Why You Don’t Need to Sacrifice Performance to Make Your Digital Ads More Sustainable
In a world grappling with the escalating threat of global warming, it’s crucial to recognise that the exponential growth of the digital advertising has undeniably left a substantial carbon footprint.
However, this doesn’t mean that achieving great business outcomes and sustainability are mutually exclusive.
The banner and video ads we encounter daily have an environmental cost, but there are specific pathways to drastically improve sustainability without compromising advertising performance.
This article delves into the vital discussion of why and how digital advertising can embrace sustainability while maintaining performance, emphasizing that these two goals can and should coexist harmoniously.
In an era where environmental consciousness is paramount, finding this balance matters more than ever.
Sustainability And Performance Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Before we explore strategies to reduce carbon emissions in digital advertising, it’s essential to confront a common misconception: the notion that achieving sustainability comes at the expense of advertising’s performance and effectiveness. Advertising plays a pivotal role in funding the creation of great content, enabling publishers to provide consumers with valuable information, entertainment, sports broadcasts and more, often free of charge.
This symbiotic relationship between advertisers, consumers, and publishers underscores that our objective is not to stop advertising from happening but to transform it into a more environmentally responsible force.
Knowing Where You Stand: Adopting Environmental Performance Indicators
The Need for Consistent Evaluation Approaches
The transition toward a sustainable digital advertising industry begins with a critical question: How do we effectively evaluate our environmental impact? Think of this as the compass guiding you toward greener advertising practices. Just as you meticulously track the performance of your ad campaigns, tracking carbon emissions is equally vital.
Choosing the Right Environmental Performance Indicators
Now, let’s talk specifics. Which environmental performance indicators should you be tracking? It’s essential to focus on two primary indicators to make meaningful changes:
- Total Volume of GHG Emissions: This indicator provides an overarching view of the environmental impact of your digital advertising efforts. It allows you to assess the cumulative emissions generated by your campaigns over time.
Example: Consider an online retailer running multiple ad campaigns throughout the year. By tracking total carbon emissions, they can evaluate their carbon footprint annually and set reduction targets. This data helps them make informed decisions about their advertising strategies’ environmental impact. - Evaluation at a Granular Level: While total emissions give you the big picture, comparisons offer granularity. This means you can compare the carbon footprint of different campaigns, placements, or contexts.
Example: A car manufacturer runs two ad campaigns, one targeting urban commuters and the other targeting long-distance travelers. By measuring emissions at the unit level, they can determine which campaign has a lower carbon footprint per dollar, pound or euro spent. This information informs their future ad placement decisions, aligning their environmental goals with their business objectives.
These two key indicators provide advertisers with toolset to gauge the environmental impact of their campaigns. This precision leads to greater accountability and, ultimately, sustainability.
Practical Actions to Reduce Emissions without Sacrificing Performance
Let’s get to the practical part — here are three ways you can effectively reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from your digital advertising while maintaining performance.
1. Focus on Reducing Waste
Quality over quantity
To truly improve sustainability in digital advertising, without compromising performance, buyers must prioritise quality over quantity-driven strategies.
In a world where every click and impression counts, acting sustainably means focusing on strategies that drive meaningful engagement. This entails only purchasing ‘efficient’ impressions, as those that remain hidden below the fold or video ads that only play for one or two seconds not only add no value but also contribute to unnecessary carbon emissions.
Additionally, tackling fraud is pivotal in reducing waste. The industry has made strides in this area, with various tech platforms offering support to help advertisers avoid transacting fraudulent ads, which are, in essence, a form of wastage.
By optimising campaigns for quality rather than sheer quantity, we can align digital advertising with sustainability goals while still achieving impressive results. Thoughtful targeting is a key component of this shift, enabling advertisers to make every impression count, reducing waste and enhancing the sustainability of digital advertising practices.
2. Eco-Designing Ad Creatives and Websites
Creative teams play a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions within the digital advertising sphere. Their work on graphic elements and website design directly influences environmental impact.
Streamlining Graphic Elements
Optimising graphic elements can significantly reduce carbon emissions. Consider compressing fonts, consolidating script files, and adopting lightweight Javascript animation libraries.
For example, reduce the weight of images and display formats, choosing the correct file format for each element, and compressing videos for the context of use. These steps drastically cut down on carbon emissions without compromising creativity or quality. Faster load times are of huge importance to advertising performance, and smaller files could even improve the outcomes of your ads.
Balancing Creativity with Sustainability
Remember, achieving sustainability doesn’t mean sacrificing creativity. By finding the right combination of the two, advertisers can minimise their environmental footprint without compromising the quality of their ads.
3. Ad-Tech Stack Optimisation
Assessing Technological Impact
The technology involved in ad serving contributes to resource consumption and carbon emissions. Advertisers need to evaluate their ad-tech stack with environmental considerations in mind.
Consider limiting the number of verification, tracking and measurement systems you have to limit the the total number of systems acting on a single impression. Streamlining your tech stack can significantly reduce resource usage and emissions.
Working Together for a Greener Digital Advertising Future
In response to the climate crisis, the digital advertising industry has the opportunity to collaboratively address its carbon emissions. We understand that for many organisations it’s important to strike a balance between environmental responsibility and achieving the business outcomes required for business growth.
To make a real impact, it’s essential for advertisers, agencies, and the industry as a whole to unite in combating climate change.
Ready to get started?
Our white paper, ‘Reducing the Carbon Impact of Digital Advertising’, offers five expert tips for setting up a carbon impact evaluation tool and effectively measuring and reducing your climate impact.
From the importance of adopting the right environmental performance indicators, to the need to consider your ad-tech stack and focus on reducing energy loss through wasted advertising, our white paper provides the overview you need to drive greater sustainability in your campaigns.
Click the link below to download the white paper and start your sustainable advertising transformation.
