Marketing & Communications

Monitoring Media:
Reining in the Broader Impacts of Brand Communications

We talk a lot about the content of brand communications — but what about the other ways marketing and advertising creates social and environmental impacts? A variety of experts dove deeper at SB’24 San Diego this week.

By Hannah Zimmerman | Published 1 month ago | About a 9 minute read

Image: Joshua Earle

A big topic for the Sustainable Brands® community is increasing the effectiveness of marketing and advertising communications in helping drive more sustainable consumer habits and lifestyles. But what about the other social and environmental impacts of corporate communications? Two rich discussions at SB’24 San Diego this week dove deeper.

Tackling GHGs in marketing and advertising

The Sphere in Las Vegas has the world’s largest outdoor advertising digital LED screen | Image credit: Shelby L. Bell

When thinking of a product's emissions, you may think of what the product is made of, how it is shipped, or how it is used as the biggest contributors to its footprint. In reality, one of the biggest sources of emissions has been largely overlooked until recently: Digital marketing and advertising. A Monday afternoon workshop explored best practices for calculating and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in marketing and advertising, while offering actionable insights for brands from industry experts and case studies.

Emissions occur at various stages of the advertising lifecycle: from production, media planning and delivery to end-of-life — for example, digital ads stored on servers. Digital channels, representing 70 percent of all advertising spend, contribute 3.5 percent of global emissions. A significant portion of these emissions arises from the production and distribution phase — where the use of data centers, consumer devices and media transmission play a role.

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Rachel Schnorr, USA Membership Director at Ad Net Zero — a nonprofit driving climate action in the advertising industry, which recently released a framework to improve and standardize measurement of emissions from digital media — put it into context: “Advertising is estimated to contribute between two and three percent of global emissions — comparable to the aviation industry. If that doesn’t sound important, consider the fact that advertising has an outsized influence on the remaining emissions of all the other industries in which marketing plays a key role.”

The role of ad agencies and media providers

As Martin Bryan — Global Chief Sustainability Officer for IPG Mediabrands — pointed out, the ad industry is uniquely positioned to lead brands in decarbonizing their media and marketing. By adopting sustainable advertising practices, agencies can drive innovation and growth through their purpose-driven work.

“The crisis is urgent, and it can be paralyzing,” Bryan said. “But the opportunity we have as marketers when we think about growth potential is enormous.”

Advertising agencies and media owners need to be part of the solution. Dr. Bill Wescott, managing partner at BrainOxygen LLC, emphasized the importance of marketers and advertisers in making themselves and their clients more impactful.

"Advertisers have superpowers that can convince consumers to change their behavior,” Westcott said. “This is how we can change the world; the next lever for change is behavior change, and no one on the planet is better at behavior change than advertisers.”

Agencies should use the growing number of resources and frameworks to account for GHG emissions in their operations and use this to help clients measure their Scope 3 emissions. Media owners and ad-tech solution providers must also commit to disciplined action, ensuring that the entire supply chain is aligned with sustainability goals.

Tools and strategies for reducing emissions

A variety of tools are available to help companies reduce their advertising-related emissions. One example that Schnorr mentioned is the AdGreen tool, which allows companies to measure the carbon footprint of ad productions. By inputting data from a specific shoot, AdGreen calculates the emissions generated — helping companies identify where reductions can be made.

A critical step for companies is to conduct Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of their ad campaigns. This involves breaking down each advertising modality — print, television, out-of-home or digital — into distinct life cycle stages, from content production to media disposal. For example, in print ads, media production generates the most emissions; while for television, distribution (transmission and use by viewers) is the highest emitter.

Jason Melbourne, Chief Data Officer at Fairglow, used its platform to examine the emissions from marketing and advertising of a multibillion-dollar French cosmetics company. Fairglow was able to break down its marketing budget across four different advertising modalities: print, television, out-of-home (for example, billboards) and digital media. The analysis showed that print ads generated the most emissions in media production, while television ads saw the highest emissions from media distribution due to the energy required for transmission and viewer devices.

The case study demonstrated that companies can reduce their environmental impact, specifically in marketing and advertising, by understanding where emissions are generated and applying tailored frameworks and strategies to reduce them.

“We believe you have to measure before you reduce,” Melbourne said. “10 years ago, no one thought marketing had that big of an impact on emissions — and now, we know better.”

