← Back to Blog

[Infographic] Research Reveals Consumer Understanding of Advertising’s Impact on Carbon Emissions

Research
3
minutes
Technical Level
November 18, 2023
3
minutes
June 7, 2022
Technical Level
Frank Maguire
VP, Insight, Strategy & Sustainability
While consumers are willing to change their online habits to minimize their carbon footprint, a majority of the responsibility rests in the hands of the advertising supply chain, according to our research at Sharethrough.

GreenPMPs™ to Offset Carbon Emissions

At Sharethrough, sustainability has become a key value for our employees so we committed at the beginning of 2022 to build a carbon offsetting solution. This ultimately led to the launch of our GreenPMPs™ in partnership with Scope3, making Sharethrough the first SSP to offer net-zero carbon emission programmatic advertising.

In true Sharethrough fashion, we wanted to take a human-centric approach to building this product. So we first ran a study to understand consumers’ perspectives and knowledge of carbon emissions to see if and how our solution could fit those perspectives.

What we discovered is that 6 of 10 consumers did not know that browsing the internet emits carbon waste. Yet, many consumers are willing to change their browsing and consumption habits to reduce their carbon emissions. In fact, 74% of people are willing to go as far as reducing their time online by up to 2 hours if it means lowering their environmental impact.

Even in the digital world, global CO2 emissions are on the rise, with 1 ad impression generating an average of 1g of carbon waste. More importantly, digital ads contributed to a 28% increase in the average consumer’s carbon footprint, according to a report by Purpose Disruptors.

In fact, the carbon emissions caused by the internet are equal to the amount of carbon generated by the aviation industry. This means that 1 million ad impressions are the equivalent of 1 round trip flight from Boston to London.

Rather than placing the onus on consumers to change their online behaviors, the ad tech industry needs to act now. 80% of consumers said they prefer brands that are actively working to reduce their carbon emissions. Additionally, 55% of consumers believe brands play a more important role than governments to create a better future.

Together, we can work to decarbonize the programmatic supply chain and build a clean media ecosystem for a greener tomorrow.

Discover how to get started with Sharethrough’s GreenPMPs™ and help offset the carbon emissions caused by digital ad campaigns.

Infographic: Consumer Understanding of Internet Carbon Emissions

Below is a full view of our research results:

To view the free infographic, fill the form below.

While consumers are willing to change their online habits to minimize their carbon footprint, a majority of the responsibility rests in the hands of the advertising supply chain, according to our research at Sharethrough.

GreenPMPs™ to Offset Carbon Emissions

At Sharethrough, sustainability has become a key value for our employees so we committed at the beginning of 2022 to build a carbon offsetting solution. This ultimately led to the launch of our GreenPMPs™ in partnership with Scope3, making Sharethrough the first SSP to offer net-zero carbon emission programmatic advertising.

In true Sharethrough fashion, we wanted to take a human-centric approach to building this product. So we first ran a study to understand consumers’ perspectives and knowledge of carbon emissions to see if and how our solution could fit those perspectives.

What we discovered is that 6 of 10 consumers did not know that browsing the internet emits carbon waste. Yet, many consumers are willing to change their browsing and consumption habits to reduce their carbon emissions. In fact, 74% of people are willing to go as far as reducing their time online by up to 2 hours if it means lowering their environmental impact.

Even in the digital world, global CO2 emissions are on the rise, with 1 ad impression generating an average of 1g of carbon waste. More importantly, digital ads contributed to a 28% increase in the average consumer’s carbon footprint, according to a report by Purpose Disruptors.

In fact, the carbon emissions caused by the internet are equal to the amount of carbon generated by the aviation industry. This means that 1 million ad impressions are the equivalent of 1 round trip flight from Boston to London.

Rather than placing the onus on consumers to change their online behaviors, the ad tech industry needs to act now. 80% of consumers said they prefer brands that are actively working to reduce their carbon emissions. Additionally, 55% of consumers believe brands play a more important role than governments to create a better future.

Together, we can work to decarbonize the programmatic supply chain and build a clean media ecosystem for a greener tomorrow.

Discover how to get started with Sharethrough’s GreenPMPs™ and help offset the carbon emissions caused by digital ad campaigns.

