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Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. ‘Born Online’, the IAB’s research into Direct to Consumer brands’, found that being B Corp certified and taking an ethical approach to marketing was a priority among many digital-first brands.

A carbon calculator is a service or tool used for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions. AdGreen is a carbon calculator supported by Ad Net Zero, which is focused on improving production practices. For media agencies, GroupM has made its carbon calculator open source. 

When it comes to digital media, it is important that companies are aware of the various factors that should be taken into account when calculating the carbon footprint of their advertising. These include format, screen, country, dimensions, internet connection, player, pages and visits.

This is when the amount of CO2 emissions removed from the atmosphere is larger than the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere. Being carbon negative has a positive impact on the environment.

A carbon disclosure rating is a measure of the environmental sustainability of a company, based on voluntary disclosures by the company itself. The practice is intended to help investors who wish to incorporate environmental, social, and governmental (ESG) factors into their investment decision-making process.

This is when the amount of CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere is equal to the amount of CO2 emissions removed from the atmosphere, meaning the impact on the environment is neutral.

While carbon neutrality is a positive step, the digital ad industry’s ultimate goal is to achieve net zero, where carbon emissions are reduced to zero [see entry for net zero].

This is when an organisation, country or person directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions through efficiencies. For example, when it comes to digital advertising, decreasing the file size of ads or reducing the number of failed bids in the supply chain can reduce emissions.

Carbon dioxide equivalent is used to measure and compare emissions from greenhouse gases based on how severely they contribute to global warming, i.e. how much a particular gas would contribute to global warming if it was CO2. Gases other than the carbon dioxide are generally expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents.

There are six greenhouse gases listed in the greenhouse gas protocol (see below). 

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous oxide (N2O)
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
• Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)

This is commercial marketing that uses an environmental theme to promote products, services, or corporate public images. While this can be rooted in generating genuine positive action, there can be a risk of greenwashing (see below) if claims aren’t backed up by real evidence. Sustainable marketing is a similar concept to green marketing, but focused on being both environmentally and socially sustainable.

Also referred to as ‘green sheen’, greenwashing is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which PR and marketing are used to persuade the public that an organisation's products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly when they’re not.

Net zero requires emissions to be reduced to as close to zero as possible, with any residual emissions addressed through removal based measures where total reduction isn’t possible. The UK’s advertising industry is working to be net zero by 2030, led by Ad Net Zero.

This process involves optimising the programmatic supply chain to reduce carbon emissions. For example, a media owner might reduce the number of programmatic partners it uses by focusing on those that deliver impressions and revenue, cutting those that don’t deliver impressions but that still generate carbon through ad calls.

Carbon emissions are grouped into three scopes, categorising the different kinds of emissions a company creates in its own operations and in its wider ‘value chain’ (its suppliers and customers). 

• Scope 1 emissions are all the direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the company’s owned / controlled sources. This includes on-site energy such as heat, electricity, as well as emissions from fleet vehicles.
• Scope 2 are indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased or acquired energy. For instance the electricity purchased from a utility company that is generated offsite, are considered indirect emissions.
• Scope 3 includes all indirect emissions that occur in the value chain (what a corporation is indirectly responsible for up and down the value chain). While these emissions may be out of the control of a reporting company, they can represent the largest portion of its greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

The GHG Protocol divides the scope 3 emissions into upstream and downstream emissions. Upstream emissions are indirect GHG emissions within a company’s value chain related to purchased or acquired goods (tangible products) and services (intangible products) and generated from cradle to gate.

Downstream emissions include the indirect GHG emissions within a company’s value chain related to sold goods and services and emitted after they leave the company’s ownership or control

This is a broad term and, in a business context, refers to an industry or business’ ability to prevent the depletion of natural or physical resources so that they will remain available for the long-term. Sustainability is often broken down into three key areas: economic, environmental and social.

An advertisement or service through which an advertiser’s bricks and mortar location can be identified based on proximity of the consumer or their preferred location.

A rectangular online advert. MPU stands for  mid-page unit as it appears mid way down the page.

Natural (sometimes referred to as organic) search results are those which appear in a separate section (usually the main body of the page) to paid listings. The results listed here have not been paid for and are ranked by the search engine (using spiders or algorithms) according to relevancy to the search terms. 

Online video advertising is any audiovisual advert watched over the internet. In its basic form, this could involve a TV ad run online, but increasingly, adverts are adapted or created specifically to suit the online environment. Video advertising can be placed before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll) and after (post-roll) video content - as well as 'outstream' in socical environments and on content sites.

The process where a subscriber provides explicit consent, after receiving notice form the mobile marketer.

The process where a subscriber revokes consent, after receiving notice from the mobile marketer.