Verification
In my world, it is self-evident that no one should make claims or accept claims from others without reputable third-party verification. It’s astonishing to see how many ad firms are putting out emissions figures or making claims about being “green,” “carbon neutral” or “net zero” without any serious, transparent third-party verification. It’s even more astonishing how others in the sector seem to believe these unsubstantiated claims.
Climate experts understand the importance of verification and can help you with the mechanics. It’s just like making sure your financial and performance data can be accepted by your stakeholders.
Transparency
Brands should require in their contracting terms that every company in their advertising value chain with significant revenues (e.g., over $100 million) create a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, have it verified by a reputable third-party (for less than the cost of a cocktail party) and disclose the inventory publicly through a well-recognized platform, such as CDP, The Climate Registry or the Global Reporting Initiative.
This action will quickly align the sector with the rest of the world, help ad companies become aware of their own impact and create the data needed to have more accurate estimates of ad campaign impacts.
One of the reasons I’m optimistic is that OpenX recently demonstrated how quickly the ad sector can move by becoming not just the first certified carbon-neutral company in the industry but the first company in the world to meet the Science Based Technology initiative (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard. That fact has really impressed the climate community, demonstrating that the ad sector is serious about climate and making collaboration more attractive.
As much as those of you in advertising feel like you may need climate experts, the truth is that we are the ones who really need you: You have a superpower that we generally, painfully, lack—the ability to change behavior. We need to work together, now, to have a chance to avoid the worst of the complex, planet-wide impacts of climate change. The ad industry will play a critical role in changing behaviors everywhere, becoming a hero on the path to net zero in record time.
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