Tom Goddard, president of the World Out of Home Organization, has called on the OOH industry to accelerate initiatives on sustainability.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, Goddard described the issue of sustainability as the “elephant in the boardroom”, citing the Ad Net Zero report from 2023 which showed that 88% of signed-up brands have set science-based carbon net zero targets, whereas only 25% of media owners have done the same.
“This is exposing us to accusations of greenwashing that are hard to defend currently”, explains Goddard, “We’re seeing more attacks from eco protesters in Europe and elsewhere targeting the advertising sector and OOH is on the front line.”
Goddard cited the switch to LED illumination, reduced power consumption and adoption of renewable energy as positive moves for the OOH industry, but stressed the importance of getting “these stories out there in the public domain”.
The World Out of Home Organization has assembled an “international task force”, comprised of Judd Guthmiller, Daktronics, Adam Green, Broadsign, and Jeff Jan, OAAA, to document positive initiatitives and action that the industry is taking on sustainability.
Goddard closes: “We can’t afford to be complacent. Our customers and ultimate clients are putting all media suppliers on notice that in the not too distant future, they will only select media from Ad Net Zero compliant suppliers.”