In her work, Dirckx is responsible for measuring and reducing the CO2 footprint generated from digital media, websites, content produced, and engagement through advocacy and influencers.
— This carbon footprint is generated through the energy consumed and the fossil fuels that we are burning to be able to provide that energy, she says. If we look at it from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), approximately 5% is coming from content production. 1% is coming from data centres. The transmission of the assets is about 40 to 60%, so quite a big impact. The device view, when the consumer sees the ad on their device, is about 20 to 40%, and end of life is about 1%.
— So, the biggest impact lies in the energy consumed to transmit the asset and when the consumer is viewing the assets on their device.
— While this LCA is a general one for the industry, we are of course working on understanding the exact digital carbon footprint. For content production, we are working together with AdGreen (UK Levy), which has developed a carbon calculator to measure content production emissions. For example, we measure the travel to and from the location of the shoot, the energy that is being used on set and if that is produced by a generator or from renewables, and if the props that are used (on set, Ed’s note), are reused and second-hand. We closely collaborate with our global brands and their content production agencies to ingest the data into the AdGreen tool.
Another important aspect, Dirckx continues, is digital media. Together with Impact Plus (a French startup that enables digital media carbon footprint measurement Ed’s note) we are able to measure and reduce the carbon footprint generated through our digital media campaigns.
— During 2023, as part of our pilot phase to assess and identify key reduction levers, we measured close to 250 digital media campaigns across 25 markets. The pilots have allowed us to identify levers that we are able to implement to reduce the carbon footprint of our digital media campaigns, for example reducing the ’creative weight’ of an asset. If I want to reach consumers on mobile devices, I don’t need the same resolution as what I would need for reaching one on a big-screen TV. We are able to optimise the resolution of the assets that we upload on the digital media platforms depending on each platform.
— Together with Impact Plus, we’re moving away from manual campaign-by-campaign measurements. Instead, we’re now rolling out the IMPACT+ SaaS (ESP) solution, allowing us to automate the measurement of each and every one of our digital media campaigns. With ESP, we will be able to build our activity-based CO2 footprint baseline and commit to actual CO2 reductions. Targets that are part of our science-based target initiative commitments. L’Oréal has been committed to the SBTi since 2015 and in 2023, we submitted our new decarbonisation pathway commitments for 2030 and 2050, earning us the Net Zero Standard Badge. Within this new submission, we have included crucial digital decarbonisation commitments.
How shall brands think of their digital footprint in advertising and digital communication? What are your key takeaways?
— The way that the industry is currently measuring its digital footprint is based on spend — Spend x Emission factor — which is in line with the guidelines from the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) protocol. It is important to mention that digital sustainability is still very nascent. Until recently, very few tools existed to be able to measure based on digital media activity. With the support from the startups that we work with, we are moving away from this. If we want to reduce our digital carbon footprint, we need to be able to decouple spend from CO2 emissions, and for this, we need to be able to measure our CO2 baseline based on activity. Here, access to the necessary data is essential to progress and be more accurate, Dirckx shares. She continues:
— What we have seen, for example with the work that we’re doing with the World Federation of Advertisers and with Ad Net Zero (the advertising industry’s drive to decarbonise its operations, Ed’s note) and such, is that the digital sustainability topic is still very new, which is why we take great pride in providing thought leadership. We’ve worked together with the WFA and other corporates to build a playbook to share best practices on digital sustainability.
— Brands can already start by implementing certain levers like the ones that we found to reduce the carbon footprint. The media teams together with our media agencies are already implementing three key levers:
- Image file size optimisation. By reducing or compressing the file size, without impacting the final resolution of the asset, we are able to reduce on average by 20% to 40% the CO2 emissions for a video campaign, depending on the platform.
- Targeting consumers on WiFi, due to the less energy used when connected to WIFI compared to using mobile data.
- Length of the video asset — CO2 emissions are directly proportional to the length of the video asset.
— We really believe that digital decarbonisation is an industry play. It is not about competition, or who gets there first, but about collaboration and sharing. As the fourth largest advertiser worldwide, we need to guide and support other brands and companies to implement actions and together drive a strong impact on the fight against climate change.
— We’re not only working with the WFA or Ad Net Zero but also with the platforms. As digital decarbonisation falls under scope 3, which considers both upstream and downstream emissions, we also need to engage the platforms. We have participated in a few pilots with Google, and are looking forward to continuing these tests.
As mentioned, L’Oréal has teamed up with innovative startups — Impact+, Adgreen, and Fruggr (who we met at Vivatech in Paris) — to enhance and enable its digital sustainability work.
— We work at a global scale to measure our carbon footprint baseline based on activity and to continue to identify and apply levers for reduction to reduce our carbon footprint.
Have you also learned stuff from these three startups that you can implement in your daily operations?
— They’re absolutely changing the way that we’re working. We learn from them, and I think they also learn from us, so it’s a two-way street. Everything is still so new — we’re learning together on the go.
— For instance, we discussed how creative optimisation has a huge role to play. Depending on the platform, we can reduce between 20 and 40% of the carbon footprint of a digital media campaign. It’s massive. With that knowledge, our partner Impact+ has now developed a Creative Optimizer tool which allows for the optimisation of creatives automatically. So things are happening, when we work together. Again, it’s collaboration.
Being a major player, you also have a big role to play.
— Yes. In the L’Oréal for the Future program (launched in 2020, embodying the company’s ambition in terms of sustainability, Ed’s note), we have been very committed, both in Scope 1 and Scope 2. These two now represent less than 1% of our carbon footprint. A lot of work has already been done, such as making sure that all of our plants are built on renewable energy, and with continued strong commitments for 2025 and 2030. In 2009, L’Oréal set its first target for emission reduction for our sites. This was 15 years ago.
For anyone keen on beginning with digital sustainability, what’s the one thing to start with?
— There are things you can start with tomorrow that are extremely easy to implement. I mentioned WiFI and if you target consumers connected to WiFi, you can reduce 10% of your footprint. It’s the same thing with ’creative resolution’ — working with reducing or compressing creatives based on the device that is targeted or the platform that is being activated. It’s test and learn. The next steps are channel measurement — a better understanding of the impact by platform — and custom bidding, with media targeting strategies to avoid energy waste by including it as part of the bidding strategy for CO2 footprint optimisation. That way, we can optimises our digital media campaigns based on CO2 footprint on top of media efficiency KPI, and other targets.
Can you share a future prediction? What will happen in the field of digital sustainability?
— In a couple of years, we will be measuring the carbon footprint across all our digital activities. We will have clear reduction targets for each of our markets and we will have reduced our carbon footprints considerably in line with our decarbonisation commitments for 2030. We’re always open to hearing about new start-ups that are that are driving change in the space. We can’t do it alone! Dirckx states. She continues:
— For the industry, we hope that more and more companies will place digital decarbonisation at the forefront of their strategy and will start measuring and reducing their carbon footprint. As I said, digital sustainability is still very nascent and many companies are still to take action, even though, this is important, decarbonisation does not negatively impact media performance KPIs.
— According to the Shift Project report, the digital eco-system footprint was calculated at around 4% in 2019 — similar to global air traffic. It’s estimated to be at 8% in 2025, similar to global car traffic.
— A green tip to contribute to sustainability at home: When possible, connect to WIFI, as it will reduce your carbon footprint. Having teenage children, I am the first to ask for the WIFI password in public spaces…
