There is no denying that climate change is a crisis. Dentsu and Microsoft Advertising partnered to publish a global research study around sustainable media that found that business leaders increasingly see climate change as a threat to their bottom line that needs to be addressed—and fast. It's easy to see why. Climate change affects not only the environment but also the broader economy. As a result, consumers are demanding that companies take action and make progress toward meaningful goals.
This year’s Earth Day theme is Invest in Our Planet, going beyond do-it-yourself tips and calling businesses to invest in their planet through the support of new technologies, broad innovation, and focused investments. It's time for bold, collective action.
Brands need to get candid on climate change. At iProspect, our unique understanding of the intersection of culture, content, data, and technology powers how we approach sustainability. We believe that agencies play an important role in driving real change for brands that are willing to be open about their climate impact – creating new value for them in culture & bottom-line performance that can only come from being fully transparent about what they do & don’t do; how they do it; and why they do it.
Brands also need to take an active role in shaping the cultural conversation, taking responsibility for technology, and being leaders in the realm of sustainability. The mission of brands, platforms, and agencies who are invested and passionate about making critical change should be to get society engaged in and thinking about sustainability all the time. It also means taking responsibility in leading the innovations for sustainable technologies. Major tech giants have already made moves toward carbon-neutral ways of working, and media plans are evolving to include carbon neutral options. Businesses need to provide accurate estimates of the environmental impact of individual campaigns, and they should provide those numbers in a way that is consistent with other industries.
Climate change is a complex topic that has a direct, but often unseen and unquantifiable impact on people's lives, particularly the most vulnerable. The actions we take today to defend the environment should be bold, sustainable investments that will build a greener tomorrow. We all have a role, big or small, to play to ensure a more sustainable future.
Learn more about the rise of sustainable media and strategies business must take to implement change in dentsu and Microsoft’s report.
