Since 1987, sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. At NEW STANDARD.STUDIO, we usually summarize this definition so everyone remembers: Enough for all, forever.
This definition has been around for more than 30 years, so you would assume we as a society would have figured out how to achieve it. You would think that sustainable development is the new standard. Shockingly, the opposite is the case. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is still on the rise.
To a large extent, it’s our industry — advertising and communications — that we see as responsible for such development. Recent studies reported that advertising is responsible for around 30% of the carbon footprint of a single person living in Europe. In other words: “The ads we’re exposed to every day are fuelling the climate crisis.”
Advertising services are a big part of what we do at NEW STANDARD.STUDIO. We are a part of the industry of influence. In that sense, our most significant carbon impact is not our offices or our energy usage (Scope 1 and 2) but definitely the output of our clients. We’re co-responsible for the positive and, most of all, the negative impact of the products we promote, the behaviors we normalize, and, luckily, the new ways of thinking we inspire.
As the team at Futerra stated, the question we have to ask ourselves as part of this industry is: “Are we serving the problems or the solutions?”
We all, but especially “we as professional communicators,” have the power to inspire change or to keep serving destruction. Because advertising drives consumption, and consumption drives carbon emissions.
Do you want to know how we ensure to invest our resources to contribute to slowing down climate breakdown?
