AdGreen Releases Brand New Carbon Calculator
The AdGreen offering has undergone a significant transformation, as the company releases a brand new carbon calculator. Despite UK marketing budget growth hitting a decade high, as reported by the IPA, AdGreen is mindful of an increasingly challenging landscape for the global production community. This latest iteration of the calculator has been designed to reduce pressure on production companies and agencies as they incorporate carbon measurement into their roles, by speeding up the information gathering and inputting process.
Alongside this, AdGreen is aware of the increasing need for larger organisations such as brands and holding companies to collect up-to-date and complete data in order to report on scope three emissions. The company has collaborated with carbon intelligence solution, Climatiq, who provide the latest carbon factors. Climatiq’s database is made up of thousands of up-to-date and scientifically vetted emission factors, covering carbon dioxide and all constituent gases, sourced from reputable government agencies and institutions such as the UK’s BEIS and the USA’s EPA, as well as the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) and International Energy Agency (IEA). These factors are continually reviewed to ensure accurate and timely footprints.
AdGreen released its first carbon calculator, based on BAFTA albert’s model, in 2021. Drawing on 10 years of carbon measurement across TV and film, albert provided the framework for the original AdGreen calculator, with the more general UX adapted to suit the advertising production process. Following three years of use and feedback, with over 3000 projects completed, AdGreen has used these learnings and data to develop this brand new, AdGreen-owned calculator, created exclusively for the advertising industry.
AdGreen’s global director, Jo Fenn, said, “I started AdGreen in 2014 in response to wasteful production practices that I witnessed on set. I could not have anticipated that within 10 years it would grow to be a key resource for the advertising production community to better understand and manage the impact of production in generating carbon emissions. I am overjoyed to be able to share the result of months of development, and offer the advertising industry a bespoke, verified and free-at-the-point-of-use carbon calculator. My hope is that the vast improvements we’ve made mean that this, now intrinsic, part of the production process is demonstrably easier and quicker for all entering emissions data, and reassuringly robust for all those responsible for reporting on it.”
Large scale improvements to the design will guide users through the measurement and reduction process, through enhanced automation and use of benchmarks where information is difficult for production teams to gather, whilst ensuring AdGreen can support increased adoption in key markets. This iteration of AdGreen’s measurement tool features a completely updated carbon emissions framework, reviewed by PwC. AdGreen has also collaborated with GARM and the Responsible Marketing Agency to ensure alignment with the measurement methodology of the media sector. This follows the recent announcement from Ad Net Zero of the publication of its Global Media Sustainability Framework – a series of voluntary industry standards to improve consistent, comparable measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from digital, television, print, audio, outdoor, and cinema channels. This work has been undertaken to ensure a comprehensive end-to-end measurement process across the creation, distribution, and consumption of advertising assets.
Upgrades to the framework include measurement of cloud storage, and virtual production where LED volumes are being used. This is crucial to address the impact of “hidden” emissions, as global internet use threatens to account for 14% of worldwide emissions by 2040, with data servers contributing significantly to increased energy consumption. AdGreen will continue to monitor the rapid development of AI, and the resulting carbon impact, with the view of incorporating factors when available.
AdGreen has analysed extensive user feedback to form the basis of the upgrades, funded by industry contributions to the voluntary levy, with the new calculator and framework having undergone testing by key stakeholders ahead of its release.
AdGreen, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Advertising Association, has worked with ISBA, the IPA, the APA and the AOP since 2018 to ensure the tool, along with training and other resources, accurately reflect the industry it is supporting. In addition to the aforementioned trade bodies, AdGreen’s board includes other leading industry players: adam&eveDDB, APR, Dentsu, Diageo, Google, Havas, IPG, L’Oreal, MSQ Source, Publicis Groupe, Sky, Unilever and WPP, who have lent their expertise to help shape the development of the new calculator.
Richard Ellis, operations director at IPG, said, “This new version of the calculator makes measuring and reducing your production carbon emissions much easier and less time consuming. There really is no excuse for not taking this action against climate change.”
Isabelle Doran, CEO at Association of Photographers, said, ”We’re thrilled that AdGreen are announcing the launch of their new carbon calculator designed to be much more comprehensive & easier to use for tracking your carbon footprint for shoot productions. We can't wait to roll it out to our photography members.”
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