
We're excited to announce that Scope3's core frameworks now align with GMSF v1.2, giving users more choice in emissions measurement.

The Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF) serves as the industry standard for emissions reporting across advertising and media. With this update, Scope3 users can now choose their preferred framework for emissions measurement from three GMSF v1.2-aligned options.

Developed by Ad Net Zero through collaborative working groups that include over 120 advertising and media companies in over 40 markets, GMSF represents the industry's collective effort to establish consistent measurement practices. In June 2025, Ad Net Zero released GMSF v1.2, incorporating important improvements to the digital framework, updated emissions factors, and enhanced guidance on data accuracy levels.

**Enhanced Capabilities Starting October 1**

Starting October 1, 2025, these industry developments translate into enhanced measurement capabilities for Scope3 measurement users. We have aligned our default Scope3 model with GMSF v1.2, and now offer users a choice of framework to apply for both campaign and property emissions reporting.

Specifically, users can now choose from the following framework options: 

- **Scope3 (excluding consumer device)** – The default model has been updated to align with GMSF v1.2, but continues to include additional media emissions not covered by GMSF v1.2.
- **Scope3 (including consumer device)** – This optional model has been updated as above, but also continues to include consumer device emissions.
- **GMSF v1.2** – Choose this model for strict adherence to the industry framework

![](https://44188919.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/44188919/Blog%20Images/Sep%202025%20-%20GMSFv1.2-selector.jpg)

**Supporting Your Sustainability Measurement and Activation Goals**

With this release, Scope3 users have more options to measure media sustainability. The Scope3 framework includes all GMSF v1.2 framework categories in addition to other categories not yet included in the standard. More details can be found in the [October methodology notes](https://docs.scope3.com/changelog/october-2025-emissions-model#/).

All measurement frameworks on Scope3 continue to be supported by our open-source methodology and contributed data from supply chain partners – ensuring the highest depth and accuracy available. Sustainable media is higher quality, more performant media, and brands can now activate against this media through brand agents on the Scope3 platform.

Scope3 customers can select their preferred framework for campaign sustainability reporting starting October 1. You can preview the numbers from the updated models today by looking at "Latest" in any property report.

**Preparing for Industry Standards**

Scope3 has been an active participant in the evolution of GMSF, contributing our methodology expertise and real-world measurement insights to help shape the framework's development. As a global supporter and member of the charter steering group, we've worked to ensure GMSF reflects both practical implementation needs and technical accuracy requirements.

With formal GMSF compliance processes expected in early 2026, this update ensures your measurement approach will meet evolving industry standards. 

If you have any questions about this update, or want to learn more about you can drive better media performance through sustainable media, please don’t hesitate to reach out.


Scope3's core frameworks now align with GMSF v1.2 and users now have more choices for emissions measurement.

Scope3 Aligns Core Frameworks With GMSF v1.2 and Offers New Measurement Options


Connected TV (CTV) is now a centerpiece of modern media plans. It combines television’s cultural influence with digital precision, drawing billions in advertiser investment each year. But beneath the rapid growth lies a challenge: CTV buying practices often lack transparency, carry hidden carbon costs, and limit optimization opportunities.

A new report from the ANA, produced in partnership with Scope3, examines these challenges head-on and offers a roadmap for how advertisers can plan smarter, more sustainable CTV campaigns that drive results.

## **Why CTV needs a sustainability check**

The features that make CTV so appealing — premium content, packaged deals, programmatic distribution — also make it hard to manage effectively. Advertisers often buy bundled packages without knowing exactly where their ads will appear. That lack of visibility makes it difficult to enforce brand suitability, measure performance consistently, or evaluate the true environmental cost of each impression.

Carbon intensity is another hidden factor. Variables like creative length, bitrate, and supply paths all affect emissions. Without measurement, these costs remain invisible, even as they meaningfully impact both budgets and the planet.

## **What the study set out to answer**

To bring clarity, the ANA’s Media & Measurement Leadership Council partnered with Scope3 and six leading brands: Chipotle, General Motors, Honda, HP, Mastercard, and Prudential. Together, they explored three questions:

1. What is the carbon impact of CTV advertising?
2. What optimizations can reduce emissions and waste while improving performance?
3. How can sustainable practices scale across the industry?

