- The AdGreen Levy is being introduced to support the initiative’s future plans with Unilever and Nestlé first confirmed contributors
- 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
AdGreen has announced its carbon calculator will launch this September and will be free at the point of use for all in the UK advertising industry. The tool, which is bespoke to the industry and has been designed with support from those who will be using it, will ensure advertising agencies, production companies and service companies are able to collaboratively measure the carbon impact of their projects and to identify the highest carbon producing activities.
AdGreen’s Resources Guide also launches today to give ad production teams an easily digestible handbook on how to start their journey towards net-zero.
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 carbon calculator will be a valuable tool for organisations aligning with the Ad Net Zero initiative, which 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 advertising industry in eliminating the negative environmental impacts of advertising production. Since September 2020, adam&eveDDB, APR (Advertising Production Resources), 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 faced in the context of the industry.
Contributions towards The AdGreen Levy, which has the full support of the Industry trade bodies including the ISBA, APA, AOP, and IPA 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 Levy is a recommended 0.25% of the cost to produce an advertising asset – or £2.50 per £1,000 of relevant spend. The AdGreen team will review financials on an annual basis, with the levy percentage reducing as more advertisers decide to contribute.
Jo Coombes, AdGreen’s Project Director said: “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. We are excited for the launch of our carbon calculator later on this year, which will allow the advertising production community to measure and then really understand how to reduce a production’s environmental impact.”
James Barge, ISBA’s Director of Public Policy and AdNetZero and AdGreen Advisory Board Member said: “As a founding member of AdGreen we’re delighted with the way its launch has been embraced. As the initiative continues to grow, the introduction of the levy carries our full support and one we are advocating to all ISBA members. It is only by joining together to support the levy that we can ensure that AdGreen continues to provide valuable resources and tools free at the point of use. One such tool is the carbon calculator, whose launch later this year will play a critical role in ensuring that ISBA members can quantify, track and manage the carbon footprints associated with production and, in turn, drive solutions which will benefit us all. The journey to real net zero requires us all to play our part, learn together and drive change. We look forward to ISBA members continued support for AdGreen.”
A full copy of The AdGreen Levy guide can be found here, including details of inclusions and exclusions and key dates. Principal Production Partners will need to register their intent to collect levy payments by signing up at the AdGreen website. Similarly, advertisers keen to support can register their intent to pay the levy via the AdGreen website.
ISBA are running a webinar with AdGreen for our members tomorrow – Thursday 6 May at 2pm, which will detail all you need to know about the levy as an advertiser. You can register for the event here.
If you can’t make tomorrow’s webinar, there will also be further information provided at AdGreen’s webinar on 13 May.