Sustainable Digital Advertising: How Purpose-Driven Brands Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint and Boost Performance

Digital advertising powers much of the online economy, but it comes with a hidden cost: a significant environmental impact. In a recent podcast, Josh Elledge spoke with Avril Tomlin-Hood, CEO & Founder of boa, a strategic sustainable digital media buying agency. They explored how brands can take meaningful action to reduce emissions while improving ad performance, offering practical strategies for purpose-driven marketing.

Making Digital Advertising Sustainable Without Sacrificing Performance

Avril explains that digital ads consume energy across servers, data centers, and real-time bidding platforms, creating “scope 3” emissions that many brands overlook. She emphasizes the importance of auditing campaigns, measuring emissions, and eliminating waste in the media supply chain. By optimizing targeting, frequency, and placements, companies can reduce unnecessary impressions and improve return on ad spend.

Choosing sustainable partners and platforms is another key step. Boa encourages brands to prioritize agencies and publishers that use renewable energy and have verified carbon reduction goals. Communicating these efforts authentically—through case studies, blog posts, and social media—helps brands build trust and demonstrate real commitment to sustainability.

Finally, Avril highlights the growing role of AI and the challenges of “walled gardens” like Google and Meta, which can complicate planning while increasing energy consumption. She advises marketers to stay agile, evaluate environmental impact alongside campaign effectiveness, and start with small improvements that scale over time. Sustainable advertising isn’t just responsible—it’s often more efficient and profitable.

About Avril Tomlin-Hood

Avril Tomlin-Hood is CEO & Founder of boa, a strategic sustainable digital media buying agency. With a focus on purpose-driven brands, she helps businesses reduce their digital carbon footprint while optimizing advertising performance and audience engagement.

About boa

Boa partners with companies to deliver eco-conscious media buying solutions that prioritize both performance and sustainability. Their services include auditing digital campaigns, optimizing targeting, and guiding brands toward greener platforms and practices.

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• boa Website
• Avril Tomlin-Hood LinkedIn

Key Episode Highlights

• Understanding the carbon footprint of digital advertising
• Audit, measure, and reduce emissions in ad campaigns
• Optimizing targeting and frequency to improve efficiency
• Choosing sustainable partners and platforms
• Communicating sustainability efforts authentically

Conclusion

Sustainable digital advertising is no longer optional for brands that want to thrive in a resource-conscious world. By reducing emissions, eliminating waste, and partnering with eco-conscious platforms, marketers can achieve better performance, build trust with audiences, and make a meaningful impact on the environment.

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