Why Must We Act Now?
The climate crisis is no longer a distant horizon, it’s already here. From Australia to Valencia, wildfires and floods are sadly becoming the new normal in the news (and it shouldn’t!). And yet, in the midst of this urgency, most of us still underestimate the invisible impact of our own industry.
I get you… The truth isn’t easy to hear: our digital actions, from a simple email to a video ad, consume energy. Let’s not forget that every search, every impression, every data transfer leaves a trace.
Indeed, in 2020, the digitisation of our world generated 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a share already comparable to the aviation industry and expected to double by 2025 (World Economic Forum).
In our common discussion and actions, we often focus on cars, planes, and factories, but the servers, networks, and screens that fuel our marketing ecosystem are quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing sources of CO₂ emissions.
Why does digital marketing consume so much energy?
At Semetis, we know our actions impact the climate. That’s why we keep challenging our strategy to stay efficient while limiting our footprint on the planet. Indeed, every digital campaign, no matter how small, has an environmental footprint. All stages, from production to reporting, contribute to it. From the creation of assets to the moment an ad appears on a screen and its data is stored for reporting, each step consumes energy across multiple systems:
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Data centers power the servers that host platforms, process campaigns, and store massive volumes of data (all of which require significant electricity for computing and cooling).
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Networks move information across the internet, relying on physical infrastructure that runs 24/7.
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Advertising platforms perform constant real-time calculations to deliver, optimize, and measure ads, while storing them, which increases their energy use.
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End-user devices, whether phones, computers, or TVs, also consume energy every time an ad is loaded, played, or interacted with.
Stephen Woodford from the Advertising Association points out that about 55% of advertising-related emissions stem from media operations themselves. At Semetis, we’re aware that this requires rethinking how we plan, distribute, and optimize campaigns, and that our digital strategies play a role just as important as any other stage of the marketing process.
Digital may feel immaterial, but every impression leaves a trace. That’s why making the right strategic choices in how we plan, target, and deliver our campaigns truly matters.
Waste in media planning: How sustainability can guide performance?
For years, marketing success has been measured in volume: more impressions, more reach, more data. But more doesn’t always mean better.
The hidden cost of this “more is better” approach is media waste. Indeed, when ad frequency isn’t controlled, when messages reach disinterested users, or when formats are too heavy for mobile devices, both energy and performance are wasted. A broad, low-relevance approach doesn’t just generate poor business results, it also drives up emissions unnecessarily.
What’s the solution ? Smarter reach. A sustainable media plan is built on impact, not overload. It means reaching the right audience, at the right time, with the right frequency; using lighter and context-appropriate formats; and prioritizing high-attention placements over repetitive exposure. It’s about removing low-quality impressions that add no value. While this approach can sometimes challenge business objectives or volume-driven KPIs, our role is to find the right balance: maximizing performance while reducing unnecessary reach.
This approach not only reduces CO₂ emissions but also maintains, and often enhances, campaign performance, proving that sustainability and effectiveness can go hand in hand.
Take video length as an example: shortening a TV spot from 30 seconds to 20 seconds can reduce total emissions by nearly 30% (according to the OMG Carbon Calculator), without compromising impact. Small, thoughtful optimizations like these can drive meaningful change when applied at scale.
Let’s open the dialogue !
Sustainable digital marketing isn’t just a technical challenge, it’s a collective mission. No single brand or agency can transform the ecosystem alone. Real impact comes when advertisers, media partners, platforms, and agencies work together to redefine success.
We must open the dialogue:
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With clients, to raise awareness and set new KPIs that include carbon impact such as a carbon CPM calculated as: (Emissions in tons / Total impressions) × 1,000.
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With partners, to choose low-carbon inventories and renewable-powered data centers.
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Within our teams, to integrate a sustainability dimension into every brief and media plan.
To go deeper and start measuring media emissions, accessible tools like Comm to Zero offer an easy and low-cost first step as it’s accessible online. Indeed, this Belgian BAM initiative helps advertisers estimate the carbon footprint of their campaigns using media data and energy assumptions, making sustainability measurable from day one.
From there, more advanced tools, like Google’s Carbon Footprint Report, internal carbon calculators (as I already mentioned above, we have our Carbon Calculator tool at OMG), or platforms such as Scope3, offer deeper analysis. They track emissions across channels, compare the sustainability of media choices, and, in the case of Scope3, directly help optimize campaigns by removing high-carbon inventory. Together, these solutions turn sustainability into real, data-driven action.
Now, the more we talk about it, the more progress we create. As you might already know, sustainability isn’t about perfection, it’s about moving forward. It starts with a conversation, with small, deliberate steps taken today, because silence is no longer an option. And at Semetis, we’re ready to take that journey with you and work together toward a more sustainable tomorrow.
Pénélope Négrault
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