IAB UK has launched an environmental sustainability initiative aimed at boosting transparency and accountability within the digital advertising supply chain.
The ‘Environmental Sustainability FAQs’ is a voluntary initiative where businesses submit information about the actions they’re taking around environmental sustainability. They do this via an online questionnaire, with the answers being publicly available on the IAB UK website. The answers can be updated on an ongoing basis.
To date, more than 35 IAB UK members have completed the FAQs, including The Guardian, Immediate Media, Microsoft, News UK, Auto Trader, Omnicom Media Group, GroupM, Publicis Media, and Dentsu, to name a few.
“In recent years we have seen our industry galvanise itself to tackle climate change and we have a shared goal to decarbonise the digital advertising supply chain. While this momentum is brilliant, it has also led to a proliferation of different standards, strategies and frameworks,” said Sophia Haynes, Director of Transformation at IAB UK.
“We wanted to create some cohesion and give our members a place to publicly state what they are doing in a straightforward and accessible way. We all know that achieving net zero is going to take united action and, at the root of that, is sharing. If we can create more transparency, accountability and efficiency in this space that can only be a good thing that accelerates our progress.”
Questions in the questionnaire include:
- Do you measure your scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?
- Do you have reduction strategies in place for your energy usage? Please summarise your reduction strategy.
- What percentage of your energy usage comes from renewable sources?
- Do you include environmental sustainability questions in your procurement activities?
- In 1 or 2 sentences can you summarise your company’s environmental sustainability objectives? (e.g. please include time frame for achieving net zero and reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions)
- Do you have any training schemes or engagement programmes in place around environmental sustainability for your employees? Please provide details.
