Ethics & Ecology

AdGreen readies carbon calculator as Nestlé and Unilever amongst the first to commit to advertising levy

Supporting Levy

 “By attending our free training, using the online resources, signing up for our newsletter and events – and now supporting the levy, the industry is showing the commitment that’s needed to tackle our environmental impact together” – Jo Coombes

Key Takeaways

• AdGreen’s carbon calculator created specifically for the advertising production community is set to go live for industry-wide use this September
• The new tool will allow production teams to collaboratively measure the carbon footprint of their production and take active steps to reduce it
• The AdGreen Levy is being introduced to support the initiative’s future plans with Unilever and Nestlé first confirmed contributors

The carbon calculator, which is bespoke to the industry and designed with support from market leaders, ensures advertising agencies, production companies and service companies are able to collaboratively measure their carbon impact and identify their highest carbon producing activities. 

The tool will focus on key production areas (transport, spaces, materials, fuel, disposal) and allow related advertising agency parent companies, production consultants, brands and brand parents to review their footprints and obtain reports. 

As Sebastian Munden, Chair, Ad Net Zero and Unilever UK & Ireland’s EVP & GM, explains: “To achieve net-zero emissions we need to address every aspect of our carbon footprint, including advertising production. AdGreen will be a vital step towards that and will help all advertisers, big or small, to think about and manage the carbon footprint of the actual production and shooting of adverts and get to net-zero in a targeted and measurable way.” 

Carbon Calculator

The AdGreen carbon calculator will be a valuable tool for organisations aligning with the Ad Net Zero initiative, and calls upon the industry to reduce the carbon impact of developing, producing and running UK advertising to real net zero by the end of 2030. 

AdGreen joined forces with the Advertising Association in July 2020, launching in September to unite the industry in eliminating the negative environmental impacts of advertising production. Since then, APR (Advertising Production Resources), adam&eveDDB, Google, Havas, MullenLowe, Publicis Groupe UK, Sky, WPP and Unilever have joined AdGreen’s advisory board to support its work, and over 750 members of the advertising community have completed AdGreen’s free online training to understand the climate issues in the context of the industry. 

Jo Coombes, AdGreen’s Project Director, says:  “It has been fantastic to see the swift response from the advertising industry to AdGreen’s call to collaborate with us. By attending our free training, using the online resources, signing up for our newsletter and events – and now supporting the levy, the industry is showing the commitment that’s needed to tackle our environmental impact together.”

Praising the utility of the carbon calculator, Rupert Reynolds-MacLean of Biscuit Filmworks UK, responds: “By allowing those companies entering information to see which of aspects contribute the most carbon to that project’s footprint, we are adding in a level of gamification that could help drive behaviour change even further. This all leads to a sustainable industry and positive lasting change.”

Whilst Richard Ellis, Operations Director Team Unilever at IPG says: “The AdGreen Carbon Calculator will be a robust and valuable tool that will not only able to accurately measure all aspects of carbon emissions from production but crucially will also identify better solutions.”

AdGreen Levy

To keep the resources, tools and training free at point of use, a voluntary levy is being introduced for advertisers to contribute a small percentage of production cost estimates towards AdGreen’s operational costs.

The AdGreen Levy, which is being introduced from June 1st, is a recommended 0.25% of the cost to produce an advertising asset – or £2.50 per £1,000 of relevant spend. 

Contributions towards The AdGreen Levy, which has the full support of the Industry trade bodies, including the APA, AOP, IPA and ISBA, will be collected by UK based organisations providing production services directly to the advertiser (described as Principal Production Partners) and then passed on to AdGreen on a quarterly basis. The AdGreen team will then review financials on an annual basis, with the levy percentage reducing as more advertisers decide to contribute.

Several key advertising agencies have already committed to collecting the levy, including adam&eveDDB, Havas UK, Havas Studios and Mullen Lowe Group (representing IPG), and Unilever and Nestlé have been first to commit to paying the levy. 

Publicis Groupe UK’s agencies are also supporting the collection and have actively encouraged all clients to contribute, and according to Clare Donald, Chief Production Officer at Publicis Groupe UK, see themselves as “huge champions of the work AdGreen is doing on behalf of the industry”.

As Anthony Falco, Chief Production Officer at adam&eveDDB, also offers: “By committing to collect the levy payments from participating clients we’re playing our part in enabling AdGreen to continue providing their tools, resources and training free at the point of use. Many of our team have already taken AdGreen’s training and we’re looking forward to using the carbon calculator and the extra information it will give us when it is launched later this year.”

For more information and to get in touch

Interested parties are encouraged to join AdGreen’s webinar on 13th May, which will provide further details on the AdGreen Levy, and should consider registering as collectors and payers via the AdGreen website. AdGreen’s levy team can also be contacted at levy@weareadgreen.com. 

More details about the upcoming carbon calculator tool can be found here, as well as the AdGreen’s Resources Guide, which launches today to give ad production teams a digestible handbook on how to start their journey towards net-zero.