Serviced Emissions Hackathon
The opportunity to change the rules for the advertising industry when it comes to climate.
History shows that if you change the rules, you can change the world. Changing the law gave everyone a National Living Wage. A ban on indoor smoking changed pub culture almost overnight. Change the rules and you change the playing field for everyone.
The rule makers for the advertising industry are the global standards bodies - ISO and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP). They decide what activities are important enough for advertisers to report on. At the moment, only ‘operational emissions’ count: the emissions due to business travel, creative production and media placement.
The vast majority of advertising’s emissions, those that result from the work we make for the client we work for, don’t have to be reported at all.
MAKE THIS COUNT
This is the moment for change and we believe we can seize it. This year, ISO and GHGP are making a once-in-a-decade revision to their standards. Purpose Disruptors, with Oxford Net Zero, Stanford University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have developed the ideas, Advertised Emissions and Serviced Emissions, to include in the global reporting standards so that all the good work people are doing can count.
What we need is a creative campaign to get people around the world to join the consultation process and tell the global reporting companies to change the rules.
That’s where you come in. We’re asking you to help create a campaign: its name, its tone, its direction.
Watch the online briefing
Hear directly from Jonathan Wise, co-founder at Purpose Disruptors and Alexis McGivern, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Oxford Net Zero.
We cover:
The story so far: how the global reporting standards came to leave out the vast majority of advertising's climate impacts, and the once-in-a-decade window we now have to change that.
The Creative Brief: What the campaign needs to do, the specifics of the ask, and some thought starters to get the ideas moving.
What to expect at the in-person Hackathon at Iris on Monday 27 July, 4pm to 7pm, what to do before you arrive, and what happens to the ideas afterwards.
2. Register for the in-person event
When: Monday 27 July, 4pm to 7pm
Venue: Iris offices, 10 Queen St Place, London EC4R 1BE
What to expect from us: a high-energy session hosted at the creative agency, Iris with food and drinks.
What we expect from you: you’ve digested the briefing ahead of attending, and have spent some time thinking about how to meet the brief when you are in the room.
Note: Please put any dietary requirements in your RSVP and we will do our best to accommodate them as best we can.
Our Reports & Resources
If you would like to understand the background to Advertised Emissions, and read case studies, we have a dedicated page of resources. Below we have placed a selection of reports. For the full resources page, navigate to the Measure Resources page in the navigation or click here.
Advertised Emissions in the media
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Why measuring our Advertised Emissions can help get ahead of inevitable climate pressures.
Advertising’s Evolutionary Moment is a new framework that helps the ad industry turn climate ambition into impact. Early adopters of the framework like OLIVER and M&C Saatchi are better able to align their services with climate goals, explains the Purpose Disruptors’ Aimee Brewerton.
WARC 17 Dec 2024 -
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Why Advertised Emissions is a pivotal tool in the climate transition.
The TCFD framework, which aligns the impact of climate change with exposure to financial risk, will be mandatory in the UK from 2025 for all large private and listed companies. This takes the climate conversation directly to the boardroom, and advertisers can expect more scrutiny from investors, says the Purpose Disruptor’s Nadeen Ayyashi.
WARC 9 April 2024 -
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How smart agencies are de-risking in uncertain times.
Responding to climate change is not a compliance exercise; it is a strategic lever of resilience. Agencies that integrate it into their governance, client strategies, briefing process and creative decision-making will be the ones to thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace, says Nadeen Ayyashi, Purpose Disruptors and Jennie Mossman, Amplify.
WARC 11 Dec 2025
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Advertising adds extra 32% to annual carbon footprint of every person in the UK.
Latest research from Purpose Disruptors paints a stark picture of the C02 emissions caused as a result of advertising-driven consumption.
The Drum 7 Nov 2022 -
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What are serviced emissions and how can corporates act on them?
EXCLUSIVE: The UN’s Race to Zero initiative held a launch event to showcase how organisations working in PR, law, advertising and other service-based sectors can identify actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate risks.
edie 29 Oct 2024 -
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Leading agency figures tell us which stories have been flying under the radar but are nonetheless shaping the year ahead.
Leading agency figures tell us which stories have been flying under the radar but are nonetheless shaping the year ahead.
The Drum 16 Jan 2026
