Three capabilities to look for in a marketing sustainability partner

Carbon emissions need to be greatly reduced across all industries within the next five years in order to avoid crossing a dangerous global warming threshold. Digital advertising contributes a great deal of carbon emissions, but there are easy steps brands can take to reduce emissions without impacting business outcomes.

Scope3 is a leader in the space. We help brands and publishers across the globe reduce carbon emissions without negatively impacting ad performance.

Here’s what makes us the carbon measurement and reduction partner for major brands and businesses that play in digital advertising.

1. A focus on better marketing outcomes

Some sustainability partners merely help brands reduce carbon emissions without considering campaign impact. Scope3 is not just a marketing carbon reduction solution; we help brands eliminate carbon in a way that broadly reduces waste, thereby increasing effectiveness. You don’t need to be altruistic to decarbonize your advertising activities. You just need to care about the bottom line.

An intelligent approach to sustainable advertising boosts business outcomes for brands by helping them buy high-quality media that pushes each advertising dollar further while making carbon count.

Scope3 partnered with Dubai Tourism to lower the gCO₂PM — grams of carbon emissions per 1000 impressions — of its ad campaigns without compromising performance. As a result, it saw a 36% reduction in emissions and a 16% reduction in gCO₂PM with a lower cost-per-conversion (CPC) across the board.

Similarly, Vodafone Germany used Scope3’s automated carbon reduction tools to cut carbon waste and improve acquisition performance. After optimization, it saw a 28% reduction in gCO₂PM, plus a 35% increase in conversions and a 12% reduction in cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

Marketing sustainability partners need to do more than just reduce carbon. Scope3 can help media buyers reduce carbon and ensure maximal effectiveness of their marketing spend.

2. Activity-based measurement

Activity-based measurement is more accurate and actionable than the alternative, spend-based measurement, because it gets at the underlying activities that produce carbon. Scope3 is the only transparent, activity-based carbon measurement provider.

Spend-based measurement is not accurate. Ad-based carbon emissions don’t correlate with the amount of money spent on ads. It is similar to plane ticket prices and aviation emissions; a flight doesn’t produce more emissions simply because the ticket costs more. Various factors play into the cost of a plane ticket, and buying cheaper plane tickets won’t necessarily cut back on carbon emissions.

Rather than measuring ad emissions with a spend-based model, we use activity-based measurement, which takes into account the underlying activities that produce carbon in order to depict an accurate picture of where and how much carbon is being produced in advertising.

Not only is activity-based measurement more accurate; it drives actionable results that protect business outcomes. Hypothetically speaking, activity-based measurement may show a brand that search is driving a lot of carbon, while social is driving less carbon and more performance. The brand can quickly shift its media dollars towards the channels that are more efficient and higher-performing.

3. Automated carbon reduction solutions

Manual carbon reduction tools like inclusion and exclusion lists work in the short-term to cut carbon emissions from advertising activities, but they require frequent updates that take time and energy from already stretched marketing organizations.

Scope3 offers two automated carbon reduction solutions that help media buyers select low-emitting inventory and avoid high-emitting inventory without the hassle—or human error—of manual updates. Our always-on tools, Green Media Products (GMPs) and Climate Shield, dynamically block high climate-risk inventory and target low-emitting sources while optimizing for business outcomes.

Choose Scope3 for your trusted sustainability partner for marketing

When looking for a marketing sustainability partner to help reduce carbon emissions, brands have many choices. However, not all sustainability partners are equal. The most effective, transparent, and scalable decarbonization practices join business outcomes and sustainability through activity-based measurement and always-on reduction solutions.

Contact us to begin measuring your carbon emissions, and follow along as we research what it takes to reduce carbon emissions and water waste for artificial intelligence.