The study applied Scope3’s carbon measurement framework alongside traditional KPIs like CPM, CPA, and video completion rate. This allowed advertisers to evaluate environmental and business outcomes in parallel.

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## **Small changes, big results**

The research tested four simple optimizations:

- **Shorter creatives.** Moving from 30-second to 15-second ads reduced emissions and often improved cost efficiency.
- **Creative optimization.** Running formats with stronger completion rates increased both impact and sustainability.
- **Inventory suppression.** Excluding high-emission, low-performing placements cut wasteful impressions.
- **Cleaner supply paths.** Prioritizing supply partners with lower average emissions created more efficient delivery routes.

Overall, campaigns lowered emissions while holding (and in many cases improving) performance. In one live sports campaign, emissions fell by 41%, eCPMs dropped 20%, and CPA improved by 92%. Another brand saw a 24% drop in eCPM alongside a material reduction in carbon intensity.

## **A new KPI for the CTV era**

The central recommendation is clear: advertisers should treat emissions the same way they treat reach, CPM, or CPA. Measuring gCO₂PM as a standard KPI uncovers waste that would otherwise remain hidden. With placement-level transparency, brands gain the ability to demand accountability from partners and make sharper buying decisions.

Just as advertisers already tier SSPs on cost or safety, sustainability can now be added to the mix. Favoring cleaner supply partners not only lowers carbon but also elevates the overall quality of supply.

## **Why this matters now**

Sustainability in advertising is no longer a “nice to have.” Consumers expect brands to lead on climate, regulators are raising the bar, and internal stakeholders increasingly want proof of progress. CTV offers a proving ground where brands can deliver both growth and responsibility.

The takeaway from the ANA and Scope3 study is simple: sustainable CTV is practical, measurable, and performance-positive. With better measurement, intentional planning, and small but powerful optimizations, advertisers can reduce waste, improve efficiency, and strengthen the entire media ecosystem.

## **Download the full report**

We’ve only scratched the surface of what the study uncovered about sustainability and CTV advertising. The full report includes deeper data, methodology, and real-world results from some of the world’s most influential marketers.

[Download the report today](#unlockingSustainableGrowthForm) to see how your brand can unlock sustainable growth through smarter CTV planning.


The takeaway from the ANA and Scope3 study is simple: sustainable CTV is practical, measurable, and performance-positive. With better measurement, intentional planning, and small but powerful optimizations, advertisers can reduce waste, improve efficiency, and strengthen the entire media ecosystem.

Unlocking sustainable growth in CTV advertising


## **The challenge**

For Butler/Till, ensuring their pharmaceutical client only appeared in brand-safe environments was mission-critical. But traditional brand safety tools were blocking too much, including valuable news content and nuanced but appropriate articles, and missing high-risk content that didn’t match keyword lists. Butler/Till needed a precise, intelligent solution to reduce risk while unlocking reach to key patient audiences.

## The opportunity

Butler/Till constantly seeks innovative tools to improve outcomes for clients. Scope3’s Brand Standards, powered by agentic AI, offered a breakthrough. Unlike rigid verification tools, Brand Standards uses large language models (LLMs) with human-in-the-loop supervision to deeply understand content, opening the door to greater reach and performance.

## The results

![Results](/marketing/blog/reinventing-brand-safety-with-butlertill-first-agency-to-launch-a-scope3-brand-agent/image1.webp)

Butler/Till extended their client's reach to more relevant patients without compromising safety. The campaign’s success highlighted how agentic decisioning can reshape outdated approaches to brand safety and deliver better results, including a **75% reduction** in unique incident rate. As a result, Butler/Till was named an AdExchanger Awards 2025 Finalist in the *Best Use of Technology by an Agency* category.

> *"Brand Standards surpassed our expectations, opening up new opportunities for our clients. We're now empowered to make brand-specific decisions that both protect brand integrity and maximize reach. As technology continues to evolve, Butler/Till is proud to lead the way in advancing brand safety.”* 
-Nick Morticelli, Manager, Strategy & Partnerships, Biddable Media, Butler/Till





For Butler/Till, ensuring their pharmaceutical client only appeared in brand-safe environments was mission-critical. But traditional brand safety tools were blocking too much, including valuable news content and nuanced but appropriate articles, and missing high-risk content that didn’t match keyword lists. Butler/Till needed a precise, intelligent solution to reduce risk while unlocking reach to key patient audiences.

