In a market first LUMO, Cruxx and Latch have launched e3, a carbon-aware bid layer that cuts the emissions of digital out-of-home campaigns while they run. The launch is backed by media agency MBM and energy company Meridian, and IAB NZ endorses the initiative to reduce carbon emissions within the industry

Most carbon tools in advertising tell you what a campaign emitted after it finished. e3 (the Emissions Efficiency Engine) is different: it steers a programmatic DOOH buy toward lower-carbon ad plays in real time. Launched in Auckland on 20 October 2026, it's believed to be the first system of its kind for the channel.

How e3 works

e3 sits within Cruxx's programmatic DOOH curation layer (via Perion). At the moment of play, it scores every bid opportunity on grams of carbon dioxide emitted per thousand impressions (gCO2ePM), combining three factors:

1. Screen's measured energy use
2. Audience that ad play delivers
3. Current carbon intensity of the New Zealand electricity grid (gCO2e/kWh)
   
   

Because these factors shift through the day, the same ad on the same screen can carry very different emissions depending on when it runs. e3 uses this to shift delivery toward the most carbon-efficient plays across available inventory.

Buyers choose how firmly e3 leans in through three settings: permissible, balanced and strict. Each determines how far spend is concentrated on the most carbon-efficient inventory, while bid weighting adjusts continuously so the campaign keeps pacing.

e3 can sit on top of any programmatic DOOH buy without compromising the DOOH buy itself. It gives buyers control over how much they want to reduce, based on the targeting the campaign needs, whether that is location, attention on larger screens, or time targeting." - Jack Plowright, GM of Platforms and Partnerships at LUMO.

Initial findings from a recent campaign showed a meaningful reduction in delivered emissions per thousand impressions compared with a control buy, with bigger reductions at stricter settings.

e3 builds on LUMO's existing carbon measurement and reporting through Scope3. This first release optimises on the screen power used to deliver each ad, which makes up more than 95% of a screen's emission score. Broader supply-chain emissions are expected in the next release.

Why it matters

Advertisers are under growing pressure to show what they're doing about the carbon footprint of their media. Until now, DOOH buyers could measure emissions after a campaign, but couldn't act on them while it was live. e3 turns carbon from a reporting line into a lever buyers can pull in flight, without trading off delivery.

e3 is live now on LUMO's digital out-of-home network through curation partner Cruxx. It's available to DSPs integrated with Perion's SSP, with more New Zealand DOOH supply expected in the coming months.

Find out more contact LUMO here.