June Cheung.
The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
June Cheung, Head of JAPAC at Scope3
Last year, I spoke about the importance of collaboration in achieving meaningful emissions reductions. Looking back now, it’s genuinely inspiring to see the industry embrace this challenge with enthusiasm and action. Collectively, we’ve transformed what once felt like early groundwork into real, measurable progress.
An industry standard
A key milestone in 2024 was the establishment of an industry standard for emissions measurement: the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF). This achievement is the result of unprecedented collaboration of more than 140 stakeholders across marketers, agencies, consultancies, and vendors, including Scope3.
The GMSF, guided by Ad Net Zero, could prove to be the most significant initiative yet for addressing advertising’s carbon impact. We move from a focus on how we measure to who hasn’t started to measure. With Ad Net Zero’s formal launch in Australia, 2025 promises accelerated adoption of this framework, helping brands and agencies translate sustainability commitments into measurable action.
More digital channels on board
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising has joined the sustainability movement. The main sources of emissions vary from channel to channel, in DOOH a lot of it lies with the energy used to power the screens. Historically, gathering this data from media vendors and measuring the emissions from a DOOH campaign is a complex task. However, through collective efforts and commitment from industry leaders such as JCDecaux, Hivestack, Go Media, Lumo and Broadsign who have transparently shared their screen’s energy data, measuring emissions in DOOH in an automated, scalable way is now available. Advertisers can make informed, responsible decisions for this impactful channel.
Sustainability moves beyond a ‘nice-to-have’
Equally transformative is the way emissions reporting has evolved. Once a “nice-to-have,” carbon KPIs are now permeating performance reviews and marketers KPIs. Emissions data is no longer relegated to footnotes in strategy documents—it has become a critical metric alongside reach, ROI, and brand lift. This year Lego announced that their employees bonus will be tied to emissions reductions targets alongside business metrics. Sustainability has truly moved beyond the boardroom into companies day to day operations.
Better media performance when we lead with sustainability
The tangible benefits of optimising for sustainability are inspiring brands and agencies across APAC to begin their own journeys. Take the University of Tasmania, which worked with Scope3 and its agency Pivotus to overhaul the carbon footprint of its digital advertising. By identifying and eliminating climate risk inventory—high-emissions sites often linked to fraud or low-value placements—the University achieved a 33% reduction in carbon emissions.
The results didn’t stop there. Removing wasteful inventory also drove remarkable improvements in campaign performance, with conversion rates surging by 264%. For the University, where conversions mean student admissions, this optimisation created significant incremental value.
This convergence of environmental responsibility and business performance is driving rapid momentum across the region, proving that sustainability can benefit both the planet and the bottom line.
Maintaining momentum despite new challenges
Of course, progress brings fresh challenges. The rise of AI in marketing is expanding the surface area for emissions, with AI model training and infrastructure requiring immense energy. If left unaddressed, these growing emissions could counteract the gains we’ve made. In 2025, we’re focused on extending emissions data to AI and equipping the industry with tools to balance innovation and sustainability.
As we edge closer to 2030, the urgency for meaningful climate action is clear and the momentum we’re seeing today gives me hope. This isn’t just incremental improvement—it’s the start of something transformational. The groundwork we’ve laid is enabling rapid progress, and it’s thrilling to see what can be achieved when ambition meets collaboration.
Let’s keep this momentum going.
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