Ireland’s advertising sector launches report on addressing climate impact

Ad Net Zero Ireland, a collaborative venture comprised of key players across Ireland‘s advertising sector, has published a new report exploring how the sector can address climate impact while improving campaign effectiveness.

Developed by Havas Media, WPP Media, and Futureproof Insights, and supported by trade organisations including IAPI, AAI, MII, CPI, and IAB Ireland, the report aligns with the international Ad Net Zero 5-Point Action Plan, which focuses in particular on reducing the carbon impact of media planning and buying.

Entitled The Sustain/Ability Gain: How Impactful Creative can Take you Further with Less, it’s the first study of its kind to draw exclusively on Irish data, and has been developed to provide practical climate guidance for advertising industry players, including agencies, advertisers, and media owners.

‘Substantial difference’

“We know that the weight and media mix chosen for a campaign can make a substantial difference to its carbon footprint, and that advertisers need to be well-informed to plan their marketing with its environmental impact in mind,” Siobhan Masterson, chief executive of the IAPI, said in the introduction to the report.

“However, to make these informed decisions and transform our business practices, we need robust data and actionable insights. This report provides exactly that, moving us from ambition to implementation and helping ensure that advertising is part of the solution.”

Strong creative

Among the key findings of the report are that strong creative can have an enduring quality, in turn supporting sustainability strategies, and that effectiveness is multidimensional, with engagement, clarity, emotion and memorability all important.


The authors of the report are hopeful that it will provide actionable data to empower advertising industry players to reduce emissions from media planning, as well as bolstering creative effectiveness.

“While the challenge is global, our solutions must be tailored and relevant to our own market,” Masterson added. “That is why this report, built on Irish data and research, is so incredibly valuable. […] By providing our industry with localised benchmarks and insights, this work empowers Irish advertisers, agencies, and media owners to improve their performance on environmental issues and helps position the Irish media sector as a true sustainability leader.” Read more here.