Every Brief Counts

Supporting More Sustainable Behaviours

What is Every Brief Counts?

Every Brief Counts is a voluntary, science-backed toolkit created by Ad Net Zero that aims to help creative, strategy and brand professionals support more sustainable behaviours through advertising campaigns. It aims to educate teams on the key sustainable behaviours outlined by climate science and the ways to tell these stories effectively through advertising. It has been developed in response to industry feedback, particularly from creatives and strategists, that there is a need for easy-to digest science-backed climate information demonstrating how they can use their skill set in this area.

The list of more sustainable behaviours included in the behaviours toolkit is based on Ad Net Zero’s interpretation of publicly available climate science sources, including the likes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) AR6, Chapter 5 (2022) report, Project Drawdown, Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Climate Change Committee (CCC). This was guided by Dr. Bill Wescott, Ad Net Zero’s Lead Climate Science and Policy Advisor, and Sebastian Munden, Ad Net Zero Global Chair and co-author of Sustainable Advertising. The full list of references is noted at the end of this document.

As brands increasingly promote more sustainable behaviours, it’s important the industry understands the relevant regulations around making accurate environmental claims. Ad Net Zero has resources and training to help supporters be aware of what is relevant in their market.

The Sustainable Behaviours Ad Tracker

How can advertising normalise sustainable choices?

Advertising has a huge influence on our lives. It is a cornerstone of our culture, with the ability to either reinforce or challenge societal norms. The industry is, therefore, in a privileged position when it comes to normalising sustainable behaviour.

But how many advertisers are featuring sustainable behaviours in their ads, and where is there room for improvement?

Kantar’s Sustainable Behaviour Ad Tracker, created in partnership with Ad Net Zero, tracks sustainable behaviours in ad campaigns globally by analysing the ads in Kantar’s LINK database.

The tracker supports Ad Net Zero’s “Every Brief Counts” initiative – a toolkit built to help advertisers and their partners include more sustainable behaviours in creative briefs, whether it’s the type of food shown in an ad, the mode of transportation, renewable energy choices, or the activities depicted.

The tracker gives the ad industry a new level of insight, as well as the ability to benchmark how performance is trending over time and across categories and markets.