Carbon Emissions Benchmarks

Compare the relative carbon emissions of specific media properties and advertising campaigns with Scope3 benchmarks.

OVERVIEW

What are Scope3 carbon emissions benchmarks?
Scope3 carbon emissions benchmarks are an aggregated, representative set of carbon emissions data that is used to compare the relative emissions of specific media properties and advertising campaigns. Within the Scope3 platform, benchmarks are grouped and reflected by channel and country combinations, such as by web in the U.S. or by online video in France.

The benchmarks are designed to give media owners and advertisers a point of comparison for the carbon emissions of their digital advertising. Notably, emissions and benchmarks are measured and reported in gCO2PM.

What is gCO2PM?
gCO2PM represents the grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per one thousand impressions.
More simply, it represents the average emissions per one thousand impressions, and is designed to create measurement standardization across different factors such as spend, impressions, and channels.

What are the different types of benchmarks?

Scope3 maintains two distinct sets of benchmarks:

• Market benchmarks, which provide a comparison of an individual campaigns’ average gCO2PM to the average gCO2PM of a statistically-representative sample of impressions measured by our clients for a given channel and country combination.
• Property benchmarks, which provide a comparison of an individual media property’s gCO2PM to the full set of properties within a given channel and country combination.

Do Scope3 benchmarks have channel-specific nuances?
Yes, Scope3 has taken into account certain nuances specifically for DOOH and CTV.

• For DOOH, the market benchmarks only utilize data from Scope3 Verified DOOH properties. Additionally, we use the median emissions from screens instead of an average, to minimize the impact of outlier screens (caused by the significant variation in screen size, type, and energy usage).
• For CTV, the market benchmarks only utilize data from top properties in top markets, given the concentration of video consumption in CTV.

How often are benchmarks refreshed?

Benchmarks are refreshed on a monthly basis, taking into account new properties and continuous improvements to our modeling. 

MARKET BENCHMARKS

How are market benchmarks calculated?

For market benchmarks, we calculate the average emissions per channel and country combination based on advertisers’ campaigns impressions measured over the trailing three months (i.e. market benchmarks are calculated with a three month look-back window).

Where can I review or utilize market benchmarks in the Scope3 Platform?

Within the Scope3 Collaborative Sustainability Platform (CSP), users can select the “Explore” tab and the “Benchmarks” sub-tab to review top-line market benchmarks by channel and country. 

Additionally, Media Reporting customers can assess how their campaigns compare to market benchmarks by selecting the “Measure” tab, followed by “Media reporting”. Within the Media Reporting interface, users – whether media buyers or sellers – can view both average and campaign-specific emissions (reported in gCO2PM) and evaluate performance relative to weighted market benchmarks by channel and country.

How can publishers use market benchmarks?

Publishers can use market benchmarks available under the “Explore” tab to research and analyze top-line carbon emissions by country and channel. When signed on as a Media Reporting customer, publishers can also access market benchmarks under the “Measure” tab to evaluate campaign emissions and efficiency relative to campaigns in the same country and channel. This insight empowers publishers to demonstrate sustainable and effective campaign performance to their advertising clients as part of in-flight or post-campaign reporting.

How can advertisers use market benchmarks?

Advertisers can similarly use market benchmarks within the “Explore” tool to research and analyze top-line carbon emissions by country and channel. When signed on as a Media Reporting customer, advertisers can also access market benchmarks within the “Measure” tab to evaluate the relative performance and emissions of their campaigns, and to identify which media partners are most effective in achieving sustainable delivery.  

PROPERTY BENCHMARKS

How are property benchmarks calculated?

For property benchmarks, we rank (or sort) all media properties measured within our system based on their average monthly gCO2PM. Publishers are then grouped into deciles per channel and country combination (e.g. 10th percentile, 20th percentile, etc.). 

Property benchmarks are calculated with a one month look-back window, and are designed to help users analyze the distribution of media properties’ gCO2PM across different countries and channels. More information on our property modeling and reporting can be found here: https://methodology.scope3.com/publisher_model.

Where can I review or utilize property benchmarks in the Scope3 Platform?

Within the “Explore” tool, users can select specific channels (e.g. “Web”), and dive into specific properties (e.g. “NY Times”) to review comparative rankings — reported as a percentile — relative to property benchmarks. As part of this view, users can toggle the “Country” selection to see how rankings change based on country-specific benchmarked data.

How can publishers use property benchmarks?

Publishers can use property benchmarks to:

• Understand the carbon emissions of your advertising stack and how they compare on a relative basis to properties in the same country and channel cohort.
• Establish a starting point for carbon reduction and continually assess progress by keeping an eye on percentile rankings over time.
• Showcase the overall emissions and sustainability of your media portfolio within your sales and marketing materials.

How can advertisers use property benchmarks?

Advertisers can use property benchmarks to evaluate possible publisher partners based on their relative carbon emissions using Scope3’s explore tool.

More questions on Scope3 benchmarks?
Reach out to your Client Success Manager or file a support ticket.