While most media leaders acknowledge the climate crisis as one of the defining challenges of our time, taking effective action as a TV company remains a significant hurdle. In a proactive step within the global media industry, ITV has recently published its Climate Transition Plan, setting a new standard for environmental responsibility in media.
ITV is working towards its net-zero targets using 2019 as a baseline, aiming to reduce emissions it controls by 46.2% and those it influences by 17% by 2030, and all emissions by 90% by 2050. The broadcaster’s first Climate Transition Plan details the steps needed to meet its validated long- and medium-term goals, as endorsed by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). (p.8)
Our position as the leading commercial broadcaster in the UK gives us a significant opportunity to help create positive change through the brands we advertise. We can do this by promoting sustainable lifestyles through innovative partnerships with sustainable brands, and by considering the carbon impact of the products and services that we advertise. ITV has commissioned a piece of research called The Greenprint which provides best practice techniques to increase the impact of the messaging for sustainable products and services. As a member of Ad NetZero, we are working with brands, agencies and other media owners to shape a more sustainable future for advertising. It is a growing conversation that is critical as we shift to a greener economy, and we look forward to increased collaboration across the sector in coming years.
ITV on promoting more sustainable consumption through advertising (p.14)
Objectives
ITV’s Climate Transition Plan outlines five concrete objectives and examines external factors shaping its strategy. It identifies crucial areas to watch, such as improvements in digital connectivity to enable remote production, advancements in battery technology, access to better-quality data, supplier commitments, shifting audience behaviours, and industry collaboration and policy changes. These emerging trends are seen as vital for driving progress.
ITV is also exploring opportunities presented by the net-zero transition, such as enhancing audience perceptions, generating revenue through alignment with net-zero brands, and reducing costs by adopting low-carbon innovations.
ITV is uniquely positioned to accelerate the transition towards a low-GHG emissions and climate resilient economy. We have the opportunity to do this by positively supporting our audiences through our content, promoting sustainable consumption and products through advertising, and by working with our suppliers to shape the transition across the creative industry.
ITV on accelerating the transition (p.13)
Core pillars
The plan covers a variety of key components and is structured around six core pillars:
- Operations: transition all ITV buildings and vehicles to net-zero emissions and implement renewable energy solutions, such as solar panels on the Emmerdale barn.
- Value chain: extend sustainability efforts across the production, broadcasting, and streaming supply chains and engage suppliers to adopt sustainable practices.
- Internal culture: encourage all employees to contribute towards the net-zero goals, by providing training and resources to support a sustainability-driven internal culture.
- Engaging audiences: integrate climate-positive content across the platforms, feature environmental themes, leverage commercial partnerships to promote sustainability.
- Climate resilience: implement risk management processes and use scenario analysis to develop strategies to adapt to a net-zero economy.
- Industry transformation: collaborate with counterparts to drive the industry’s transition to net-zero emissions and exchange on best practices and innovations to foster a sector-wide shift towards sustainability.
ITV’s Climate Transition Plan offers a comprehensive overview of guidelines for achieving net-zero emissions that also works as a strategic framework to future-proof the business against climate risks. By taking a proactive approach to addressing climate change, the ITV Climate Transition Plan promotes a socially responsible corporate mindset setting a precedent for the other players and showcasing leadership in sustainability within the media sector.
