OpenX achieves SBTi Net-Zero standard requirements

OpenX Technologies Inc has announced that it is the first company in the advertising, technology, and media sectors to receive independent verification that it has met the key requirements of the Net-Zero Standard established by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in October 2021. SBTi verified the OpenX science-based net-zero target “to reduce scope 1+2+3 emissions 90% by 2027 from a 2018 base year” in June 2022. OpenX has worked with RSK Group, one of the world’s leading environmental consultancies, who have provided a formal assurance statement concluding, “OpenX has fulfilled the key requirements for the SBTi Net-Zero Standards.”

“RSK has assessed that the OpenX 2018 greenhouse gas inventory has been calculated in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. When comparing this to the 2021 footprint (verified by another consultant, LRQA), a difference is seen showing a 98.6% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions (meeting the Near Term SBTi target) and a 96.3% reduction in all three scopes emissions between 2018 and 2021 (meeting the Long Term SBTi target),” said Dominic Walkling, Associate Director, Carbon Management & Sustainability at RSK.

“OpenX is consistently a leader in sustainability, which is an important factor in our continued partnership. OpenX goes well beyond the current industry norm of carbon offsets, they were the first adTech company to achieve carbon neutral status by investing in more sustainable technology and operations and delivering measurable reductions in carbon emissions. We congratulate them on their recent Net Zero status. When our partners reduce their carbon footprint, our clients and the environment benefit, which is tremendously important as we all work towards a more sustainable future for advertising,” said Jean-Marc Papin, SVP Media Technology and Data at Horizon Media.

SBTi is a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reductions targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on accelerating companies across the world to halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050. The initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments.

RSK first verified OpenX’s calculations for its 2018 baseline emissions and compared them to the 2021 emissions previously verified by LRQA. RSK’s review confirmed a reduction of 96% from 2018 to 2021, across all three types of emissions scopes. This dramatic reduction was due to several factors including a holistic multi-year effort to move from on-premises data centers to an energy-efficient cloud-based platform using renewable energy, reduced office space, the implementation of a remote-first work policy, as well as a general revision of business travel. Both OpenX’s 2018 baseline emissions inventory and the previously LRQA-verified 2021 inventory numbers are in the process of being publicly disclosed through The Climate Registry, one of the most rigorous registries in the world.

“We have focused on attaining the highest level of established global sustainability standards by working with organizations like RSK and SBTi on our path to Net-Zero. Climate change is a critical global issue and our achievement is just one small part of the journey we are all taking together to make advertising a sustainable industry. We are sharing our story with the hope of demonstrating that it is possible to achieve the Net-Zero targets. We’re excited to continue to focus on our low carbon footprint and to collaborate with brands, agencies, industry bodies, and other technology companies, as we all work collectively to lower carbon emissions across industries” said OpenX chief executive officer John Gentry.

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