As the marketing and advertising industry continues to evolve, it is critical for companies to incorporate GHG emissions into their decision-making processes. By leveraging tools, frameworks and expert guidance, companies can reduce their carbon footprint while driving innovation and growth. Collaboration across the industry, from agencies to media providers, will be essential to ensure that the future of advertising is not only profitable but sustainable.

Check out more highlights from throughout the week at SB’24 San Diego!

Combating misinformation: How strategic storytelling and media partnerships can shape public perception on climate and social issues

Image credit: Rawpixel

In today’s digital-first world, effective storytelling is important for shaping public perception — especially around critical issues such as climate change, social justice and sustainability. However, the rise of technologies such as AI and ad tech has fueled the spread of misinformation and disinformation — presenting significant challenges for reaching audiences with informed, objective, accurate narratives.

Due to its power to fuel conflict, threaten democracy and human rights, and undermine public health and climate action, disinformation topped the World Economic Forum’s 2024 list of global risks; and the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management has called for the UN to recognize the importance of responsible communication by establishing it as the 18th Sustainable Development Goal. A Wednesday afternoon panel of media leaders provided insights for brands on engaging and partnering with news media to amplify authentic stories and combat misinformation.

Challenges of misinformation and ad tech

Ad tech — which allows brands to tailor where their ads appear and which demographics see them, by flagging keywords in articles (such as “DEI” or “climate change”) that they don’t want to appear near their ads — has had a huge impact on both misinformation and journalism. Because of its pervasiveness, huge portions of the population now don’t see ads that fund the journalism being produced, which has drastically cut ad revenues for publications. This has caused layoffs of reputable journalists across the industry — which has led to the emergence of more and more rhetoric and disinformation. According to a study by Adalytics, 21 percent of economist.com articles, 30.3 percent of nytimes.com, 43 percent of wsj.com, and 52.8 percent of articles on vice.com are being labeled as “brand unsafe.”

“Advertising funds journalism,” said Alexis Schwartz, Executive Director of The Guardian US. “To have great journalism, we need paid media support.”

Despite ad tech's effects, the notion of news being unsafe for brands is a myth. In fact, a Guardian survey found that most readers feel more positively about brands (or simply don’t care at all) when their ads appear alongside content deemed risky.

Authenticity in storytelling

Louise Wilson, SVP of Partnerships at Futerra, underscored the need for authentic storytelling to drive engagement. She emphasized combining "logic and magic" — factual content supported by creativity — to create compelling narratives that resonate with audiences.

“If you just come up with a strong strategy, but if you don’t talk about it, you will get greenhushed,” Wilson said. “But if you just work on the comms side of it with great messaging, you will be accused of greenwashing.”

An example is Formula 1’s transformation from a gas-guzzling sport to one focused on sustainability. With Futerra’s help, the legendary motor racing series developed a robust strategy to decarbonize its events and adopt 100 percent synthetic fuels by 2026. Their creative use of messaging not only reached the media but also won over fans — with 82 percent appreciating their sustainability efforts and 60 percent willing to change behaviors because of it.

Paid and earned media

Both Schwartz and Wilson acknowledged the importance of both earned and paid media in amplifying impactful stories. Earned media, while validating the work done, often has a short life span. Paid media, on the other hand, can extend the reach of these stories and create longer-lasting impressions. The Guardian has partnered with organizations such as the Ford Foundation to create sponsored content that is just as impactful as traditional journalism. Schwartz stressed that paid content can be critical in funding high-quality journalism while maintaining editorial independence through donations, grants and philanthropic support. This can be seen in the piece funded by the Ford Foundation, that highlights grants offered to the informal economy during COVID-19, which provided income for people including taxi drivers, dog walkers and food cart owners when they didn’t have any assistance.

Humanizing climate action

Futerra’s work with Mars Petcare to develop an insect-based cat food is another example of blending strong communications with innovative ideas. By carefully managing the narrative and engaging with content creators and then the press, they shifted the media and public perception on a risky topic — showing how thoughtful, authentic storytelling can influence behavior.

Ultimately, the session reinforced that successful storytelling in news media requires collaboration, authenticity and a strategic approach that combines earned and paid media. Misinformation and ad tech challenges can be addressed by ensuring that accurate, compelling narratives reach the public in a brand-safe environment.

Hannah Zimmerman

Impact Manager, Purpose + Sustainability

Formerly working in the advertising world in Kansas City, Hannah Zimmerman has now married her past experience with her passion for sustainability. When she isn't chasing her four-year-old daughter or helping companies along on their sustainability journey through consulting, reporting, communications and certifications, she is working on her master's in Sustainability through Harvard.

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The Guardian US