Source: egtaknowledgehub.com
OTHER CASE STUDIES
A BIG-SCREEN STUDY FINDS STRONGER ATTENTION ON TV4 PLAY THAN ON YOUTUBE
24. 4. 2026TV4 just launched its third attention study, comparing the viewing experience on its streaming service (TV4 Play) with YouTube’s big screen experience at home. It confirms once again the assumption that the streaming environment provided by a qualitative TV network (BVOD) delivers a much bigger attention than UGC platforms, such as YouTube. An at-home test… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
THE TV ADVERTISING PARADOX, A THINKTV NEW ZEALAND CASE STUDY (1/2)
24. 4. 2026In late 2024, ThinkTV New Zealand, under the leadership of Jacqueline Freeman, GM Communications, undertook a full market review to understand how television was being perceived, valued, and used across the New Zealand marketing ecosystem. This was a broad diagnostic rather than a simple pulse check. It drew on perspectives from CMOs, CFOs, insights people,… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
AD EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT: LESSONS FROM THE FINNISH MARKET
31. 3. 2026Finland’s commercial TV broadcasters spent the past year developing a carbon emissions measurement framework for linear TV advertising, starting with no local methodology and ending with a validated model owned by an industry body. For markets facing the same challenge, the experience offers a useful reference point. Start narrow, then scale The project focused exclusively… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
A NEW WAY FOR FRANCETV PUBLICITÉ TO SELL CONTEXTUAL VIDEO ADVERTISING
27. 3. 2026FranceTV Publicité (FTP), the advertising sales house for French public television, has introduced Context.IA into its digital video offer. The solution uses programme context to decide when an ad should appear, instead of relying only on fixed scheduling. That makes Context.IA a new commercial tool inside FranceTV Publicité’s own video inventory. Context.IA links programme cues… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
BUILDING A SHOPPABLE, ATTENTION-READY CTV OFFER: THE BIG BROTHER CONTEXTUAL CASE
26. 3. 2026In 2025, Paramount Australia, in partnership with FreeWheel and egta, hosted a webinar outlining a forward-looking view of the evolving advertising market. One key topic explored the industry’s shift to pull-based discovery, experience-driven engagement, and frictionless content-commerce integration. Paramount Australia’s Contextual Advertising Suite directly responds to these trends, reinforcing the company’s leadership in premium CTV… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
GLOBO CREATES HOME SCREEN PROMINENCE FOR FREE-TO-AIR TV ON SMART TVS
26. 2. 2026Globo, Brazil’s largest commercial TV group, is rolling out DTV+, a next-generation free-to-air TV standard designed for connected TVs. It brings broadcast channels into the TV operating system, with app-like navigation, login and interactive layers placed directly on top of live programming. The move fits Brazil’s viewing reality. Linear TV accounts for 57.9% of total… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
THE VISUAL TRANSFER EFFECT: HOW SOUND BUILDS BRANDS
24. 2. 2026In collaboration with neuro-marketing agency Unravel, Talpa Media has produced the scientific proof that audio does not just complement TV. It actively reactivates it, reconstructing visual brand memories in the consumer’s mind through sound. The findings carry significant implications for how audio is planned, sold, and valued within the wider media mix. Context Talpa Media… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
RMB TURNS QR CODE VOTING INTO A SHARED VIEWING MOMENT THAT STRENGTHS BRAND IMAGE FOR SPRITE AND DELI CHOC
24. 2. 2026Campaign objectives The chocolate snack Deli Choc and soft drink Sprite brands worked with RMB to reach younger audiences by becoming part of Belgian hip-hop show “PLAYGROUND”, supporting new rap talent through a live QR vote and cross-platform content. This helps the brands appear as enablers of the format rather than separate ads. For RMB… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
CANADIAN SUPERSTAR ANDREW PHUNG HELPS VIA RAIL CHALLENGE CAR CONVENIENCE ASSUMPTIONS WITH LONG-FORM STORYTELLING ACROSS CBC’S TV ECOSYSTEM
24. 2. 2026Campaign objectives VIA Rail, the company operating Canada’s national passenger rail service, combined a new product launch with brand building, using long-form content to tackle misconceptions that tend to block conversion in travel: comfort, ease, and whether rail feels like a realistic alternative to driving for intercity trips. The objectives behind this campaign were to… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
HOW L’ORÉAL PARIS AND RTL MADE STREET HARASSMENT HARD TO IGNORE
24. 2. 2026Context Sexual harassment in public spaces is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence in the world. Two figures frame the issue: 80% of women have experienced street harassment, but 85% of people say they lack training on how to intervene. Ad Alliance and L’Oréal created a campaign to respond to this problem… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
HOW AD ALLIANCE USED VIRTUAL SET GRAPHICS TO RESKIN THE LET’S DANCE STAGE FOR UNIVERSAL PICTURES
24. 2. 2026Context This campaign promotes a film by changing the look of a well-known TV studio during the ad break, so the show setting becomes part of the idea. Universal Pictures International Germany supported the live-action version (made with real actors) of How to Train Your Dragon, based on a well-known animated franchise. The ad special… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION
CHANNEL 4 SHOWS HOW PUTTING ACCESSIBILITY FIRST BENEFITS BOTH CUSTOMERS AND COMMERCIAL WITH CURRYS’
24. 2. 2026Context Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award 2025 set its brief under the theme “Inclusive by Design”. It asked brands to embed inclusive practices into the creative, rather than at the end of production. The initiative linked that ambition to airtime: £1m of advertising space across Channel 4’s portfolio sat behind the winning campaign. The… Continue reading LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY: ITV’S CLIMATE TRANSITION AMBITION