In the past, the environmental impact of advertising has often been overlooked. But research shows that a single ad campaign generates 70 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions – the same as what seven people release into the atmosphere in a year on average. The production of these ads alone is sending thousands of tons of waste to landfills every year, meaning that the way the industry makes things is fast becoming just as important as what it makes.

To help combat the problem, Green the Bid was set up in 2020 as a non-profit, grassroots initiative. Created to support the advertising and commercial production industries, the goal was to shift to zero-waste, minimal carbon, sustainable, and regenerative practices. To do this, they applied the B Corp practice of “pre-emptive problem solving”, tapping into their knowledge of companies that have already made progress in the world of sustainable production.

“We are a volunteer org, led by the co-founders and an amazing coalition of stakeholders within the commercial production industry – brands, agencies, production companies, post companies, and vendors and supporters – who have all pledged to come together to support the initiative in whatever way possible,” says Kat Friis, one of Green the Bid’s founders, who has over 20 years experience in the industry and is currently an executive producer at Meta.