Annual Review 2025: Advertising production could cut emissions by more than a quarter – and save millions
Our 2025 Annual Review shows how measuring production unlocks major carbon and cost savings
Today, we’ve published our fourth Annual Review, revealing both the growing scale of carbon measurement across advertising production – and a significant, largely untapped opportunity for the industry to reduce emissions and costs.
Drawing on real data from 2,295 wrapped productions measured in 2025, our report shows that companies using the AdGreen Carbon Calculator recorded 20,504 tonnes of CO₂e last year. That’s equivalent to the annual footprint of over 1,700 UK citizens.
While this represents continued year‑on‑year growth in the number of productions being measured, it also highlights how much further the industry still has to go. The data captured so far represents only a fraction of total advertising production – underlining the need for far wider adoption.
As our Global Director Jo Fenn explains:
“What’s exciting – and challenging – is that this dataset shows us both progress and potential. The industry is measuring more production activity than ever before, but we know we’re still only seeing a small part of the picture. Every additional production measured unlocks opportunities to reduce more emissions and save more money – without compromising creativity.”
Big emissions reductions – and big cost savings
By analysing real production data from shoots – which account for the vast majority of emissions in our dataset – we can see just how powerful relatively simple changes can be.
Our analysis shows that straightforward, practical adjustments to how advertising is produced could have reduced 2025 emissions by 29% overall. That’s the equivalent of 5,828 tonnes of CO₂e, achieved without changing creative ambition or output.
Crucially, many of the biggest carbon reductions also come with significant financial savings, including:
- People transport (flights) – the single largest source of emissions. Reducing business‑class flight kilometres by just 50% would cut overall emissions by 21%, while also delivering substantial savings on flights, accommodation and per diems.
- Data storage – measured across a full year for the first time. Reusing just half of newly purchased hard drives would have avoided 355 tonnes of CO₂e in 2025 and saved the industry nearly £900,000 in hardware costs.
- Catering, equipment transport and generators – straightforward swaps, from removing beef from menus to switching generators to HVO fuel, deliver double‑digit percentage reductions at activity level, often at no additional cost to productions.
Taken together, the findings point to a clear conclusion: measuring production activity helps teams manage and reduce costs, not just CO₂e.
Superusers lead the way
Our Annual Review also celebrates our 2025 Superusers – 80 organisations that are leading the industry by embedding carbon measurement into everyday production decisions.
Recognised across brands, creative agencies, production consultancies, in‑house teams and production companies, this year’s Superusers include organisations such as Diageo, Mastercard, Channel 4, L’Oréal Groupe, VCCP, Saatchi & Saatchi, Precious, Murphy Cobb, Ecoscope, WPP Production, Omnicom Production, Publicis Production, Lowkey, Outsider, Merman, Locate Productions and Biscuit Filmworks, among many others.
This year, we’ve updated our Superuser recognition to reflect the collaborative reality of production. Rather than focusing only on organisations that created individual projects in the dataset, we now recognise all organisations involved in final footprints – highlighting that meaningful measurement and reduction only happen when everyone plays a part.
Measure more – and act sooner
Our latest Review provides fresh evidence that the biggest gains come when carbon data is used early, not retrospectively. Measuring during planning stages allows teams to compare creative options, make informed decisions and avoid locking in unnecessary emissions – and costs.
With tools such as Early Insights, alongside the introduction of AI usage measurement, our Carbon Calculator now enables teams to assess creative choices before budgets are finalised. This helps brands and agencies better align sustainability, cost control and delivery from the outset.
As Jo puts it:
“This data proves that lower‑carbon production is often simply better production. The more projects that are measured, the clearer – and more commercially compelling – the picture becomes.”
Download the report
The full AdGreen 2025 Annual Review – including detailed breakdowns, Superuser recognition and reduction scenarios – is available to download now:
👉 https://www.weareadgreen.org/reports
