In today’s complex advertising ecosystem, the journey of an ad—from production, distribution, storage, and eventual archiving—comes at a high cost to our planet. Behind the scenes, each step generates carbon emissions, contributing to the rapidly growing carbon footprint of digital infrastructure.

At the IAB Tech Lab’s recent event in London, Emma Horton, Sustainability Director at XR, discussed how ACIF, (Ad Creative ID Framework) can help address these environmental impacts while simplifying the advertising supply chain.

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Key Stats: The Urgency of Sustainability in Advertising

Internet vs. Aviation Emissions:

• The internet industry now contributes more to global emissions than the aviation industry: 3% vs. 2.5% respectively

Carbon Footprint of a Single Ad Campaign:

• A single ad campaign generates 70 tons of CO₂e emissions—equivalent to the annual emissions of 7 people.

Advertising Industry Emissions Growth:

• Between 2019 and 2022, advertising industry emissions rose by 11%.

Personal Carbon Footprint from Ads:

• 32% of each person's carbon footprint now comes from ads they see and interact with.

Advertising’s Equivalent to Coal Power:

• Advertising emissions in the UK alone are equivalent to the emissions from 56 coal-fired power plants annually.

Unused Assets in Ad Platforms:

• 48% of assets stored on ad platforms are never used, resulting in wasted production effort, time, money, and carbon emissions.

These statistics underscore the pressing need for sustainable practices across the advertising lifecycle, from production through delivery and storage.

What is the Ad Creative ID Framework (ACIF)?

Developed by the IAB Tech Lab and first implemented by XR, ACIF aims to streamline ad tracking across platforms using a unique global ID for each creative asset, ensuring all versions or adaptations of ads are linked back to the original source file. This unification brings more than just operational benefits; it also directly supports sustainable advertising by identifying asset wastage and eliminating duplicated content.

Future Steps and Industry Collaboration

Every layer of inefficiency in ad production and distribution contributes to the growing environmental burden. Our industry has both a responsibility and an opportunity to reverse this trend. With innovative solutions like ACIF, XR is committed to reducing carbon output and empowering brands to optimize their workflows in a way that benefits both the business and the planet.