Ebiquity and Scope3 have disclosed a pivotal report highlighting the environmental toll of waste in the digital advertising supply chain. Analysing over $375M of digital ad spend across 43 brands, they found 15.3% of this expenditure yields no value but significantly contributes to CO2 emissions.

Key data points out stark variances in CO2 emissions across websites. The global digital ad emissions average is 670g CO2PM, equating to the CO2 output of flying 1.35 million passengers from London to Paris. Notably, 'Made for Advertising' sites, while offering no tangible value to brands, emit 26.4% more CO2 than non-MFA, while trusted news platforms produce 52% less than MFA.

Both companies urge the industry to adopt CO2PM as a key metric to steer eco-conscious decisions. They anticipate further research into other advertising mediums, like connected TV and social platforms, in their 2023 studies.