IPG Mediabrands boosts data around carbon footprint of digital ads

• IPG Mediabrands has partnered with Scope3 to enhance how the media buying agency measures and reduces the carbon footprint of digital advertising, according to a company release. Mediabrands is the first media company to work with Scope3 on a global scale.
• As part of the deal, Mediabrands will offer clients emissions measurement, compensation and reduction capabilities.
• The partnership is the latest among several industry initiatives aimed at developing more accountability for the industry’s environmental footprint.

Mediabrands said it will ultimately shift investment to platforms that demonstrate a commitment to continuous emission reduction. Through the Scope3 partnership, Mediabrands is making a big push to secure the necessary data about carbon emissions. These developments come as some marketers express concern about the environmental costs of their activities and are looking to agency partners to develop methods to measure and reduce their impact, particularly when it comes to digital advertising. 

“For action to be taken, access to accurate data and reporting is an essential first step. Scope3 provides critical insights and information that enable us to make smarter, cleaner investment choices,” said Mediabrands Global CEO Eileen Kiernan in a release.

Working with Scope3, Mediabrands expects to gain greater insights into the emissions impact of its digital ad initiatives, including end-to-end emissions data for every impression. The agency will give clients access to Scope3’s Green Media Products, which use emissions data to calculate the cost of carbon into the price of advertising, providing a path to carbon-neutral activations. 

The agency is also expecting to use Scope3’s emissions measurement data to work with the digital supply chain to develop ad delivery methods that are optimized to reduce emissions. 

More broadly, the partnership reflects how the advertising industry has increased its efforts to establish a baseline measurement system for its environmental footprint with an eye toward reaching net-zero emissions. Earlier this month, WPP’s GroupM established a Media Decarbonization Coalition that included several of its agencies and clients, including Audible Danone, Deutsche Telecom and Paramount. 

In October, U.K.-based Ad Net Zero appointed industry veteran John Osborn to lead its U.S. operations and expansion. Additionally, IPG’s Momentum Worldwide launched a partnership with event-focused sustainability action group Isla to help clients track and measure their carbon footprints in real-time. 

According to Mediabrands, 90% of the marketers it surveyed this year for its Media Responsibility Index said they were interested in finding methods beyond price efficiency to measure media value.