Infographic: Consumer Understanding of Internet Carbon Emissions

Below is a full view of our research results:

No items found.
About Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech—

Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech is a short 3-minute podcast exploring the news in the digital advertising industry. Ad tech is a fast-growing industry with many updates happening daily. As it can be hard for most to keep up with the latest news, the Sharethrough team wanted to create an audio series compiling notable mentions each week.

While consumers are willing to change their online habits to minimize their carbon footprint, a majority of the responsibility rests in the hands of the advertising supply chain, according to our research at Sharethrough.

GreenPMPs™ to Offset Carbon Emissions

At Sharethrough, sustainability has become a key value for our employees so we committed at the beginning of 2022 to build a carbon offsetting solution. This ultimately led to the launch of our GreenPMPs™ in partnership with Scope3, making Sharethrough the first SSP to offer net-zero carbon emission programmatic advertising.

In true Sharethrough fashion, we wanted to take a human-centric approach to building this product. So we first ran a study to understand consumers’ perspectives and knowledge of carbon emissions to see if and how our solution could fit those perspectives.

What we discovered is that 6 of 10 consumers did not know that browsing the internet emits carbon waste. Yet, many consumers are willing to change their browsing and consumption habits to reduce their carbon emissions. In fact, 74% of people are willing to go as far as reducing their time online by up to 2 hours if it means lowering their environmental impact.

Even in the digital world, global CO2 emissions are on the rise, with 1 ad impression generating an average of 1g of carbon waste. More importantly, digital ads contributed to a 28% increase in the average consumer’s carbon footprint, according to a report by Purpose Disruptors.

In fact, the carbon emissions caused by the internet are equal to the amount of carbon generated by the aviation industry. This means that 1 million ad impressions are the equivalent of 1 round trip flight from Boston to London.

Rather than placing the onus on consumers to change their online behaviors, the ad tech industry needs to act now. 80% of consumers said they prefer brands that are actively working to reduce their carbon emissions. Additionally, 55% of consumers believe brands play a more important role than governments to create a better future.

Together, we can work to decarbonize the programmatic supply chain and build a clean media ecosystem for a greener tomorrow.

Discover how to get started with Sharethrough’s GreenPMPs™ and help offset the carbon emissions caused by digital ad campaigns.

Infographic: Consumer Understanding of Internet Carbon Emissions

Below is a full view of our research results:

About Calibrate—

Founded in 2015, Calibrate is a yearly conference for new engineering managers hosted by seasoned engineering managers. The experience level of the speakers ranges from newcomers all the way through senior engineering leaders with over twenty years of experience in the field. Each speaker is greatly concerned about the craft of engineering management. Organized and hosted by Sharethrough, it was conducted yearly in September, from 2015-2019 in San Francisco, California.

Stay Up-to-Date—

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive cutting-edge digital advertising insights, including our weekly Behind Headlines episodes, delivered right to your inbox.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Listen to Next—
3:00
November 19, 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Secrecy & Augmented Reality
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re chatting about secret ad buyers, a new partnership, and augmented reality.
3:00
November 12, 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Connected TVs & Digital Publishers
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re talking about Connected TV ads and print publishers going digital.
3:00
November 5, 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Metaverses & Social TV
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re chatting about a new metaverse entry, social platforms on TV, and ad experiences.
Watch Next—
3:00
July 2, 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Delayed Cookies & Investments
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re talking about the delay in the depreciation of third-party cookies & news on IPOs.
3:00
June 25, 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Power Plays & Privacy
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re taking a look at the role of competition and key player’s growing dominance.
3:00
June 18 2021
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Lawsuits & Set Backs In Addressability
This week in Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech we’re talking about the rise in privacy and addressability, from lawsuits to setbacks.
Frank Maguire
VP, Insight, Strategy & Sustainability

About the Author

Frank has spent over a decade at Sharethrough conducting research studies to better understand how humans respond to advertising and sharing strategies, insights and best practices that help brands and agencies adapt their unique advertising challenges to ever-evolving media consumption behaviors. He is a digital advertising industry veteran, beginning his career working for clients including Nestle, Pfizer and Wyndham on the agency side and then opening up and growing Sharethrough's East Coast headquarters in NYC.

More from this author