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Digital advertising has become an integral part of our online experience, seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. From banners on media sites to video ads before our favourite content, it’s everywhere we turn.

While it may seem like a clean and efficient way to reach consumers, the reality is that digital advertising is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

In this article, we’ll present the different ways digital ads emit greenhouse gas emissions and what steps can be taken to mitigate this pollution.

Despite Clean Image, Digital Advertising is a Significant Emitter

The digital industry, which encompasses the vast online landscape we interact with daily, emits four times more greenhouse gas annually than the entire United Kingdom. By 2025, digital technologies are projected to generate 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to the emissions from global car traffic (Global Energy Review: CO2 Emissions in 2020 — IAE)

In essence, the digital world is far from being clean and green.

Within this digital realm, advertising is omnipresent. Ads pop up in search results, sit within news articles, and interrupt our online video viewing.

But how are these digital ad campaigns actually driving emissions? To answer that question, we need to delve into the concept of Scope 3 emissions.

Scope 3 Emissions: Unveiling the Complexity

To comprehend the environmental impact of digital advertising, it’s crucial to understand the three categories of greenhouse gas emissions defined by the GHG Protocol corporate standard: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3.

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

These are direct emissions stemming from a company’s owned and controlled resources. This includes emissions from stationary combustion, mobile combustion (vehicles owned or controlled by the company), fugitive emissions (leaks from greenhouse gases), and process emissions (emissions released during industrial processes and on-site manufacturing).

Scope 2: Indirect Emissions — Owned

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions generated by the purchase of energy from a utility provider. This mainly encompasses GHG emissions released during the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat, and cooling.

Scope 3: Indirect Emissions — Not Owned

Scope 3 emissions are the most challenging to monitor but for many businesses they account for more than 70 percent of their carbon footprint. For the team at Impact Plus, these represent more than 95% of our emissions. They represent all indirect emissions in the value chain of a reporting company, including upstream and downstream emissions. Scope 3 is separated into 15 categories, including business travel, employee commuting, waste generated in operations, purchased goods and services, transportation and distribution, and fuel and energy-related activities.

Digital advertising activities fall into the scope 3 emissions category since they involve a multitude of interconnected processes that span from creative production to ad delivery. These activities rely on a network of third-party services, including data centers, internet networks and user devices. While the company advertising may not directly own or control these elements, they are essential components of the advertising ecosystem and contribute significantly to the overall carbon footprint associated with digital advertising.

Let’s dive into the specific ways digital advertising emits greenhouse gases.

How Do Digital Ads Emit Greenhouse Gases?

1. Creative and Content Production

The creation of ads and content contributes to Scope 3 carbon emissions. Equipment use, employee travel, materials, and services all add to these emissions. Things like catering, cleaning, and travel to production sites are some of the main drivers of emissions.

2. Hosting

Data centers, cloud services, and content delivery networks are essential components of digital advertising. Servers that store creatives, handle targeting or bidding processes, and send data use electricity which produces carbon emissions.

3. Network

Ad delivery involves a series of exchanges between user devices, servers, and intermediaries to determine and deliver ads. Carbon emissions from ad delivery are influenced by factors such as ad type and weight. The more data that is transferred, depending on the volume of impressions and the amount of data transferred for each impression, the more electricity the ad consumes and carbon it emits. A complex programmatic supply chain, with multiple intermediaries, can increase the data transfer burden, amplifying carbon emissions in the process.

4. Devices

User devices such as smartphones, computers and televisions play a significant role in the carbon footprint of digital advertising, and understanding why the processing of ads emits greenhouse gases is crucial.

When a user lands on a publisher’s site, whether they are using a smartphone, computer, or a smart TV, their device requires power. This power consumption produces carbon waste, contributing to the emissions associated with digital advertising.

But it doesn’t stop there — loading up the content onto their device involves the transmission of data, and the size and complexity of the content have a direct impact on how much carbon waste is generated.

Think of it this way: when ads are laden with excessive animations and intricate effects, they increase the computational load and energy consumption of the devices displaying them. In essence, the more technically complex and data-heavy an ad is, the more energy your device needs to process it. This, in turn, results in higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond the direct energy consumption during ad viewing, the manufacturing, mining, transport, and end-of-life phases of device production also contribute significantly to the carbon footprint of digital advertising. The embodied emissions associated with these stages are often overlooked but can account for a substantial portion of the overall impact.

