Sustainable online advertising: user perceptions

The research question

The Committee commissioned this study to understand internet users’ awareness of the environmental impact of online advertising, their reactions to the emissions information presented in the survey, who they hold responsible for reducing it, and what functions they would want an independent body to perform in setting and enforcing sustainability standards.

Method and sample

An online survey of 14,004 internet users aged 16+ across 14 countries (the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Poland, South Africa, Australia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China), fielded in November 2023 by eyeo with research provider Lucid LLC, overseen by the AAC. Samples were quota-matched to census data for age and gender in each country.

Main findings

• —Three in five respondents (59%) reported at least some awareness of the environmental impact of online ads specifically: 47% said they were “somewhat aware,” 12% “very aware.” Half of all respondents estimated that online advertising has a moderate-to-large impact on annual carbon emissions from internet use — comparable, in their view, to music or video streaming.
• —Most respondents underestimated the environmental impact of online advertising beforehand. After being shown the emissions information presented in the survey, 61% said the impact was greater than they had thought, and 59% said they felt more concerned about it than before.
• —Respondents ranked technology companies that sell ads and track their analytics as most responsible for reducing these emissions, followed by governments or non-government organizations, then brands, then websites. Respondents ranked themselves as least responsible: 56% placed the user last among the five groups.
• —After being informed, roughly two-thirds of respondents said they were more willing to take action to reduce their impact from online ads. A similar share said they wanted more information about how to do so, and wanted more control over the environmental impact of the ads they see.
• —Respondents saw a role for independent oversight: 92% considered it an important function of an independent governing body to educate users on reducing their carbon footprint, and each of six proposed functions for such a body — including monitoring, transparency, and enforcement — was rated “essential” by more than 40% of respondents.

These are self-reported awareness, attitudes, and stated intentions from a survey, not measured emissions or observed behaviour.

Limitations and context

• —This is a self-report survey: awareness, concern, and willingness to act are what respondents said, not independently measured. One additional survey item, on the acceptability of high-carbon-emitting ads, produced contradictory response patterns and was excluded from the report as likely misinterpreted by respondents.