Does the Ad Industry Take Sustainability Seriously?

In an era where climate change looms large and consumers increasingly demand ethical accountability, the ad industry stands at a crossroads: does it prioritise profits or planet? On Earth Day, we delve into this critical question, probing the complex relationship between advertising and environmental responsibility.

Despite growing awareness, skeptics argue that greenwashing often prevails over genuine commitment to sustainability. Yet, amidst the cynicism, there are glimmers of hope as some brands and agencies pioneer eco-friendly practices and advocate for systemic change.

We asked a stellar, global panel of industry experts the big question, and discover if they feel that the media ecosystem is taking sustainability as either a token gesture or a fundamental ethos.

Sustainability Needs to Become a Primary KPI

For some incredibly seriously. Of course though a lot more can be done, and at an accelerated pace. Sustainability needs to pivot to become a primary KPI. Where working with sustainable suppliers becomes as much of a mandatory requirement as working in brand safe environments. Buyers need education and knowledge sources on who is and isn’t sustainable in their supply chain. Meanwhile the clean-up process in the supply chain has started and those who have taken care of their own sustainability should benefit from higher demand for their services. We are at the precipice of industry wide change if we all act on it quickly.

Hannah Mirza, Founder and CEO, Responsible Marketing Agency

AI-Driven Programmatic Technology Can be More Sustainable

Ensuring sustainability for the open web supply chain is hugely important. The good news is AI-driven programmatic advertising technology directly helps this approach, as a result of its efficiency in reducing wastage and then optimising better performing impressions for the buy-side. Supply-side curation also enables better matching versus this being done on the buy-side. All this new efficiency can reduce the QPS for DSPs, as they no longer have to work so hard to find the impressions that matter. We are seeing the positive impact of this on our cloud emissions and look forward to the acceleration of curation driving more positive impact for all.

Filippo Gramigna, COO, Onetag