Action 1

Ad Net Zero asks that all supporters make a public commitment – within 12 months of joining the programme – to setting science-based emissions reduction targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. This should include a 50% near-term (within 5-10 years) reduction target and a net zero by 2050 target or sooner. We also ask companies to measure progress on this and publicly reporting emissions annually, with flexibility for SMEs on the public reporting (under 250 employees).

As a reminder, this is the United Nations’ definition of net zero:

Put simply, net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.

This is how you can make progress against Action 1:

• Set a public science-based net-zero target – a clearly defined pathway to net zero in line with the Paris Agreement.
  • This means the latest date to reach net zero (in line with the latest climate science) is 2050, but in keeping with our highest level of ambition we recommend committing to a net zero target of 2030 for your advertising business operations.
  • If you choose to split out a near-term reduction target and a longer-term net zero target, our recommendation is a near-term reduction target for 2030 (the year set out by the Paris Agreement as a reduction target), with a supporting additional long-term target for hitting net zero, which can be 2050 at the latest.
  • The public setting of targets can be done through either the Science Based Targets initiative, a commitment to the UN Race to Zero (including via the SME Climate Hub), The Climate Pledge, or other comparable alternatives.
• Calculate and report emissions annually and publicly – all supporters must calculate and report their emissions annually and publicly, with the exception of SMEs, who can share the report with Ad Net Zero instead of publicly reporting. For company emissions reporting, as it stands, Ad Net Zero recommends Scope 1 and 2, plus business travel from Scope 3, as a minimum.