DS network offers carbon footprint offsets

July 15, 2008 by Dave Haynes

So I’m thinking even the greenest of Green Partiers doesn’t walk by a digital screen and think it’s damn near as bad as a coal-fired generating station.

But the things do draw power, I suppose, and therefore have a carbon footprint.

In an arguably clever, arguably dubious announcement, an Aussie company has announced it is doing “carbon neutral advertising for their digital signage network.”

Australia’s leading provider of Out-Of-Home Digital media, PDM, has announced they will now offer carbon neutral advertising to their clients. PDM is the first Australian Out-of-Home Digital media company to provide advertisers with a choice to purchase fully carbon offset advertising as part of their environmental responsibility.

Carbon Planet, a specialist carbon reduction advisory company, has created a calculator for PDM that estimates carbon emissions for the use of all plasma and LCD screens used in their digital signage networks. Using this tool, PDM can purchase carbon credits on behalf of their advertisers and offer carbon neutral advertising to clients for a nominal surcharge.

PDM Communications Director, Angela Byrnes says: “PDM are excited that we can now provide our clients with the opportunity to carbon offset their advertising on our media networks. We identified that the impact of climate change is foremost in our customer’s minds and that the foundation of good client relationships can be built on a strong environmental policy.”

“More than ever before, customers are expecting the businesses they support to demonstrate social and environmental responsibility. We are happy to invest in the offset calculator knowing that we are helping our clients contribute toward a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future.”

It’s a little hard to slap this around as silly and frivolous, as every little bit helps with greenhouse gases, I suppose. The cynic in me sees a little bandwagon jumping going on, like all those businesses that are suddenly going green with their marketing. That may or may not be a fair assessment. Whatever the case, an interesting spin.