Sustainability resources for digital advertising are improving fast, and there's positive momentum behind initiatives like the GMSF and Ad Net Zero. But knowing where to start, and how to make it actionable for your organisation - can feel challenging - especially if you don't have a sustainability expert in your team. We wanted to help bridge that gap, so we've developed a plain-English four-page pocket guide that gives you what you need to get started.
Digital advertising doesn't feel like it should have an environmental cost. There's no exhaust pipe, no factory floor, no visible output, but behind every impression is a chain of servers, auctions, content delivery networks and user devices that are all drawing energy, all generating emissions. The good news is the industry has a standardised way to measure this: The Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF), developed by Ad Net Zero, gives any brand, agency or publisher a free methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of their campaigns across digital, TV, out-of-home, audio, print and cinema.
Measurement is where it starts. You don't need perfect data, and you don't need to tackle every channel at once. Pick one campaign, gather three inputs: impressions, ad format, and whether it ran programmatically, and you'll have what you need to get started.
Download the IAB New Zealand GMSF Pocket Guide below. It covers how emissions are generated, how to calculate your baseline, and the highest-impact actions available to reduce it.
Thank you to the following people for their contributions to this resource:
IAB Australia and their Tech Lead Jonas Jaanimagi for their original explainer resource.
Jennifer Gunn, Head of Sustainability, Ad Net Zero, New Zealand.
Christina So, Group Digital Planning Director Initiative Aotearoa NZ | Member of the IAB New Zealand Emerging Technology Council.
This resource is current at the time of publishing - April 2026.
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