IAB Europe proposes carbon.json for ad emissions reporting
IAB Europe has proposed a 'carbon.json' specification to help ad systems disclose emissions intensity data in a comparable, machine-readable format. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on broad averages and default assumptions in measuring digital advertising emissions. Feedback on the proposed specification is open until August 19th.
Key Takeaways
- IAB Europe’s proposed carbon.json specification would disclose emissions intensity data in a machine-readable format.
- The proposal targets digital advertising emissions measurement, where broad averages and default assumptions are still widely used.
- Feedback on carbon.json is open until 19th August.
- The specification is meant to make emissions data more comparable across ad systems.
Why It Matters
If adopted, carbon.json would give ad systems a common format for reporting emissions intensity, which could make digital advertising carbon measurements easier to compare. That matters for streaming ad stacks because the source is explicitly targeting measurement inputs, not estimates built on broad averages or default assumptions. The key signal to watch is whether IAB Europe’s feedback period produces revisions before the 19th August deadline, since that will show how much industry alignment the specification can secure.
Additional Context
The rollout of carbon.json comes as the European digital advertising industry attempts to align with tightening regulatory requirements. Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which applied to large public-interest entities starting in January 2024, thousands of companies will eventually be required to provide externally audited disclosures of their greenhouse gas emissions, per AMF France. This regulatory pressure has accelerated industry-led efforts to define a 'common currency' for media carbon accounting. In June 2024, Ad Net Zero and the World Federation of Advertisers released the first iteration of the Global Media Sustainability Framework, providing standardized formulas for digital, TV, and out-of-home emissions, per ISBA. Adoption remains the primary hurdle for these voluntary frameworks. According to IAB Europe’s 2025 State of Readiness report published in February 2025, approximately 48% of businesses now estimate emissions for digital media products, a significant jump from 24% in 2024. Despite this growth, nearly 89% of industry respondents cited consistent standards as necessary to drive further progress. IAB Europe plans to explore integrating carbon.json into future versions of the Global Media Sustainability Framework Playbook, which was updated in late June 2024, to ensure interoperability between technical disclosure formats and broader global reporting standards.
Read full article at twitter.com
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