Business Is Booming for Climate-Conscious Publishers

Climate coverage, while getting more urgent and ubiquitous, is big business for publishers. But for this sector to keep growing, the buy- and sell-side need to get comfortable showing their cards and agree on how to measure that credibility. Bloomberg Media’s 2-year-old vertical Bloomberg Green is one of the media company's strongest platforms for driving subscription growth. In terms of ads, it's seen an increase of around 82% in environmental, social and governance (ESG) briefs this year compared to last, according to its insight tool Bloomberg AiQ. Meanwhile, the Financial Times said the value of campaigns related to sustainability has tripled over the last 24 months. Globally, between 50% and two-thirds of ad briefs received by BBC Global News are focused on sustainability. And ESG topics will only grow in boardroom importance: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is demanding more detailed reporting from publicly listed companies about risks related to climate change by the end of 2021. “Climate change is one of the biggest economic stories of our time, and it is already transforming the world of business,” Marie Goddard, director of customer relationship management at the Financial Times, told Adweek. “It should be a major focus of our journalism, whether it’s the energy transition, sustainable investing, climate finance or green technologies.” Cred is critical Major brands are asking agencies to lay out sustainability pledges, and in turn, agencies are starting to ask media owners to state progress on green thinking. But the extent that either can audit the other is patchy, especially since there's no commonly agreed upon independent reporting metrics. Alternatively, BBC’s 1-year-old Future Planet aims to be as close to zero carbon as possible. From the site’s launch in February 2020 to June 2021, its total carbon emissions from travel were 857 kilograms, less than a one-way flight from New York to Berlin. Furthermore, the ad for launch sponsor automaker Hyundai, which focused on combatting ocean pollution, was created with sustainability in mind, Krystal Bowden, vice president at BBC StoryWorks, told Adweek. The crew ate vegan meals, solar power was used to charge equipment, and the team drove electric vehicles from London to Greece instead of flying. The work paid off. Dwell time was twice as long as average, plus video views for branded content were up more than 60% on expectations. Research also showed the campaign led to an uptick in recommendation and consideration. However, audience metrics only go so far. “Sponsored content or native advertising with its often smaller audience reach has only exacerbated the industry's need for impact metrics that can be measured at a feasible cost,” said Wolfgang Blau, a visiting research fellow with a focus on the role of journalism in the climate crisis at the Reuters Institute of Oxford University. “With such commonly agreed impact metrics, publishers would also be in a better position to justify their rates.” One fly in the chardonnay is the U.K. regulatory crackdown on ads that overstate their green impact, which is threatening to stymie nervous ad buyers from speaking out at all on the subject. Take Innocent Drinks, which is facing probes, protests and potential fines for allegedly overstating the positive impact it has on the environment. Media owners, adding a believable narrative, vet the companies they work with. The Guardian, long a first-mover in supporting progressive change through initiatives like changing its climate-related language, lost business after it stopped accepting ads from fossil fuel firms in January 2020. Now, this is a selling point for brands looking for authentic partners. From consumers to citizens One issue the ad industry needs to reconcile is how to make consumerism and capitalism more sustainable. “Talking to clients this week, I think they ought to be spending more money,” Tony Mattson, head of strategy at Havas Media Group, told Adweek. “But the more money you put in, the more the emissions go up, making a media plan less efficient and effective. It requires a more holistic view, which is hard.” Carbon-neutral media plans aside, rather than driving sales, campaigns could encourage making positive choices. But for better or worse, advertisers' eyes are on the bottom line, which could be beneficial—for now. Over the last few years, brands have graduated from chasing a positive green halo to driving sales. “Companies making the biggest efforts, and who have strong ESG scores, are the ones producing strong financial results,” said Duncan Chater, head of sales, Europe, at Bloomberg Media. What's more, people are increasingly citing purpose as a factor in buying behavior. “Price, quality, convenience are all still there, but purpose is climbing up,” said Michael Balabanov svp, advertising, North America at The Guardian. “People are willing to pay more.”

Sustainability News

Business Is Booming for Climate-Conscious Publishers

As long as advertisers and media owners can get more comfortable showing their green creds

Lucinda Southern

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Lucinda Southern