This time last year, some of the world’s biggest brands were quietly winding down their ESG (environmental, social and governance) commitments in response to a growing political backlash, particularly in the US. At the same time, the largest agency holdcos started downplaying their commitment to tackling climate change, according to the FT, while UK advertising groups called on the government to ban advertising by fossil fuel companies.
In an interesting change of approach for an industry that remains under pressure from both sides of the aisle, Havas Media Network UK is now making its sustainable media planning into an opt-out model. Rather than asking its clients to opt-in to its sustainable media products – which are designed to measure, reduce and optimise carbon emissions across media plans – clients will be automatically enrolled in using these products unless they choose to withdraw.
The move could be instrumental in reducing carbon emissions from media plans without putting the onus on overly cautious brands to make the call themselves. Industry discourse suggests advertisers do still care about sustainability, but political pressure can stop them from talking about it publicly. And one of the major lessons from digital advertising is that asking people to opt-in tends to produce lower uptake rates than enrolling users automatically.
Green by default
Havas Media Network UK will implement the opt-out model for all clients this month, helping potentially more than 400 brands reduce their carbon emissions in line with media decarbonisation commitments. It then plans to roll out the model across the rest of the group in the UK and Ireland. Havas called the iniative “a major step in the network’s long-term commitment to decarbonising media operations and supporting clients in embedding effective sustainability solutions into their marketing delivery.”
In 2024, research from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that incorporating sustainability into media plans can help brands reduce their carbon footprints by up to 36 percent. These sustainability practices included adopting green media products or private marketplaces that automatically select low-emissions inventory, reducing the number of domains that digital campaigns run across, and updating inclusion lists to avoid made-for-advertising (MFA) sites.
The agency noted that media accounts for 85 percent of Havas UK’s emissions, and that its sustainability products have proven to reduce carbon emissions for clients that already use them. In 2025, approximately 40 percent of media spend ran through Havas’ carbon calculator, delivering emissions reductions of up to 10 percent, according to the company. And in 2024, Havas Media Network’s proprietary Sustainability Marketplace removed more than 112 tonnes of carbon from its media operations.
“Decarbonising our industry is a particular passion area of mine,” said Patrick Affleck, CEO of Havas Media Network UK & Ireland. “With media accounting for the lions-share of our industry’s emissions, collective action cannot wait. Our opt-out model is part of our commitment to tackling the media emission we share with our clients, helping you meet your decarbonisation goals faster and more effectively and supporting you in embedding sustainability into your marketing delivery.”
“Our responsibility is to meet clients where they are and to bring sustainability into the everyday running of the business,” added Rosie Kitson, Chief Impact Officer at Havas UK. “This model reflects our belief that better standards should be the norm, not the exception. It’s not about saving the world overnight, but about embedding meaningful change into everyday media decisions. Better yet, our experience shows that factoring in carbon has consistently led to better outcomes across the board.”
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