Whether packaging or advertising posters – brands and companies present themselves as sustainable and environmentally conscious. Presenting your engagement in the right amount can be a challenge for advertisers. Are you still advertising or are you already lying? The line to greenwashing is thin and customer trust is quickly lost. According to surveys, 57 percent of Germans would like advertising to take on more responsibility. Successful transformation requires credible communication instead of exaggeration.

It is also important to design campaigns in a climate-friendly manner. Worldwide, advertising and marketing are responsible for five to six percent of CO2 emissions. Digital advertising platforms cost energy; Video streaming drives up data and energy consumption, and thus CO2 emissions. CO2 accounting studies show, for example, that mobile streaming of advertising videos is significantly more harmful to the climate than stationary playback via WiFi. Instead of compensation, it is important to develop good examples of avoiding emissions in the media value chain.

Sustainability needs narratives so that it can be carried widely. Advertising and marketing communications tell them. The industry alone cannot force transformation. However, it reflects the change in values ​​in society, takes up lifestyle changes and implements them in advertising. In this way, it can enhance transformative change. . Agencies can refuse to promote unsustainable products and lifestyles and discourage customers from greenwashing. In the tough competition for marketing and advertising budgets, it is not always easy to develop a clear stance. But small and specialized agencies in particular are increasingly showing that a consistent focus on sustainable companies and solutions opens up opportunities for growth. This also applies to social media companies and influencers as advertising ambassadors in the digital world. Market-dominating advertising platforms in particular have a responsibility.

The industry includes, for example, market research, advertising agencies, photography and photo laboratories, marketing and brokerage of advertising space.