Commercial Communications Council chief executive Simon Lendrum. Photo / supplied
New Zealand’s multi-billion-dollar and hugely influential advertising, marketing and media industry is coming together in a new action plan to lower emissions.
The action plan will also include a strong focus on helping advertisers promote sustainability – and avoid greenwashing.
The Ad Net Zero campaign is gathering momentum ahead of its official launch early next month, with One NZ and KiwiBank on board as foundation advertisers, TVNZ and oOh!Media as media companies and around 10 agencies all signed up.
That number is set to swell, with talks under way with key media businesses and other agencies across the sector, says Commercial Communications Council chief executive Simon Lendrum.
Ad Net Zero – already in place in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the US – is an action plan to reduce emissions and raise awareness in five key areas:
Essentially, the plan moves sustainability up the priority list in a range of disciplines across the industry.
The immediate focus for the campaign in New Zealand will be the proper collection of data and measurement of the size of the problem – just how big is the industry’s carbon footprint?
A collective effort will give a much clearer picture, says Lendrum.
From there, the action plan asks all participants to set public targets, alongside reduction plans. The reduction of emissions will be monitored “through constant vigilance and attention”.
It is not, says Lendrum, a matter of trying to curtail media creativity or resource, or giving certain platforms preferential treatment. In fact, the plan is to grow the industry, but with a smaller carbon footprint.
He cites the example of advertising photo and video shoots. Diesel generators are needed at some of New Zealand’s most popular spots – in the future, mains-feed capability would help lower emissions.
And it wasn’t simply a matter of saying the likes of AI could take over many roles; digital production, with the use of servers, also has a carbon footprint. “Digital isn’t a free pass,” says Lendrum.
The action plan would look to move the entire industry forward.
It also recognises the influence the industry has on consumers’ behaviour.
According to the Ad Net Zero website, “Our ambition is that agencies and their clients should increasingly work together to use advertising to promote more sustainable choices between competing products and services, to back innovations that deliver greener solutions to people’s needs and desires, and to persuade people to adopt behaviours that reduce carbon emissions.”
It says the industry needs to understand the importance of promoting accurate information.
“… in the UK, the CMA has published a Green Claims Code, outlining, for example, how relevant claims must be truthful, clear and evidence-backed – while avoiding important omissions; making fair and meaningful comparisons; and considering the full life cycle of a product.”
Lendrum cited automotive advertising data from the UK: In 2018, 7 per cent of car advertisements focused on electric vehicles; in 2022, it was 73 per cent.
He said that a lot of media businesses were already under way with detailed sustainability plans – Ad Net Zero would get everyone on board, with a cohesive strategy.
“The Clemenger group is a great example of the right approach to measurement and reduction with Toitū.”
He says sustainability is now an economic factor in the C-suites and boardrooms of our businesses.
“We have got to move from sustainability from being a luxury to a necessity. While we are a competitive industry… when it matters, we are a collaborative industry.
“It’s a pyrrhic victory if there’s one media entity left standing; we want everyone to thrive.”
Ad Net Zero will launch on August 4, with special guest Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
* Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.