All for None
Who has a set a net zero carbon emissions target?
See above, light bars.
Who has set a near term target?
Dark bars.
Who is measuring this?
Ad Net Zero.
Who?
Ad Net Zero (ANZ, not Australia/New Zealand) is the advertising industry’s drive to decarbonize the production, distribution, and publication of advertising.
Ad Net Zero's catch line is “All For None”.
Like many of advertising's best ideas, ANZ is a three letter acronym and hails from the UK (other UK TLAs include the IPA, the ASA, and of course WPP).
But that's not what makes it a good idea.
No, the reason it is a good idea is that each brand, each agency, each publisher, each tech platform cannot make cross-planetary progress working individually. They need to agree on the priorities and measurement standards - "science based targets" in ANZ's language - to which we will hold ourselves accountable.
Although many have not yet heard of the ANZ yet, it has serious momentum with global membership that includes Cannes Lions, dentsu, Google, Havas, IAA, Interpublic Group, Meta, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Unilever, WARC and WPP.
They have a clear path of action that involves decarbonizing advertising creation, production, dissemination, business operations. And to incentivize it all while making it stick.
Exactly how?
They are organizing summits, aggregating statistics, publishing reports, recording video case studies, handing out trophies, granting certifications via essentials trainings. And maybe more.
While they are pretty busy with all of this, the vision is quite simple:
"While advertising itself only directly accounts for around 2% of the world's emissions, advertising has an outsized impact on the other 98% - and is therefore responsible for enabling the shift in behaviour change the world so urgently needs." - 2023 ANZ Annual Review
Here are a few links to resources to learn more. I particularly like the YouTube page because it makes the actions that early-movers are taking quite relatable, by sharing them in their own voices.
https://www.youtube.com/@AdNetZero
https://ipa.co.uk/courses-qualifications/ad-net-zero-essentials-certificate/
