The advertising sector recently took a huge step forward towards a more sustainable ecosystem with the launch of the long-awaited Global Media Sustainability Framework.
Now exclusively owned by Ad Net Zero after GARM was forced to close following legal actions by owner X Elon Musk, this initiative is the culmination of over a year of close collaboration between parties across the industry.
At Impact Plus, we are delighted to be involved in the creation of the first iteration of the new framework and continue to discuss its development. Unveiled this year at the Cannes Lions Film Festival, it aims to standardize the way advertisers, publishers and agencies assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by their advertising campaigns.
While this is only a first step, the new framework, which has broad support across Adland, plays a key role in providing a common language and currency for the industry to support its mission to tackle the excessive carbon footprint of digital advertising.
But at 67 dense pages, covering everything from standards, methodologies and best practices, you could be forgiven if you haven’t yet had a chance to read the new document from cover to cover. However, since Ad Net Zero took sole ownership following the dissolution of GARM in August, now is the perfect opportunity to tackle it.
To help you save time, we’ve put together five key things you should know about the new framework and how working with the right sustainability platform can help:
The original article was published on Impact Plus Blog.
1. Don’t you think it affects you? Think again
It would be easy to think that the new framework doesn’t really apply to you and that someone who has “sustainability” in their job title should be concerned about it. Besides, there are already many existing frameworks and it’s only voluntary, right?
But it looks like this new framework will change everything. Although in the past their development was largely the responsibility of French industry organizations and private companies, this new framework is the result of industry-wide collaboration between more than 120 organizations operating in 42 markets. To give you an idea of ​​the numbers we are talking about, the process involved 53 marketers, six media agency holding companies, 31 media owners, 27 industry associations and 23 media sustainability solutions companies, collaborating in six working groups.
Several big players also took part. The companies and organizations involved in the launch include, of course, WFA, ANA, Diageo, Dentsu, Google, GroupM, Havas, IAB, IAB Europe, L’Oreal, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Mastercard, Meta and Impact Plus. just to name a few.
So the near-universal acceptance, the global reach and the fact that it will eventually cover all advertising channels means that whether you work on the advertiser side, the publisher side or any other company, this new platform will have an impact on the way you work.
2. But there is no need to panic
While we said the new framework changes everything, there’s no need to panic, no matter where you are in your sustainability journey.
For those of you who haven’t started yet, this is a great place to start your sustainability journey. The framework simplifies the process of selecting sustainability suppliers, and Ad Net Zero support provides a common currency for assessing emissions and interoperability between suppliers. So any decision you make about which vendors you use will focus on how well their solutions meet your needs, rather than spending time examining how their models differ from each other.
Meanwhile, for those who have already implemented various guidelines for measuring, comparing and limiting ad exposure, this is not a huge change from what has been done before and it should be relatively easy to apply the new framework retroactively.
This is because, while important, the new framework does not represent a radical departure from work previously done. It was built with previous standards in mind (specifically for Digital, Alliance Digitale’s SRI methodology and OneFrame for other channels) and created after much input from leading greenhouse gas measurement providers. It is also consistent with IPCC and GHG approaches used in other sectors.
There’s plenty of help available too, starting with choosing the right sustainability platform to help you through the process.
3. A continuous journey towards greener advertising
Another key point about the new framework is that it is only the first step in a much broader journey.
There is still much work to be done and the framework will continue to evolve as the industry moves towards more precise emissions assessments.
Below is a chart showing the steps planned to be taken in future iterations:
This is because although the framework already covers several media channels and their formulas, it is missing some default key data that can be used when the ideal data point is not available. This means that anyone implementing a framework must still work based on their own assumptions. .
Until we have them, adapting the various methodologies available in the market will continue to be a challenge. That’s why this is the focus of the current wave (2), listed as “Hacking Emissions Data.”
Having a unified framework will not only help align these “assumed” values, but also opens the door for the industry to work out a solution on how to obtain missing data and ensure increasingly accurate calculations.
As frameworks continue to evolve and data points adjust, working with a dedicated sustainability platform is crucial to help you maintain a competitive edge as you make changes. Impact Plus will keep you updated on all changes on our blog.
4. The framework isn’t really complicated to understand – especially if you’re working with a sustainability partner
While the 67-page report, each containing a lot of talk about “principles”, “broadcasting approach”, “relevance” and “data specificity”, may seem daunting, each channel has its own broadcasting framework that can be easily tracked. Especially if you focus only on the two necessary parts, which are written in much simpler language.
Each of these channel patterns includes the following elements:
- A workflow showing the different stages of the advertising lifecycle, from production to consumption;
- A table defining the functional units, emissions from the required data sources, and a formula to combine these elements to calculate emissions.
For example, below is a chart detailing the workflow (A) for a digital channel.
As you can see, it covers the different stages of the advertising journey and provides a blueprint.
Meanwhile, the image below shows a fragment of table (B) that takes a closer look at the distribution phase. In the “Selection of advertising space” stage, you can see that there is a sub-stage called real-time bidding (RTB), which generates emissions through the servers processing the broadcast.
The scale of these emissions depends on the number of views, the number of paths/requests made and the required computation time. Finally, there is a formula to calculate the emissions from this stage. This is repeated to define each step and substep from each phase of the workflow that causes emissions.
This is a fantastic step towards greater transparency and helps everyone easily understand and use the same language to discuss the different metrics, data points and milestones that determine emissions. However, in practice, implementing this solution can still be complicated.
Because the activity is a combination of different channels, platforms, creative types, call types, ad selection processes, etc., it quickly becomes a complex system that can be operated alone and that does not even involve data visualization, insights, or tracking reductions and simulations that usually accompany raw environmental data to make the most of it.
For this reason, we recommend working with dedicated vendors to ensure proper implementation and maintenance in the future. If you have your own reporting systems and data capabilities, it is usually possible to integrate data directly from these tools to power your own reporting and optimization systems.
5. There are things you can do now
Now that you know that the industry is changing significantly, what are you going to do about it?
There is already considerable frustration within the industry at the perceived lack of action across the Adland region to tackle the advertising issue. But instead of waiting, you can do something now to help. When you launch a new platform, there’s never been a better time to get started, especially if you haven’t already partnered with a sustainability measurement provider.
To help you, we have prepared some useful links for further reading that you can use.
The first place we recommend you read this guide is a much quicker way to become familiar with the new guidelines. The 10-point guide covers the following areas:
- Selecting the right sustainable suppliers and infrastructure
- Optimizing creative resources for media decarbonization
- Sustainable media planning and buying
If, of course, you prefer to delve directly into the report itself, you can read it here.
If you have any other questions about the framework or about sustainability in digital advertising in general, we suggest you reach out to your sustainability partner or contact us here.
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