Early Numbers Show How GenAI Can Reduce Agencies’ Carbon Footprint

In May this year, WPP partnered with chipmaker Nvidia to create ads using generative artificial intelligence. Now, numbers are emerging on how environmentally beneficial AI is for campaign creation. The agency’s transition to AI-powered content production could save up to 93% of its carbon footprint compared to that of traditional production, according to the agency….

Climate Activist Says Advertising Should ‘Shrink’ as Protests Against Greenwashing Escalate

As the 100th Brussels Motor Show opened its doors from Jan. 14 to 22, auto executives convened beneath bright lights on the trade show floor to show off sleek new vehicles. Simultaneously, outdoor sites across Europe were covered in car advertising-but many of those marketing efforts were soon hijacked. From London to Berlin to Paris,…

Baratunde Thurston’s New Series Shows the Diversity of Outdoor Spaces and Those Who Enjoy Them

PBS is premiering a new six-part series on July 5 hosted by author and comedian Baratunde Thurston, titled America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston. The series will follow Thurston as he visits six different areas in the country to showcase the various ways Americans interact with the outdoors. Thurston’s destinations include Death Valley National Park, Idaho,…

Comic Relief Co-Founder and Filmmaker Richard Curtis on His Deforestation Campaign

Running across the U.K. is a campaign, which sees a still boxed motorized digger and chainsaws delivered to the door of a highly bemused couple. The aim of this bewildering spot is to teach viewers that their pension funds are linked to deforestation, something they are unlikely to be aware of. Made for Make My…

Pinterest Details Comprehensive Climate Misinformation Policy

Pinterest unveiled its new climate misinformation policy Wednesday, claiming to be the first major digital platform with clearly defined guidelines against false or misleading climate change information, including conspiracy theories, across content and ads. Content that will be removed under the policy for potentially harming the public’s safety, trust or wellbeing includes: Content that denies…

Creativity Is Not Neutral. We Can’t Continue to Pollute Minds

Editor’s note: Today’s column is the third installment in Jonathan Hanson’s sustainability series. Below, he urges agencies to join the growing movement for climate change action and accountability by being selective with their creative capabilities. A growing number of creative professionals are beginning to reflect on how their work is contributing to climate change, as…

Melted Gondola Car Stunt Created to Raise Awareness of Aspen Temperature Increase

More than a month after COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, audiences might be forgiven for being tired of marketing messaging telling them about the climate crisis and how some companies claim to be improving their behavior. Well, one stunt has been produced for ski resort Aspen Snowmass to visualize the effects global warming is having on…

Shock Campaign Suggests People Go Cannibal to Fight Climate Change

Would you eat human meat to save the planet? While more people are adopting vegan, vegetarian or plant-based lifestyles to help the environment, a Swedish scientist proposes cannibalism might be a way to fight climate change. A film from The Swedish Food Federation introduces Erik Karlsson, scientist and founder of a company called Swede Meat,…

To Combat Bias in Advertising, IBM Is Enlisting AI’s Help

With an arsenal of data scientists, IBM is not aiming for small goals. They have their eyes on the big prize, demonstrated by one of their recent initiatives: addressing bias in advertising. Spearheading that drive is Randi Stipes, CMO of Watson Advertising and Weather; developer marketing at IBM, who shares that to best mitigate bias…

IPG’s Climate Action Plan Sets an Emissions Reduction Target

Interpublic Group (IPG) is implementing what it calls an “ambitious climate action plan” to battle climate change. Philippe Krakowsky, chief executive officer at IPG, said in a statement that this shift towards sustainable transformation is imperative for the company to advance its ESG goals. “The steps we are taking today represent a significant move forward…

Samsung Builds a World Using Upcycled Product Packaging

With a Covid-inspired surge in home deliveries and wasteful packaging over the past year, electronics firm Samsung chose to launch an eco-friendly home renovation project ahead of the United Nation’s World Environment Day. Released on June 4, the campaign was devised by Edelman, which was instructed to find a way people could rethink how to…

Fast-Food Brands Look at Reusables to Attempt to Solve Container Waste

Fast-food restaurants have long hinged their business models on extreme convenience. Super quick service and single-use packaging give diners an on-the-go meal with nothing to clean up afterward–leftovers go into the trash without a second thought. But decades after it gained popularity in the U.S., that model isn’t jiving with increased awareness about the environmental…

Paper-Based Packaging Is All the Rage—but Is it Really the Most Sustainable Solution?

Paper-based packaging is having a moment. As the consequences of a climate crisis become more top of mind for consumers, brands in different categories are looking for ways to reduce their ecological footprint by making adjustments to their packaging. Brands are taking one of two routes: creating reusable packaging that can be maintained by the…

Walmart Wants Zero Emissions by 2040—Without Carbon Offsets

Walmart has set ambitious new goals for itself to combat climate change, targeting zero emissions in its global operations by 2040, as well as committing to protect, manage or restore at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030. In fact, in a blog post, president and CEO…

Facebook Says It Will Achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions This Year

Facebook has announced new corporate sustainability benchmarks along with a new initiative aimed at fighting misinformation about climate change. The social network aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions starting later this year with 100% reliance on renewable energy. It also pledged to reach net zero emissions for its value chain–including “suppliers and other factors…

United Nations Enlists Parkour Pro in Anti-Pollution PSA

LONDON–Most people know what air pollution is and that it can have serious implications for the environment, global warming and human health. But it’s quite hard to picture the noxious, mostly translucent gases in a tangible way. To bring the dangers of air pollution into focus, AMV BBDO in London has created a new digital…

Apple’s Sweet Lullaby Promises 100% Carbon Neutrality by 2030

After delivering one of the most hilarious ads about working from home just two weeks ago, Apple has released another ad–only this time, it stars a baby and soothes with a lullaby about tackling environmental messes with planet-sized plans. This lullaby isn’t sung; it’s spoken. Cooing in a whisper, the narrator introduces the viewer to…

Quirky Interactive Art Campaign Lets Kids Send Climate Change Messages With AR Faces

A new interactive art campaign is making children the face of climate change–literally. The project, from artist Olafur Eliasson with support from agency AKQA, lets kids superimpose their faces on various environmental scenes through augmented reality tech and share their thoughts about how climate change will impact their futures. All that’s needed to participate is…

UK Charity Wants You to Call Out Brand Pollution on Social Media This Earth Day

Surfers Against Sewage, a U.K.-based marine conservation charity, normally uses its “Return to Offender” campaign to encourage brands to implement better sustainability programs by sending packaging pollution back to the offending manufacturers. But with Covid-19 preventing volunteers from physically cleaning up the country’s beaches and streets, the campaign has gone digital for Earth Day. Now…

It’s Time to Start ‘Greenworking’ and Commit to Making Sustainable Changes

We should all be actively involved in collective work, meaning work not focused on the next big quarter but instead on tearing down the collective apathy of our future. This is the work of our lives: not against the government or each other or to collectively make someone a billionaire many times over. Instead, it…