Progress is being made to improve sustainable practices in advertising. However, until we reach a stage where it’s widely accepted that the best approach for business is also the sustainable one, reducing the industry’s carbon footprint at the rate required will be challenging.

That’s why, as 2025 kicks off, this year has to be the one where the industry has a change of mindset regarding how it views sustainability.

Visibility into ad emissions sheds light on much more

The ad industry’s contributions to the climate crisis are no longer being ignored. In the last two years, marketers have realised the problem and their role in it and rallied into action faster than the industry has ever seen. The demand for standards, for instance, has materialised into a solid framework as new (and established) industry bodies like Ad Net Zero and IAB Europe helped bring something to life in under a year.

Now, nearly 70% of digital ad businesses are thinking about sustainability, which is cited as important as cookieless targeting and measurement according to IAB Europe’s latest industry report. What’s driving this? Yes, it’s partly due to the benefit of society as a whole. Yes, it has armed marketers with a fresh way to contribute to their organisation’s broader sustainability targets. But, there’s also a surprising benefit that has turned sustainability into a major differentiator.

Visibility into ad emissions data has reopened the conversation on media quality.

Out with the old: maximising reach to hit marketing goals

The industry is due for a change. For years marketers have faced increasing pressure to deliver more results with tighter budgets. That thinking is at odds with our new ways of working. With it, sustainability measures feel restrictive and carry the misconception that implementation will reduce a brand’s reach, negatively impacting performance or compromising commercial goals. But, achieving the greatest reach for the lowest cost isn’t the most effective way to achieve marketing outcomes, and now it comes at a cost to other business objectives.

Brands must abandon the volume-based strategies of yesterday and accept two fundamental truths. The first is that sustainability is here to stay. Becoming more sustainable is not optional. Impending reporting requirements and upcoming legislation will make factoring it into your planning mandatory. The second is that sustainability reduces waste. Fraud, non-viewable, poorly performing ads, or other forms of waste (like ads no one sees) have bloated marketing campaigns. All of that is wasted carbon on low-quality media.

Once accepted, brands can see the potential of sustainability as the first of a new era of signals for boosting overall media quality. That’s the mindset shift we need.

Five steps to dive positive change

It’s an issue that was brought to life at our event at the end of last year. The ‘Advancing Sustainable Media Together’ forum brought together major players from brands, agencies and media owners including broadcast, digital, OOH and print advertising to share, learn and discuss ways in which the industry can drive real, positive change when it comes to sustainability in 2025.

1. Ensure senior stakeholders understand complexity - sustainability is complex. So is the media. It means the intersection of the two can be extremely challenging for those whose focus and expertise is in other parts of the business. Making it as simple as possible and demonstrating measurable impact is key to getting senior buy-in to initiatives.
2. Prepare to fail the progression path is not linear - some ideas will work, others won’t. What is important is the desire to experiment, try different ways of doing things, and not fear failure.
3. Keep leading the charge - we must be accountable while learning because the industry doesn’t have years to become sustainable. Innovation alone isn’t enough. Our industry is good at innovating (think curation, viewability, and header bidding), but for it to make a real difference in our sustainability journey, it has to be combined with urgency.
4. Collaboration is key, especially with the naysayers - there will always be the cynics and non-believers… Those people are important, too. The ones who say ‘it can’t be done’ ignite action among others and expose the biggest challenges to adoption or change.
5. The biggest threat and opportunity is AI - AI is having a transformational impact across all areas of our life. Harnessing AI can be hugely effective in sustainability if we approach it responsibly. Decarbonising the process is essential.

Creating a cleaner and more efficient media ecosystem

In today’s world, the advertising industry cannot succeed long-term without some moral agenda, without a belief that it is helping solve the world’s problems. Focusing on this will create a cleaner and more efficient media ecosystem, and benefit advertisers at the same time.