts to achieve the desired carbon neutrality. This is what emerges from a recent report by Ad Net Zero, a global program whose ultimate objective is to help the advertising industry stop the climate crisis that is so severely scourged on planet Earth.
The Ad Net Zero study, which anchors in publicly available information and also in the insights provided by those who support this initiative, concludes that 100% of the ad tech platforms have already established objectives aimed at carbon neutrality and short-term carbon emissions reduction targets. Along these lines, 88% of advertisers have already set objectives focused on carbon neutrality, while 100% have short-term emissions reduction objectives.
The other side of the coin, however, is the agencies. Only 35% of creative and advertising agencies have already set targets to be carbon neutral, although 54% have already set short-term emissions reduction targets.
Nor do production companies do their homework when it comes to carbon neutrality. Only 34% of production companies have set goals to achieve carbon neutrality. In the advertising industry, there is therefore a conspicuous imbalance between the different “players” of this sector when it comes to cutting carbon emissions.
The advertising industry is still a long way from achieving carbon neutrality
Last June, Ad Net Zero required all its partners to set goals (backed by science) with a focus on carbon neutrality within a year. And its latest report shows that in the advertising industry there is still much to do to fly (in a 100% authentic way) the flag of carbon neutrality
«Although it is evident that there has been progress, it is not enough. And we are still very far from achieving our objectives,” emphasizes Sebastian Munden, president of Ad Net Zero.
While there has been notable progress among advertisers in recent months in embracing carbon neutrality, the still weak standards by which agencies and production companies are governed are creating a domino effect throughout the supply chain. of the marketing and advertising industry.
In its report, Ad Net Zero gives a slap on the wrist to both agencies and production companies and emphasizes that the slow adoption of neutrality by these “players” is what has ultimately forced this organization to establish a few years ago. months mandatory requirements for all its partners.
The Ad Net Zero study also reveals that media owners (of which only 25% have set carbon neutrality goals) have an absolutely colossal responsibility in setting and meeting zero targets. net emissions. Not surprisingly, WPP estimates that media planning and buying could gobble up up to 54% of global emissions in all areas of the advertising industry.
To help players in the advertising industry meet carbon neutrality goals, Ad Net Zero has created a plan that focuses on five key areas when it comes to cutting carbon emissions:
- Business operations.
- Production, which implies particularly cutting costs in travel and transportation, which are, after all, the activities that generate the most emissions.
- Media planning and purchasing, where the creation of a standardized methodology to measure the emissions emanating from media campaigns is urgently needed.
- Awards and other events, where alliances must be forged between large advertising groups and contest organizers to praise those campaigns with a minimal carbon footprint.
- Harness the power of advertising to spur far-reaching changes in consumer habits.
