AdGreen triples measurement of ad productions in year two

More companies are taking part in AdGreen’s efforts to track carbon production in advertising and more projects are being measured, according to the UK organisation’s latest annual review.

Key stats 

• In 2023, the number of companies completing projects doubled from 2022, while the number of completed projects almost tripled to 1,424. 
• 57% of top 30 UK creative agencies, and 72% of top 30 UK production agencies have contributed to a completed project. This is an increase of 10% and 33% respectively from 2022.
• Oliver takes the lead with 121 completed projects in 2023, and the greatest number of employees to complete AdGreen’s sustainable production training. 
• There was a 1.5 tCO2e (metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent) increase in emissions in the average project size, compared to 2022, jumping to 6.2 tCO2e
• The average project size for productions with a budget over £50,000 per shoot day rose to 13.9 tCO2e, from 12.8 tCO2e.
• 72.1% of emissions recorded were attributed to travel and transport (air travel alone accounted for 60.2%), an increase of 9.7% from 2022.

Why advertising emissions matter

The latest data reiterates the need for the advertising industry to address unsustainable travel habits when creating content, particularly air travel, which generated 60% of the carbon emissions measured in the calculator in 2023. 

And while generative AI may help solve some of these issues it’s by no means a silver bullet, as its environmental credentials are practically non-existent, consuming, as it does, huge amounts of electricity and water. A former Google executive has noted that “At some point the reality of the [electricity] grid is going to get in the way of AI.”

What next?

The AdGreen carbon calculator is being upgraded to include measurement of cloud storage, and virtual production where LED volumes are being used.

Sourced from AdGreen

[Image: AdGreen carbon calculator]