Abstract
So far there has been no quantification of emissions resulting from the effect that advertising has on
consumption. To address this gap, we contribute the idea of advertised emissions, which we define
as the greenhouse gas emissions associated with consumption that was influenced by advertising.
Using data and methods set out below, we estimate that the UK’s advertised emissions in 2019 are
around 190 million tonnes of CO2e.
Even given margins for error in the estimates, which are likely to be significant, the evidence points
to the effect of advertising on emissions via consumption being considerably bigger than the effect
of business travel and energy use in offices. We argue that consumption effects should therefore be
the main focus of effort to change how advertisers and advertising agencies behave.
