Advertising Sector Leads the Way Applying New Race to Zero Framework

Race to Zero, a global campaign led by the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and the largest coalition of non-state actors committed to climate action, has launched a six-point framework: The role of professional service providers in realizing a net-zero future. This framework sets the standard for emissions reductions through the concept of 'Serviced Emissions'. Alongside this, Purpose Disruptors have published a supporting case study, Advertising’s Evolutionary Moment, showcasing how two leading advertising organisations are applying the principles in practice, ushering in a new era of climate leadership.

Serviced Emissions are the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions influenced by the services provided by Professional Service Providers (PSP) Sectors, including law, advisors, architects, accounting, PR firms and advertising. In advertising, this is illustrated by the concept of Advertised Emissions—the GHG emissions resulting from increased sales driven by advertising efforts.

The launch, during New York Climate Week, follows a six-month consultation involving 250 industry professionals across various PSP sectors. The framework provides essential guidelines for aligning the provision of services with the 1.5°C climate goal. It addresses a critical gap in existing net zero guidance by empowering PSPs to leverage their influence and drive meaningful climate action and reduce serviced emissions.

The new report makes clear that: “Professional Service Providers… have a considerable opportunity to drive the transition towards a 1.5 °C future. Through their provision of advice and/ or services, they can significantly influence their client’s strategies and actions, enabling system transformation across critical sectors of the economy. Serviced Emissions are likely to be the main type of GHG emissions associated with PSPs.”

The report goes on to explain that:

“By engaging with the concept of Serviced Emissions, PSPs have the opportunity to direct services and actions towards activities that contribute to the reduction of or make the smallest possible contribution to GHG emissions, as well as scaling the systems needed for a resilient net-zero future. This may require PSPs to transform their service offerings and client portfolio mix to ensure that the impacts of the services offered are aligned with the goal of achieving a 1.5°C future and provide opportunities to gain new business and manage risks (legal and reputational).”

Case Study in Action

Demonstrating how to apply the Race to Zero framework in action, today, Purpose Disruptors, in collaboration with leading advertising agency M&C Saatchi and in-house marketing agency OLIVER UK, have published a detailed case study "Advertising's Evolutionary Moment: How to Turn Climate Ambition into Impact" alongside the consultation paper. The case study demonstrates how advertising leaders are already applying the recommended PSP action areas to achieve substantial climate outcomes, offering a practical roadmap for others in the industry.

Two climate pioneers, M&C Saatchi and OLIVER UK have already adopted key steps in the Race To Zero framework’s action areas as follows:

• Strategy and vision: Recognised their influence on emissions and evaluated client portfolios 
• Governance, management and institutional capacity: Contributed to the development and refinement of the Advertised Emissions methodology.
• Due Diligence and Risk: Embedded climate considerations in their risk and due diligence processes for new clients, using a three-step check to evaluate climate commitments, emissions reduction, target setting, reporting, and performance in human rights and DE&I.
• Measuring Impact and Reporting on Progress: Identified that the Advertised Emissions for their top 20 clients were around 42 times higher than their operational emissions.
• Systems Change: Encouraged peers to engage with Advertised Emissions by contributing to the Case Study, promoting broader industry adoption.

Lucy Usher, UK Sustainability Lead at OLIVER said, “It’s time for a new type of sustainable business leadership. Where companies ask what is the most we can be doing at this moment in time, rather than the least, to future-proof our business, our people, and the society we play a part in. It might seem daunting but you don’t have to eat the elephant all at once – learn from others like us, use the Serviced Emissions Action Areas to take your next steps, and become an active participant in building a resilient economy.” 

Pamela Noakes, group director of sustainability at M&C Saatchi said, "We stand on the brink of an extraordinary transformation, where the shift to sustainability is not merely an option but a commercial imperative. Just as those who failed to embrace digital transformation were left behind, brands that delay this change risk being consigned to irrelevance. It is our responsibility to both our businesses and our clients to lead proactively in this transition. This is a call to action for the advertising and communications sector to embed the Serviced Emissions Action Areas. But we should not let perfect be the enemy of good. Start where you think you can - and, most importantly, start now."

A Call to Action for Professional Service Providers

The launch of this framework and case study represents a significant groundswell of action across PSP industries, including advertising, law, and accounting. The professional service guidelines, featuring the six-step framework, critically focus on influencing client behaviour and measuring holistic impact.

The Race to Zero’s PSP Working Group developed this framework as a “work in progress” to catalyse further testing, refinement, and adoption, and drive the development of standards and regulations, across sectors, that will ensure widespread implementation across their industries.

The potential for accelerating emissions reductions through Serviced Emissions is vast. However, realising this potential requires coordination, collaboration, capacity building, and the development of standards. Purpose Disruptors and Race to Zero call on the advertising sector and other PSPs to unite, apply the framework, learn from early adopters, and collaborate radically during this critical moment when nothing short of an “all-in” approach is required.

Jonathan Wise, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors and lead author of Advertised Emissions said, "Global climate leaders, Race to Zero and Oxford Net Zero have provided the industry with what it needs - a clear and actionable framework to manage and reduce the emissions associated with the work it does on behalf of its clients. Better still, climate pioneers OLIVER and M&C Saatchi have demonstrated how organisations can embrace these principles in practice to supercharge the ad industry's transition. By adopting this work, it will help the industry graduate beyond the focus on operational emissions to change its output and influence in society - away from driving unsustainable consumption and towards embedding the values, attitudes and lifestyles that will help us live within planetary boundaries. And who wouldn’t want that?”

Ranjita Rajan and Alexis Mcgivern (Oxford Net Zero), co-chairs, Professional Service Providers Working Group and said, "Professional service providers (PSPs) have the power to supercharge the global net zero transition by aligning client advice with 1.5°C goals. This influence has been largely unaddressed by existing net zero guidance. These action areas address this vital gap, benefiting from diverse expert contributions, and providing a springboard for PSPs ready to lead on climate."

Download the "Advertising's Evolutionary Moment: How to Turn Climate Ambition into Impact." Case Study here.