The manufacturing of smartphones, computers, and other devices involves the extraction and processing of raw materials, such as metals, plastics, and glass, which generate greenhouse gases. Transporting these materials and finished products to distribution centers and end-users adds further emissions. Additionally, the disposal or recycling of devices at the end of their lifecycle can also release harmful pollutants.

How to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Your Digital Advertising

Reducing the environmental impact of digital advertising is not only beneficial for the planet but also for your brand’s sustainability efforts. Here’s how to get started:

1. Optimize Creative Assets: Optimizing creative assets is a fundamental step in reducing the environmental impact of your digital advertising campaigns. By minimizing the weight of assets and the number of items to load, you can significantly decrease data transmission and server power consumption. Here are some practical examples to illustrate this concept:

Image Compression: Consider the images you use in your digital ads. High-resolution images may look visually appealing but can increase the size of your ad, leading to longer load times and higher data transmission. By compressing images without compromising quality, you can reduce the file size and, consequently, the energy required for data transfer. For instance, using modern image formats like WebP can achieve substantial reductions in file size while maintaining image quality.
Video Optimisation: Videos are notorious for their data-intensive nature. However, by optimising video content, you can mitigate their environmental impact. Techniques like video compression allow you to serve videos efficiently. Limiting the resolution and definition of your video creatives can have a significant impact on reducing your carbon emissions.
Minimizing Ad Complexity: Complex and visually intricate ad designs often require more server power and data transmission. Simplifying ad creatives to focus on the core message and essential elements not only enhances user engagement but also reduces the carbon footprint. For instance, consider using static or lightweight animated ads instead of resource-intensive rich media ads.
Reducing Third-Party Scripts: Many digital ads include third-party scripts and trackers to collect data and provide analytics. However, these scripts can increase the loading time and energy consumption of ads. By evaluating the necessity of each script and minimizing their use, you can streamline your ad content and reduce data transmission, ultimately leading to a more sustainable advertising approach.

2. Consider Context: Understanding the context in which your audience engages with digital advertising is a critical aspect of reducing the carbon footprint of your campaigns. By considering the devices and connection types your audience uses, you can make informed decisions to minimise emissions. Here are some practical examples:

Audience Device Usage: Different devices have varying energy consumption profiles. For example, mobile devices, particularly smartphones and tablets, are battery-powered and have limited processing capabilities compared to desktop computers. If your target audience primarily uses mobile devices, you can optimise your ad content to be lightweight and energy-efficient, ensuring a seamless user experience without draining device batteries unnecessarily. Added to that, ads displayed on smartphones don’t require the same quality and resolution as large connected TVs. Separating the creatives within your campaign with appropriate size, weight and quality by device is more efficient than simply using a ‘largest size fits all’ creative approach, which is often the industry standard.
Connection Types: Assessing the network connections your audience relies on is another key consideration. For instance, users on Wi-Fi connections generally consume less energy when loading and interacting with digital ads compared to those on mobile data networks. Wi-Fi tends to be more stable and energy-efficient, making it an eco-friendly choice for ad delivery. Therefore, optimising your campaigns to prioritize delivery over Wi-Fi when possible can contribute to reduced energy consumption and emissions.

3. Evaluate Environments: When it comes to digital advertising, the choices you make regarding ad formats, placements, and durations can significantly impact your carbon footprint. It’s essential to prioritize sustainability by opting for the most energy-efficient options available. Let’s delve deeper into this concept with some examples:

Ad Formats: Consider choosing ad formats that are inherently more eco-friendly. For instance, static display ads typically consume less energy compared to rich media or video ads, which often require higher data transmission and device processing power. By favoring static ads or lightweight animations, you can reduce the emissions associated with ad rendering. Just remember that the price and volume of impressions is still really important here, and you’ll need to ensure you’re measuring the right KPIs to avoid any ‘rebound effects’.
Ad Durations: The length of your ad also plays a role. Shorter ads, especially those that convey the message effectively in a concise manner, tend to consume less energy and produce fewer emissions. Users are more likely to engage with ads that get to the point quickly, reducing unnecessary energy consumption.

4. Plan Mindfully: Adapt your ad delivery strategy based on carbon intensity. Use data and analytics to make informed decisions that align with sustainability goals. Also, consider the timing of your ad campaigns. Running campaigns during peak hours when energy demand is high can indirectly contribute to greater emissions. By scheduling ads during off-peak times, you can help alleviate the strain on energy resources and reduce emissions associated with digital advertising.