GroupM, the media investment arm of WPP, has announced that its agencies Mindshare, Wavemaker, MediaCom and Essence have taken another step to decarbonize Australia’s programmatic media supply chain by partnering with Good-Loop, a B Corps1 certified advertising platform, to measure, offset and reduce the carbon cost of clients’ digital campaigns.
The market-first digital sustainability initiative is designed to reduce the environmental impact of customers’ media spend and help improve advertising for the planet. It builds on GroupM’s recent announcement of an innovative new global framework to measure and reduce advertising-related carbon emissions across all five stages of the advertising lifecycle for all formats, channels and markets in accordance with Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards.
GroupM’s partnership with Good-Loop is part of Alpha, its new sustainability strategy in Australia. Alpha represents GroupM’s commitment to shaping the next era of media for future generations of Australians. Generation Alpha is the current generation of children born before 2025 who will become the greatest generation of all time. The partnership will make GroupM the first agency holding group in Australia to offer carbon offsetting and climate positive activities through online display and video.
The partnership’s launch partners include Volvo, NAB and Foxtel.
The partnership between GroupM and Good-Loop will result in the implementation of Good-Loop’s Green Ad Tag in GroupM’s programmatic activities for display and online video. Initially, this allows GroupM to measure and offset the impact via Carbon Credits2. Additionally, customers have the opportunity to go beyond carbon offsetting by supporting climate-smart activities including reforestation, habitat protection, and coral reef restoration3.
Aimee Buchanan (main image), CEO of GroupM Australia and New Zealand, said: “Sustainability is a pressing and important concern for Australians and a major concern for businesses and brands. In our ambition to be responsible for shaping the next era of advertising and making advertising work better for people, it is essential to ensure that we make advertising more sustainable. We launched Alpha, as an overall business strategy, because we believe we have a responsibility to take positive action for the current generation of children – Generation Alpha4. There is no greater motivation than that. Digital media may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but we know that every advertisement and every impression has a carbon impact.
“Measurement is key and ultimately the goal is to reduce carbon emissions, but giving customers action that helps solve the problem is paramount. Now we can offer our customers a simple solution to d first measure, then offset the carbon emissions of digital media campaigns, then move to climate positive activities. Helping to decarbonise digital media in Australia is the first step in our Alpha plan. We have not solved this problem complex, but we have a responsibility to explore solutions, test and learn, and continue to create and shape initiatives that demonstrate our commitment to improving advertising for people.”
The carbon impact of an advertisement is linked to the size of the files and the data transfer required. GroupM ran tests on its clients’ campaigns in partnership with Good-Loop, measuring emissions from display and online video ad campaigns, offsetting carbon and planting trees to make them carbon negative.
Claire Gleeson-Landry, Head of Investment and Sustainable Media at Good-Loop, said: “We are delighted to partner with GroupM Australia and support them in their mission to make their media buying less carbon intensive and more climate friendly. This partnership will not only allow GroupM Australia clients to measure and offset the CO2 emissions generated by their digital advertising, but they will also be able to refine their future media plans while planting biodiverse trees and restoring coral reefs. Good for profit and good for the planet. It’s a win-win. »
WPP has made the most significant commitment of any holding group to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 20305, and is the first holding company to include media emissions in its reduction and net zero targets based on Science. GroupM strives to implement the right measures and steps towards a more sustainable future for its agencies, clients and employees.
The digital sustainability initiative is just one element of Alpha, which will also include people initiatives, supply chain management, and additional products and solutions to address Scope 36 carbon contributions in our business. and the media ecosystem in Australia.
Stephen Connor, Managing Director of Volvo Car Australia, said: “I am personally excited about this initiative – it is so in line with Volvo Cars’ commitment to be part of the solution to tackling climate change. Volvo aims to become an all-electric carmaker by 2030 and plans to roll out an all-new family of all-electric cars in the coming years, one of the most ambitious electrification plans in the automotive industry. This is part of our ambition to become a climate-neutral company by 2040, as we strive to consistently reduce carbon emissions across our business. I commend our partner GroupM Australia for launching this groundbreaking initiative in Australia. We are proud to be part of it.
John Matthews, Executive Director, Customer Acquisition and Media at Foxtel Group, said: “As our customers make changes to live their lives more sustainably, it’s important that brands also lead the way. We are proud to work with our partners at GroupM to take meaningful action by measuring, understanding, then taking action to decarbonize our media offering.
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