Ad Net Zero (ANZ) has published the first
iteration of its Global Media Sustainability
Framework — a series of
voluntary industry standards to improve consistent, comparable measurement of
greenhouse gas emissions from digital, television, print, audio, outdoor and
cinema channels. The new framework has been supported by a collection of the
world’s largest advertisers — as well as the world’s 6 largest advertising
holding companies, major media owners, tech companies and trade bodies — many of
whom have contributed to its development.
The framework is the outcome of a 12-month, global engagement effort led by the
Global Alliance for Responsible
Media (GARM) to build a
series of common measurement processes and includes the first versions of
formulas, as well as tools to help efficiently collect emissions data from
companies throughout the media supply chain. Until now, there has been no
standardized, industry-wide measurement framework.
Long overdue
The climate impacts of digital media have long been a missing component of
brands’ successful carbon-reduction
strategies
and have only recently become a priority for the industry. Recent research from
ethical ad agency Good-Loop found that over 66 percent of brand marketers feel
there is insufficient education and
training
on sustainable media; many marketers say they want to address this but are
unsure how. And while companies such as Mars have begun working to both
reduce the impact of their
advertising
and increase awareness around the topic, the industry tanker continues to turn
very slowly. ANZ and GARM’s new framework represents a much-needed step forward.
“The GARM framework represents a significant step towards making digital
marketing more sustainable,” says Arthur
Millet, General Manager at Alliance
Digitale. “We embarked on this journey two years ago with the SRI, aiming to
create a unified measurement
framework
for digital carbon emissions. We are excited to see that the SRI x Alliance
Digitale framework has served as a crucial foundation for a worldwide solution.
A lot has been accomplished, and there’s still work to do.”
Creating the framework
Six cross-industry working groups — supported by the Responsible Marketing
Agency
—produced the comprehensive set of voluntary standards to help reduce varying
approaches to measurement, data and reporting. This approach ensured widespread
support and action across the industry — with 70 percent of responding
organizations saying they plan to implement voluntary standards in ways that are
relevant to their media operations.
The goal is to help every advertiser and their partners understand and take
effective action to reduce the carbon impact of their media plans — in line with
Action 3 of the Ad Net Zero Action
Plan.
“Today’s release of standard calculations for the carbon footprint of major
media channels is a significant milestone for Ad Net Zero and the global ad
industry,” says ANZ Chair Sebastian
Munden. “They are the
starting point for creating a common currency for global voluntary adoption: a
base for calculating reduction and accelerating progress. Concerted efforts to
reduce the carbon footprint of
media
should go hand in hand with the efforts to support more sustainable choices to
change the way we work and change the work we make. The ad industry has the
business opportunity of a generation to be part of the solution.”
The framework has been supervised and assessed for consistency with best
carbon-accounting practices by a climate-science expert group that includes
representatives from BL Evolution, Brain Oxygen, Climate Impact
Partners, PwC and climate experts from Diageo, Reckitt and
Unilever. A key foundation for the development of the formulas used in the
framework has been provided by the Oneframe
Initiative — with specific components provided by the
Syndicat des Régies Internet (SRI), Alliance
Digitale, SNPTV
and UPE.
Version 1
The first iteration of the Framework contains formulas for TV, digital and
OOH (representing 81 percent of global 2023 ad spend, according to
Magna), with formulas
for the remaining three media types — audio, print and cinema — to
follow. It is expected that the formulas will continue to be refined.
“We are proud to have worked closely with the GARM and ANZ community to arrive
at this important milestone,” says Michael
Todd, Global Director of
Industry Relations at Google. “Standardization is a vital component in
driving the industry towards making more sustainable media choices and bringing
more clarity to this area is an important achievement. This has been a true team
effort; and we are excited to continue to work with GARM, Ad Net Zero and our
partners to contribute to the next stage in this process to further refine the
framework.”
In addition to the formulas for six media channels, the new framework provides the industry with:
-
A common, enterprise-level data request form for more efficient collection
of company data from media sellers, with more specific channel-level data
being required in the framework over time.
-
A disclosure form for the industry to understand the scope, data rigor and
scientific validation of media-sustainability solutions providers.
-
A voluntary monitoring template to help GARM and ANZ learn about the
adoption and effectiveness of the frameworks.
“The publication of the Garm/Ad Net Zero framework is an essential step to take
concrete action on the carbon emissions of communication campaigns,” says Hervé
Navellou, President of L’Oréal
France and the Union des
Marques. “I am happy to have been one of the
initiators of the Oneframe initiative with L’Oréal France, which is one of the
foundations of this approach. I encourage all actors to seize this opportunity
to implement global and local decarbonization management of their media
campaigns on all identified levers — whether from the point of view of asset
size, media mix and/or planning, in particular.”
How the global advertising industry can play a key role in driving this framework forward
-
Advertisers are asked to check that the partners who measure GHG emissions
from their media activities are using the Global Media Sustainability Framework.
-
Agencies can ensure their own tools or partners are using the Global Media
Sustainability Framework and make GHG emissions a consideration for all media
plans.
-
Media owners can supply the requested data to advertisers, agencies and other
solutions providers in as much granularity as possible, continually improving
the quality of this data over time.
Stephanie
Betrand-Tassilly,
Global Chief CSR Officer at Havas Group, says: “Working with our peers to
define a common carbon metric makes perfect sense. At Havas, we’re already
measuring the carbon impact of our creative, events and media campaigns; but we
want to go further, to work towards a set of industry standards. Collaboration
is key and will enable us to accelerate the decarbonization of the advertising
sector.”
What’s next?
GARM and Ad Net Zero’s next goal will be to establish an efficient system to
transfer emissions data between buyers and sellers, followed by validation of
media GHG data using agreed industry voluntary standards. Uptake and adoption
will be tracked, with the first results published in Q2 of 2025.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jun 20, 2024 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST