3 Ways Digital Analytics Helps Lessen the Environmental Impact of Adtech Programs

Have you seen the latest forecasts for global temperature rise? According to the UN Environment Programme’s most recent report, current trends put the best case scenario at 1.8°C of warming, with others already suggesting 2°C is inevitable.

This is catastrophic. A 2 °C increase means 37% of the planet’s population will see extreme heatwaves once every five years – along with other severe weather patterns.

We all need to do our part, and even AdTech can play a role. Fortunately, digital analytics can help AdTech lessen its environmental impact. In this article, we’ll explore AdTech’s impact, and three ways digital analytics helps reduce it.

Online advertising is hurting our environment

When online advertising first started, it was applauded as a way to save paper waste. While that is doutbless still important, online advertising isn’t perfect.

In 2016, a group of researchers at Universities in Finland and Spain estimated the global carbon emission of online advertising to be 60 Megatons. They illustrated the impact online ads have on our environment by looking at free, advertisement-based services vs. paid ones.

In the decade since, the impact has only grown. Today, data centres, in which all this online advertising is being stored, account for around 2.5% of global emissions, higher even than aviation.

How can data analysis help lessen the impact from online ads?

1. Create more targeted ads

Data analysis helps you create more targeted ads. It tells you who your customers are and what they like.

But too often, ads are treated with a kind of ‘pay and spray’, where they’re simply sent out into the world with no thought to who’s actually seeing them. Some studies show that 70% of programmatic ad spend is wasted on ads that never receive a single impression. That’s a lot of data, and that means a lot of carbon emissions.

By creating more targeted ads, you’re creating fewer ads. And fewer ads mean less carbon dioxide emitted.

This has an impact on consumers, too. Studies suggest 77% of consumers want to filter out bad ads rather than simply block them all, so by creating more targeted ads, you’re also delivering better business outcomes.

2. Identifying trends

By closely tracking consumer trends, AdTech has the power to move whole industries to more sustainable practices.

Data gives consumers more information than they have ever had before. With this new information, they’re making informed decisions and increasingly choosing sustainable products and companies. By identifying and promoting those consumer trends, digital analytics pushes industry in a more sustainable direction to capture customers. And it’s not just consumers who are paying attention.

“Machine learning helps investors choose the most socially and environmentally sustainable companies which are profitable at the same time,” says Julia Nikulski with Towards Data Science. “Moving funds away from polluters and towards socially responsible companies helps finance sustainable business practices and pressure laggards to do more.”

3. Improve building sustainability using IoT sensors

AdTech businesses should also think about the traditional environmental impact of running a company.

IoT sensors have been used to track business assets or understand how customers are using products. These sensors can also be used to monitor energy use, water use, and air quality of a building.

Using the data from IoT sensors with machine learning, AdTech companies can create a roadmap for improvement. Every Effort CountsThe news about our climate is scary and dire. But we cannot lose hope. All industries and individuals can do their part to move the dial in the right direction.

Digital Analytics has helped many industries become more sustainable. From creating carbon credit registries to tracking and buying oil from more sustainable drilling operations – we’re all making changes. AdTech should be next.

Frequently asked questions

Does online advertising have a carbon footprint?

Yes. Every ad involves data centres, networks and devices that use electricity. As the article notes, researchers estimated the global carbon emissions of online advertising at 60 megatons in 2016, and data centres now account for around 2.5% of global emissions.

Where do the emissions in programmatic advertising come from?

According to Scope3’s 2023 report, around 60% of the carbon generated by programmatic advertising comes from “ad selection”, the complex process of running auctions to match advertisers with ad placements.

How does wasted ad spend relate to carbon emissions?

Ads that are never seen still use energy to select, serve, and measure. 70% of programmatic ad spend is wasted on ads that never receive a single impression.

What can advertisers do to reduce their ad emissions?

The article suggests using data analysis to create more targeted ads, so that fewer ads are needed. In practice, advertisers can also prioritise lower-emission publishers and shorter, more direct supply paths.

What skills do data professionals need to support sustainable AdTech?

Roles in this area typically combine analytics, machine learning and data engineering skills with an understanding of sustainability measurement, such as carbon reporting frameworks.

Looking for data and AI talent?

Get in touch with the Harnham team today to find out how we can help you source and recruit world-leading data and AI professionals.