Carbon footprint tracking became a growing area of interest for media planners earlier this decade. Agencies began to measure campaign emissions and showcase their green credentials, but then the buzz started to cool and sustainability quietly slipped down the priority list – that is until generative AI tools like ChatGPT reignited the conversation. Now, with energy-hungry AI tools entering the mix, marketers are once again grappling with the cost of innovation.

According to an MIT report, the computational power required to train generative AI models that often have billions of parameters can demand a staggering amount of electricity, which leads to
increased carbon dioxide emissions and pressures on the electric grid.

Jean-Marc Papin, SVP of media technology at Horizon Media, says that while shifting political dynamics are making the topic less prominent, many organizations are continuing their work, evolving from early-stage exploration to measurable outcomes.

“Sustainability-driven businesses are open to greener media plans and social impact initiatives, with projects in this space representing a higher share of our media billing’s year over year,” says Papin. “Gen Z remains the most engaged demographic, although interest has slightly declined. The industry has opportunities to integrate sustainability into business outcomes by leveraging data, platforms and partnerships.”

Papin adds that while sustainability goals remain, the approach is shifting. “AI presents new challenges, such as the water required for data centres. As AI’s footprint grows, sustainable solutions will become essential, and efforts to measure its impact are already underway.”

This renewed urgency is prompting brands and agencies to reconsider what sustainable advertising actually looks like in an AI-enabled world – and how to measure it meaningfully.

Brian Cuddy, Plus Company’s SVP of digital and sustainable initiatives lead, says that while a shifting political climate has influenced environmental regulations, the agency has seen a
demand for responsible environmental practices from its sustainable-minded clients. “These clients are seeking transparency and accountability regarding the environmental impact of their
marketing efforts. Many of these clients have found that optimizing toward a smaller carbon footprint has also increased media performance. Some of these clients also have ESG reporting
mandates for their marketing efforts.”

Cuddy adds, “With regard to AI, as an agency, our shift has been to incorporate an intentional approach that helps our clients realize more value in a noise-filled landscape. This means looking
to increase our use of energy-efficient AI models, leveraging cloud providers with renewable energy commitments and developing a transparent approach to monitoring and measurement.
An intentional approach to AI is important in delivering effective results for both our own and our clients’ business objectives.”

The tools tackling advertising AI emissions

While AI does carry environmental implications, the tech industry is actively working to reduce emissions and energy consumption. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek launched its DeepSeek R1 chatbot – an open-source rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. It’s reported to be less expensive to create and potentially more energy-efficient.

When it comes to emissions measurement, Google recently announced a new project: Carbon Footprint for Google Ads. It is currently available to select advertisers in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa and will become widely available in the future. The tool provides first-party data to help marketers track campaign emissions in Display and Video 360, Search Ads 3.0, Campaign Manager 360 and Google Ads.

Most recently Equativ has integrated GreenPMPs into its Maestro platform. Last summer, Equativ merged with Sharethough, the programmatic platform that introduced the first GreenPMP, environmentally optimized private marketplace, in 2022.

Earlier this month, sustainable ad measurement company Scope3, launched two new AI products to help advertisers reduce emissions. The Agentic Advertising platform is designed to standardize and optimize key transactions across PMPs, programmatic campaigns and direct buys. Sitting atop this platform is the Brand Standards tool that enables marketers to refine their brand suitability guidelines. The Agentic (defined as AI that can act and reason autonomously as well as collaborate with humans and adapt to changing environments) platform automatically filters out inventory that exceeds emissions benchmarks, as well as made-for-advertising content that wastes both ad spend and energy.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is also gaining new sustainability tools. In early March, Broadsign and Scope3 announced a partnership to improve carbon emissions measurement for
DOOH campaigns. Users of Scope3’s carbon measurement platform can now access emissions data by property and format for over one million screens globally, and view the results alongside
insights from web, mobile, social, CTV and other channels.

Sustainability doesn’t have to mean sacrifice

Some marketers that have used carbon emission measurement in campaign planning found they don’t have to sacrifice performance to deliver more sustainable advertising. Last year, Vancouver-based Nature’s Path ran a campaign to explore whether carbon emissions tracking could drive stronger results while lowering environmental impact.

The organic breakfast and snack food company worked with Meta, Vancouver media agency BOA and Scope3 on a campaign for its chip brand, Que Pasa. Sasha Bricel, Nature’s Path director of marketing services, says, “Our target consumer for Que Pasa is actually the youngest demographic across all our products, focusing on Gen Z 18 to 27, which is a cohort who cares deeply about environment and sustainability. Our current consumer tends to be a bit older and what we call dark green – and we do get a lot of questions about our sustainability practices from recyclable packaging to manufacturing footprint.”

Bricel says the campaign results proved that ultimately carbon efficient advertising can drive stronger results. The team ran an A/B test comparing manual placement targeting with Meta’s Advantage+ placements. Using Scope3’s Media Reporting tool, BOA measured and optimized for carbon efficiency alongside performance. The results included 9% lower emissions, 39% increase in reach, 47% more clicks and 44% more landing page views. Carbon emission measurement is now a key component of how the company determines the optimal media mix for its campaigns.