Advertising giants and media power players are backing an initiative aimed at boosting environmental transparency in online advertising.
Over 35 UK members of the IAB, the trade body for online advertising, including advertising giants Omnicom and Publicis along with News UK, publisher of The Times and The Sun, have submitted information about what actions they are taking when it comes to environmental sustainability.
The information comes via a voluntary IAB online questionnaire, whose aims is to heighten the green credentials of the online advertising sector.
The answers are publicly available via an online tool on the IAB’s website with the aim of improving transparency in this space and inspiring others to adopt similar practices.
The FAQs also provide submitters with a centralised source to compile the steps they are taking, providing a more efficient way to share information with their partners and suppliers.
The information can be updated on an ongoing basis, with viewers able to cross-compare answers across businesses to get a bird’s eye view of where progress is being made and where more attention may be needed.
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Sophia Haynes, director of transformation, IAB UK, said: “In recent years we have seen our industry galvanise itself to tackle climate change and we have a shared goal to decarbonise the digital advertising supply chain.
“While this momentum is brilliant, it has also led to a proliferation of different standards, strategies and frameworks.
“We wanted to create some cohesion and give our members a place to publicly state what they are doing in a straightforward and accessible way. We all know that achieving net zero is going to take united action and, at the root of that, is sharing.
“If we can create more transparency, accountability and efficiency in this space that can only be a good thing that accelerates our progress.”
Earlier this year, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) chief executive Guy Parker claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) tools could help counteract the increased use of unverified climate buzzwords for products.
