Ad Net Zero, a global climate action programme in the advertising industry, has launched the first iteration of the Global Media Sustainability Framework.
Launched at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the framework offers 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 framework is the outcome of a 12-month, GARM-led global engagement effort to build a series of common measurement processes and includes the first versions of formulae, as well as tools to help efficiently collect emissions data from companies throughout the media supply chain.
There has been no consistent, agreed-upon industry-wide measurement framework prior to this.
The Global Media Sustainability Framework has been supported by some of the world’s largest advertisers, as well as the world’s six largest advertising holding companies, major media owners, tech companies and trade bodies, many of which have contributed to its development, it was shared.
The work was supervised and assessed for consistency with “best carbon accounting practices” by a Climate Science Expert Group, including representatives from PwC, Brain Oxygen, Climate Impact Partners, BL Evolution and top climate experts from Unilever, Reckitt, and Diageo.
A key foundation for the development of the formulae used in the framework has been provided by the Oneframe Initiative in France, with specific components provided by SRI, Alliance Digitale, SNPTV and UPE.
Sebastian Munden, Chair, Ad Net Zero, said that the standards 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,” added Munden.
The Advertising Association, Ad Net Zero and Kantar have also launched a new reporting initiative to track advertising’s impact on sustainable behaviour change.