CEO Update | June 2023

Working towards Ad Net Zero

The future prosperity of our industry rests on a multitude of factors; economic conditions, regulatory frameworks, the ongoing demonstration of effectiveness, to name a few. However, what will become ever-more important is how we collectively reduce the environmental impact of what we do. We have been working towards an industry-wide initiative with this in mind and will be officially launching Ad Net Zero in Aotearoa on Friday 4 August 2023.

Ad Net Zero is a global framework aimed at accelerating progress in carbon reduction across the advertising supply chain. There lies an inherent tension in our industry; between driving economic growth and reducing environmental harm. Ad Net Zero imagines a future in which ads are made by sustainable businesses, using sustainable production processes, distributed through sustainable media supply chains, and promoting products and services that are themselves more sustainable.

In March we ran the Axis Awards as a Net Zero Event, supported by Toitū measurement and audit. When we receive our final results, we will be publishing them so that we might help other awards programmes understand the key drivers for emissions associated with holding large events, and how to make decisions that will result in lower emission events in the future.

We are in the process of introducing organisations across the industry spectrum to the Ad Net Zero framework, which has five key pillars of action:

• Action 1: Get our house in order – Advertising business emissions
  All companies who commit to Ad Net Zero will measure their carbon footprint, and within 24 months, publicly set a reduction target. For those organisations who have not yet begun the journey, we will be providing a measurement platform to enable them to do so.
  
  
• Action 2: Curb emissions from advertising production
  Like all aspects of advertising, motion and still advertising production can be carbon intensive processes. We will be focused on working with the production industry to provide tools, resources and solutions to measure, reduce and track progress in production emissions.
  
  
• Action 3: Curb emissions from media planning & buying
  Ad Net Zero will work towards the adoption of an agreed measurement approach that will support advertisers and their media investment advisors in planning their schedules with carbon footprint in mind. This will require collaboration across the media owner and publisher landscape.
  
  
• Action 4: Curb emissions through awards and events.
  Ad Net Zero will challenge industry awards bodies to find ways to ensure that sustainability considerations inform judging. Award shows themselves will become less carbon-intensive through measurement and reduction action plans.
  
  
• Action 5: Harness advertising’s power to support consumer behaviour change.
  Leveraging the talent and expertise of our industry to accelerate positive behaviour change, bridge the gap between the scale of the climate crisis and individual choices that can make a difference.

To be successful, Ad Net Zero needs the commitment of everyone involved in the advertising industry. We will be inviting agencies, media owners, production companies, and advertisers to all come on board as Ad Net Zero supporters. Each action pillar will have a working group, focused on identifying the best path to industry-wide emissions reduction.

We are keen to share Ad Net Zero with as many interested organisations as possible between now and the official launch on Friday 4 August 2023.

To stay updated on Ad Net Zero, or to request a meeting so that we can have a more detailed conversation on the issues and proposed solutions, please get in touch, using the button below.