Environmental Accountability: Alma Media Implements Carbon Footprint Measurement for Digital Ads

Environmental Accountability: Alma Media Implements Carbon Footprint Measurement for Digital Ads

(IN BRIEF) Finnish publisher Alma Media becomes the first in the country to offer advertisers a carbon footprint calculation for digital campaigns. The calculation will measure the greenhouse gas emissions generated by advertising on Alma Media’s ad network and report them to customers on a campaign-by-campaign basis. Alma Media’s measurement includes factors such as ad inventory supply path, ad format, creative distribution, impressions or video starts, and the energy consumption of technologies, data centers, and users’ devices. The company has set ambitious science-based climate targets and aims to halve its own greenhouse gas emissions while reducing emissions from the subcontracting chain by 14% by 2030. Alma Media’s carbon footprint reporting for digital campaigns will begin in June 2023 and is provided as an additional service free of charge to customers.

(PRESS RELEASE) HELSINKI, 25-May-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Alma Media (HEL: ALMA), a Finnish media and digital service business company, takes a pioneering step in the industry by offering advertisers a carbon footprint calculation for their digital campaigns. As the first Finnish publisher to implement this initiative, Alma Media aims to provide transparency and empower advertisers to make environmentally conscious decisions.

The carbon footprint calculation takes into account the greenhouse gas emissions associated with advertising throughout the entire supply path of the campaign. This includes factors such as ad inventory supply path, ad format, creative distribution, impressions or video starts obtained, and the energy consumption of technologies, data centers, and users’ devices during media consumption. Additionally, Alma Media considers the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its own operations.

Alma Media has a history of environmental commitment and was the third media company worldwide, and the first in Finland, to establish ambitious science-based SBT (Science-Based Targets) climate targets back in 2016. In 2021, the company further tightened its targets, aiming to halve its greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations and reduce emissions from the subcontracting chain by 14% by 2030. These climate targets have received endorsement from the SBTi (Science-Based Targets initiative) and align with the threshold of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Alma Media has also gained recognition for its environmental efforts in international ratings.

Starting in June 2023, Alma Media will begin reporting the greenhouse gas emissions from advertising campaigns published on its digital network. This additional service, provided to customers free of charge, aims to raise awareness and encourage environmentally conscious advertising practices. The promotion-specific carbon footprint calculation model for digital advertising is powered by Scope3, a global remote-based company known for its open-source emissions model, which measures the end-to-end delivery of an advertisement.

Alma Media’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond its own operations, as the company strives to foster a greener advertising ecosystem and contribute to a more sustainable future.

“We want to promote sustainable advertising, the transition towards a low carbon industry and help our customers make responsible choices also in the digital business environment. Measuring the carbon footprint of digital advertising is a natural continuation of our environmental work, in which, in addition to our own activities, we focus on identifying and reporting environmental impacts throughout our value chain. It is a good starting point that in principle Alma Media’s ad inventory already has a very low carbon footprint,” says Elina Kukkonen, Director of Communications and Brand at Alma Media. 

“The emission load of programmatic advertising is affected by every part of the campaign, advertising impression and choice of media partner. Along the rising volume of digital advertising comes the increasing environmental burden. To save the environment, one must first know how and where the value chain is encountered and how much emissions are generated. With more holistic view for environmental impact of the advertising value chain, we will now help advertisers to recognise this with data. We can help our advertiser customers, their media agencies, advertising agencies and production partners to make sustainable choices. Our customers can also make use of the campaign data in their own sustainability reporting,” says Johanna Vartiainen, Director of Digital Advertising Services and Development. 

More Information:

Johanna Vartiainen
Director of Digital Advertising Services and Development
tel: 01016653282

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is an international company of digital media, marketplaces and services with a strong capacity for renewal. We inspire human curiosity and choice by creating services that combine technology and content with a local heart. In Finland, our best-known brands include Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Iltalehti, Jobly, Etuovi.com, Nettiauto and Nettimoto. Our recruitment services include prace.cz and jobs.cz in the Czech Republic, Profesia.sk in Slovakia and mojposao.net in Croatia.

In Finland, our business operations include leading housing and automotive marketplaces, financial and professional media, national consumer media and content and data services for businesses and professionals. Alma Media’s international business in Eastern Central Europe, Sweden and the Baltic countries consists of recruitment services and an online marketplace for commercial properties.

Alma Media operates in 11 countries in Europe and employs approximately 1,700 professionals. Alma Media’s revenue from continuing operations was EUR 309 million in 2022 of which the share of digital business was 81%. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.fi/en/.

SOURCE: Alma Media Corporation