Seven out of 10 UK marketers say they are currently tracking the carbon emissions generated by their digital ad campaigns, according to new research by purpose-led ad platform Good-Loop.

However, the new report – which looks into how Adland is tackling the environmental impact of their online ads – also found that 84% still think the ad industry is not doing enough to tackle the carbon footprint of digital advertising. 

As the digital ad ecosystem has become more complex and fragmented – fuelled primarily by the energy required to support the rise in programmatic advertising – the negative impact it has on the environment has also increased. 

A typical online ad campaign emits 5.4 tons of carbon (source: Good-Loop) – almost half of what a UK consumer generates every year, while one million video impressions have the same carbon footprint as someone flying from Boston to London and back (source: Scope3).

To help understand how the ad industry is tackling the environmental impact of their digital ad campaigns – including the challenges faced and plans for future action – Good-Loop, a company that helps advertisers measure, reduce, and offset the carbon footprint of their online ads, surveyed over 400 digital marketers in the UK and US. 

Findings from the study “Counting Carbon: How U.K. Marketers Are Tackling Adland's Climate Crisis” include: 

• Nine in every 10 (90%) UK marketers believe the digital advertising industry has a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions;
• Seventy-one percent of UK marketers are tracking the carbon cost of their digital advertising campaigns;
• Eighty-four percent of UK marketers believe the digital advertising industry needs to do more to help reduce carbon emissions;
• Eighty-seven percent of agency marketers in the UK and 61% of UK brand marketers believe “sustainability is more important than the cost of media”;
• Seven in 10 (70%) UK agency marketers and more than half (63%) of brand marketers believe there are not enough education/training programmes on sustainable media;
• Thirty-eight percent say their organisation plans to reach net zero in digital advertising at some point in the future, but only 15% say they have been set targets.

Amy Williams, CEO and founder of purpose-led ad platform Good-Loop, said: “This UK research confirms what we already knew to be true – people across Adland care deeply about tackling our carbon problem and making advertising a positive force in the world. But in order to reach ad net zero, we now need more industry-wide education and we must collaborate to develop universal sustainable standards, to guide future best practices."

To download the study, click here.