After publishing its game plan for inclusiveness in October 2021, French communications agency Publicis Groupe is back with a new edition of its PubliSees report, this time on the environment. The report reveals that the Canadian advertising industry is lagging behind other countries in measuring the carbon footprint of campaigns. Interview with a co-author of the report, Alex Guimond, vice-president of contact strategy at the media selection agency Spark Foundry Canada, part of Publicis Media.
Isarta News: Among the report’s findings, it is announced that “Canada lags behind other markets around the world, both in terms of agency readiness and media transparency on production-related programming.” Which countries are at the forefront of “green” advertising and what are they doing differently?
Alex Guimond: The best example seems to be England; the U.K. market has taken this environmental issue head on with a transparent approach. The industry has come together to establish baselines, benchmarks, and make carbon footprint measurement tools available to all agencies. The Advertising Association has put in place measurement tools that are accessible to all its members.
The movement goes beyond advertising: some media are starting to report the CO2 emissions related to their digital content creation. The UK is ahead of us, because here we are still looking for information, scattered left and right.
According to the report, the first and most pressing step is to start measuring the carbon footprint of marketing campaigns. Where does this need come from: the industry itself or advertisers?
A. G.: There is already a demand on the advertiser side. This is especially noticeable in global tenders, from advertisers who are accountable to their board of directors, their investors and even their customers. They want to be able to track their programs.
In this scenario, the goal is to make the carbon footprint of campaigns available, so that organizations can integrate it into their overall supply chain assessment. From a transparency standpoint, it gives a number on emissions and allows them to put actions in place to improve from there.
That said, this concern currently seems to be less prevalent among advertisers who have a long-standing partnership with their agency. In this case, it is more often the agency that brings the subject of the carbon footprint of ads to the table.
Publicis Groupe has created its own measurement tool, called A.L.I.C.E. (Advertising Limiting Impacts & Carbon Emissions), what kind of optimization does this kind of tool allow?
A. G.: The tool allows you to identify optimization opportunities by comparing the carbon footprint of one touchpoint versus another, of one programmatic platform versus another. It can also compare the impact of digital media buying with that of television.
Also, the report shows that the largest portion of an ad’s carbon footprint comes not from online delivery, but from production. Our tool allows us to take into account production parameters as well – such as location.
How do you see things going forward, from a Canadian perspective?
A. G.: Right now, no one is an expert in the field; we need to read and learn about it. Then we need to broaden the discussion, including advertisers and digital marketing solution providers. Solutions don’t have to be perfect from the start. Sustainability strategies and tools will evolve and become more refined over time.
And of course, Publicis Groupe is not alone in its interest. The COMMB – Canadian Out Of Home Marketing & Measurement Bureau – addressed it in a recent conference. So did the A2C. There are several groups that are starting to discuss the topic and we look forward to joining these initiatives.