Reinventing Brand Safety with Butler/Till: First Agency to Launch a Scope3 Brand Agent


The rapid adoption of AI will accelerate innovation, but it also presents significant new environmental challenges.

At Scope3, we’ve been considering what this means for the industry and our partners, as well as our role in creating a sustainable advertising ecosystem.

This summer, we took action and are excited to share our efforts. We developed a methodology to measure the carbon footprint and water use of generative AI, which we’ve released for public feedback this week [here](https://preview.methodology.scope3.com/overview).

We also secured $25 million in funding to bolster these initiatives — an investment that will help us advance our mission while tackling the complexities of AI’s environmental impact (read the details in [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/10/scope3-starts-tracking-the-carbon-footprint-of-ai/) or below).

**Want to learn more about what we’re building?** Subscribe to our new Substack, [Sustainable AI](https://sustainableai.substack.com/p/welcome), where we’ll share insights and updates on our journey toward sustainable AI.

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## **Scope3 Raises $25M in Strategic Funding to Expand into Sustainable AI**

**NEW YORK – 10 October 10 2024**  – Scope3, the collaborative sustainability platform decarbonizing media and advertising, today announced the closing of $25 million in a strategic funding round led by GV. The round included participation from existing investors Venrock, Room40 Ventures, and Craft Ventures, as well as from new investors Aperiam Ventures and Virgo Strategic Investments. The investment will enable Scope3 to expand its work beyond the advertising ecosystem and tackle the pressing climate impact of the booming AI industry.

Since its inception in 2021, Scope3 has been a pioneer in sustainable digital media. Through its ad campaign sustainability solutions and open-source methodology, Scope3 has supplied the media and advertising industries with tools to analyze and reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing ROI, cost or business success. Thousands of brands use Scope3 to measure and decarbonize their media – including Coca-Cola, General Motors, Mastercard, Sanofi, and more – and nearly 3,000 metric tons of carbon emissions have been avoided by using Scope3’s Green Media Products in the last 18 months. 

Decarbonization solutions are gaining serious traction across the industry — usage revenue of Scope3 has grown 12x YoY (Q2 ‘23 → Q2 ‘24). Now, as AI innovation hits an inflection point and the environmental impact is coming to light, Scope3 is taking its proven approach to decarbonizing the advertising and media supply chain and applying it to AI.

At a time when the climate crisis grows more pressing and severe by the day, the rapid adoption of AI is leaving significant environmental repercussions in its wake. The training process for a single AI model consumes thousands of megawatt hours of electricity and emits hundreds of tons of carbon. Companies across the board are increasingly facing pressure to implement AI strategies while trying to meet climate commitments, and they are struggling to find a clear solution to keep emissions under control. With the marketing industry leading the rapid adoption of AI, Scope3 is uniquely positioned to help companies balance their sustainability goals without compromising their AI ambitions that drive innovation and business success.

“AI and the media industry are soon going to be indistinguishable,” said Brian O’Kelley, Co-Founder and CEO of Scope3. “The biggest AI players are monetizing through advertising, just like the search giants before them, and every marketer is using AI to create the content that fuels their campaigns. That’s why extending our methodology to capture the climate impact of AI is imperative, both for our business and the industry as a whole.”

"The most innovative companies in the world are considering sustainable AI practices that address environmental concerns while delivering real business value. Scope3 has the talent, technology, and expertise needed to decarbonize the media and advertising industry," said Erik Nordlander, General Partner at GV.  "We've seen the impact Brian O'Kelley and the Scope3 team have had on the advertising and marketing supply chain, and we're excited to double down on our investment based on the traction we've seen. We're proud to deepen our partnership with Brian and support Scope3's mission as we move toward a more sustainable future."

Alongside the funding, Scope3 released its AI methodology to the public. This methodology sheds light on the digital waste produced by the AI supply chain by precisely tracing and measuring the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of an AI product, process or service. This ultimately enables every company using AI to make data-driven strategies on when, how and where to apply different AI solutions to reduce their carbon footprints and maximize the efficacy of their AI investments.


At a time when the climate crisis grows more pressing and severe by the day, the rapid adoption of AI is leaving significant environmental repercussions in its wake. Scope3 has a plan to tackle it.