Advertising in the Age of Climate Accountability

The advertising industry is not directly an emissions-intensive sector. However, its role in driving consumption patterns – including overall levels of consumption – makes it an important part of a transition to a net zero world.

This report benchmarks the climate transition performance of six of the world’s largest advertising agencies: Dentsu, Havas, Interpublic Group (IPG), Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP.

The report evaluates these companies across emissions performance, value chain engagement, governance and policy alignment, risk assessment and capital allocation. The goal is to provide financial institutions with a clear picture of their transition readiness and potential climate-related risks and opportunities.

Key findings

• Advertised emissions are the greenhouse gas emissions that result from the uplift in sales generated by advertising. Asking advertising agencies to calculate and publish their advertised emissions reveals the climate impact of the incremental consumption they have generated on behalf of their clients.
• A lack of uniformity in how advertising agencies calculate and report their Scope 3 emissions makes it difficult to compare performance on an apples-to-apples basis.
• On both customer and supplier engagement, the advertising agencies generally provide little detail on their strategies, which appear early stage at best.

Long-term investors have a crucial role to play in catalysing the decarbonisation of this sector. Companies that integrate climate into core operations, governance, and investment decisions are more likely to protect long-term value and benefit from a low-carbon economy.

The report highlights three key areas for investor engagement:

1. Differentiate transition leaders
2. Engage to improve governance and disclosures
3. Support agencies working to support the transition