• by Laurie Sullivan , July 8, 2025

Google and Microsoft have made significant changes in the ways they court publishers -- partly driven by rising demand for sustainable ad inventory in programmatic buying and production.

Creative weight -- also known as data volume -- significantly impacts carbon emissions associated with ad delivery.

A 15-second video advertisement can generate up to 85% more carbon emissions than a standard display ad, due to increased load times and data processing demands, according to Microsoft.

By optimizing and compressing the size of ad creatives, advertisers can work with publishers to reduce data transmission and storage requirements. This lowers emissions from servers and network infrastructures tasked with ad delivery and retention, while the ads retain quality.

This means lower video resolution and frame rates, as well as decreasing bit rates through the use of advanced video compression codecs like H.264. Creative weights are crucial in ad-server hosting and collaboration with third-party buyers.

Ad buyers want publishers and placements to minimize the environmental impacts of digital advertising. Regulatory groups have introduced policies for reporting emissions, increasing the urgency for publishers and platforms to meet the needs of advertisers.

In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set standards for climate-related disclosures by public companies.

Microsoft called attention to the European Union’s creation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in a blog post published Tuesday. Very similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which serves as an industry standard for privacy, the CSRD focuses on emissions reporting and accountability.

With these impending emissions reporting regulations, publishers and buyers are looking for sustainable media that reduces carbon emissions without compromising return on ad spend (ROAS).

Microsoft estimates that 51% of U.S. marketers say their organization plans to reach net zero in digital advertising, and two-thirds of U.S. marketers say they are tracking emissions generated by their digital advertising campaigns.

Some 66% of U.S. marketers believe minimizing carbon emissions should be the target of every marketer, and 9 out of 10 marketers in the U.S. agree that the digital advertising industry has a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions.

Publishers can reduce carbon emissions and provide ways to do so, such as optimizing creative assets for sustainable advertising.

Google’s and Microsoft’s independent strategies are not only driven by environmental considerations and sustainability, but also advertising budgets, automation, artificial intelligence, competition, and regulatory changes.

In June, Google launched Offerwall, a monetization tool for publishers in Google Ad Manager, gives publishers more options, and gives audiences more control over the ways they access content.

There are diverse monetization options, rewards ads, surveys, micropayments, custom choices, AI-powered optimization, and accessibility for small publishers.

Beyond Offerwall, there is financial support available through the Google News Initiative, and financial grants and funding, but there have been major concerns such as zero-click searches and loss of traffic from AI Overviews.

Frequent algorithm updates put publishers in a vulnerable position to changes that can significantly continue to affect search rankings and organic traffic, making it difficult to keep up with changes.

Publishers have limited control over how their content is displayed in search results and whether it is used to generate AI Overviews.

Advertising and ad technology issues point to regulatory concerns on the horizon in September.