GMSF Launched to Address Media Emissions

The Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF) has been released as a crucial initiative jointly developed by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and Ad Net Zero (ANZ).

These two organizations have united their expertise and resources to address the critical issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the media industry. GARM, an international coalition of trade associations, media companies, and advertisers, collaborates with ANZ, a global movement focused on reducing the carbon impact of advertising. Together, they have created a comprehensive framework that aims to bring the media industry in line with broader environmental goals.

For everyone working within the global pharmaceutical media industry, this is a must-read to understand the past, present, and future of sustainable media. For now, we have provided a summary of this important initiative below.

Why the GMSF Is Important

1. Industry Impact:

• The media industry is responsible for a significant portion of GHG emissions. Estimates suggest that the placement of ads and other media activities account for 3-4% of total global emissions. For some organizations, media-related emissions can constitute up to 40% of their total emissions.

2. Need for Standardization:

• Prior to the GMSF, measuring and reporting media emissions was inconsistent and opaque. This framework addresses these gaps by providing standardized methodologies that stakeholders can adopt voluntarily.

3. Regulatory Compliance:

• With increasing regulatory requirements, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) climate disclosure rules, the media industry needs robust mechanisms to measure and report emissions accurately. The GMSF helps media companies align with these regulatory standards.

4. Collaborative Effort:

• The framework is the result of an extensive collaboration involving 53 marketers, 6 media agency holding companies, 31 media owners, 27 industry associations, and 23 media sustainability solutions providers. This collective effort ensures that the GMSF is comprehensive and considers diverse perspectives and expertise from across the industry.

Key Components and Objectives

1. Uncommon Collaboration:

• The framework emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts across the media industry to tackle sustainability challenges.
• It targets advertisers, media agencies, publishers, intermediaries, and sustainability specialists.

2. Purpose and Challenges:

• GMSF aims to standardize the measurement of media GHG emissions.
• Addresses issues such as emission measurement variability, fragmented data requests, and impending reporting requirements.

3. Framework Structure:

• The GMSF spans multiple media channels, including digital, TV/video, out-of-home, radio/audio, print, and cinema.
• It provides specific workflows, emissions frameworks, and formulas for each media type to guide the measurement process.

4. Metrics and Methodology:

• Introduces consistent metrics and methodologies for measuring GHG emissions across different media channels.
• Incorporates transparency, completeness, consistency, relevance, and accuracy in data collection and reporting.

5. Governance and Oversight:

• Ensures scientific integrity and industry relevance through governance groups like the Steer Team and Climate Science Expert Group.

6. Voluntary and Pro-competitive Tools:

• Offers tools for media stakeholders to adopt and adapt to improve their sustainability practices voluntarily.
• Encourages the development of product-level data reflective of actual energy consumption to enhance emissions measurement accuracy.

7. Opportunities and Watch-outs:

• Highlights opportunities like improved data granularity and a common framework for assessing energy consumption across channels.
• Warns about potential pitfalls like misusing emissions data and the need for step-by-step transformation.

8. Future Solutions:

• Plans for future framework iterations to address evolving needs and incorporate more detailed data collection methods and audit processes.

9. Best Practices and Insights:

• Shares insights from industry trailblazers on linking media sustainability to broader organizational goals, securing executive buy-in, and managing the media sustainability journey.

Solli Supports GMSF: Catalyzing Change in Pharma Media

The release of the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF) is a great catalyst for change in the media industry and is particularly relevant for the global pharma media sector. This framework has the potential for clients, agencies, publishers, and tech companies, the holistic audience of solli, to take giant leaps toward a sustainable future by harnessing voluntary, transparent, and scientifically grounded tools to measure and reduce emissions.

Solli supports all media stakeholders in diving into the GMSF, evaluating its relevance to their operations, and adopting its principles. By doing so, you will contribute to creating a more accurate, consistent, and competitive environment for media emissions measurement and making media sustainability a priority, ensuring a greener future for all.

For more detailed information, the full document is available for review online.