GroupM Signs On 20 Clients to Speahead Media Decarbonization

GroupM is forming a new decarbonization coalition composed of 20 large clients—global advertisers whose combined media spend totals about $10 billion, according to the agency. This comes after GroupM introduced a global framework for measuring ad-based carbon emissions in July. It also follows last week’s announcement from dentsu international that it's entering “phase 3” of its own media decarbonization strategy in 2023 by integrating carbon emissions data directly into its media planning system. It's all part of a broader push within the digital landscape to measure and account for the environmental impact of the space, from websites to emails to media buys. How Dirty Is Your Website? Here Are the Top 100 US Advertisers by CO2 Emissions GroupM's new initiative, called the Media Decarbonization Coalition, aims to bring the industry closer to a universal standard for measuring these emissions. Member brands will collaborate with GroupM to test its new framework and improve its accuracy. “We introduced our global framework in July with a goal of uniting the industry around a common set of measurement standards to accelerate our collective media decarbonization efforts. On this issue, we know we can achieve more, together, than we can with separate and disparate action,” said Christian Juhl, GroupM global CEO, in a statement. GroupM agencies Mindshare, Wavemaker, mSix&Partners and EssenceMediacom make up the coalition, alongside WPP clients like Audible, AXA, Bayer, Danone, Deutsche Telekom, L’Oréal, Mars, Paramount, Sony and Tesco. The coalition also includes a number of other brands that the agency declined to name. The race to develop a universal standard Establishing a measurement standard is the most important next step the media industry can take to address the climate crisis, said Kieley Taylor, global head of partnerships at GroupM, in a statement. We’ve identified the problem and we need to really sprint.Krystal Olivieri, GroupM and Choreograph “This step is crucial to create a common language across the advertising ecosystem so we can go beyond measurement debates to focus on reducing and eliminating ad-based carbon emissions with our partners,” she said. Ideally for GroupM, this methodology would then be taken up by a trade body and used as the industry standard, explained Krystal Olivieri, global chief innovation officer at GroupM and Choreograph. Still, GroupM acknowledges that broad collaboration is the only way to reach standardization. In this next step with its coalition of clients, the agency will be working out the kinks of its methodology alongside the brands that have signed on. GroupM isn’t currently charging its clients to be a part of the coalition. But when it comes to establishing a true universal standard of data collection and emissions measurement for media, GroupM hopes to work through a trade body like Ad Net Zero or ANA to build consensus throughout the industry. “We don't have an ego in this,” Olivieri explained. “If it's not the standard we set, and someone comes up with a better standard and we can align to it, we're cool. We just really want one common way to do this.” All Ads Have a Carbon Footprint. GroupM Wants to Standardize Its Measurement Homing in on the hotspots Dentsu has been working on its own media decarbonization strategy since 2019 alongside researchers from the University of Bristol and media companies including BBC, ITV, Netflix and Sky. But as the industry inches closer to a standard measurement process, the real challenge is data collection, said Fiona Lloyd, global client and brand president at Carat and executive sponsor of social impact for media at dentsu. “We need the media owner data to understand where the emissions hotspots are to actively decarbonize, which is what's going to create the impact,” Lloyd explained. Unlike GroupM, dentsu isn’t looking to create new industry standards, but to align with global standards that already exist—like those outlined in the greenhouse gas protocol. Lloyd emphasized the importance of continued collaboration on sustainability with groups like the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to ensure cross-sector clarity, understanding and transparency for carbon reporting. She also noted that these initiatives require buy-in from major platforms like Meta and Google. “Their data is critical to this,” she said. ‘We need to really sprint’ At GroupM, Olivieri will helm a steering committee composed of representatives from member companies that will manage the coalition’s activities, which include sharing sustainability initiatives and evaluating decarbonization initiatives both inside and outside the group. GroupM hopes to replicate the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)—a committee dedicated to establishing brand safety controls and guidelines—that it co-founded in June 2019. But when it comes to climate, the clock is ticking. And while GroupM is cognizant of balancing a variety of priorities as it moves toward decarbonization, Olivieri acknowledged the need to move quickly. “To get to net zero by 2030, we're going to need to have vendor information fairly soon,” Olivieri said. “We just don't have the luxury of 20 years between start point to end point. We’ve identified the problem and we need to really sprint.”

Sustainability News

GroupM Pulls 20 Clients Onboard Its Media Decarbonization Coalition

The agency is working to establish an industry standard—but that'll require broad buy-in

Olivia Morley

Kathryn Lundstrom

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Olivia Morley

Kathryn Lundstrom