Sustainability

Scope 1

Scope 1 emissions are from sources that we own or control directly, including company facilities, such as our offices.

• At 1% of our total emissions, scope 1 represents the lowest share of emissions from Ocean Outdoor.

Scope 2

Scope 2 are indirect emissions from purchased electricity for our offices and our Ocean Outdoor screens.

• Since 2019 all electricity sourced and paid for by Ocean is 100% green from sustainable suppliers.

• The IMAX’s lighting has been upgraded from halogen strip light to 48,000 LED’s. 77% on energy efficiency, removing more than 100 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.

• As of April 2022, we have now implemented further screen turn offs during quieter hours so we can now say that none of our screens (apart from Piccadilly Lights) will operate on a 24-hour basis.

Scope 3

Scope 3 are all other indirect emissions including business travel, employee commuting and emissions from the supply chain of goods and services.

• Worked with our supply chain and adjusted our procurement plan to effectively source sustainable materials
• Single use plastic being phased out of our Ocean offices
  • Providing reusable water bottles
  • Recycling system in the office including educational posters
• Sustainable travel
  • Cycle-to-work scheme
  • Prioritising train travel as an international business

Source of Power - Electricity

Ocean is a business that consumes energy as part of our day to day operation in our offices and to obviously power our screens.

We are proud that since 2019 all electricity sourced and paid for by Ocean is 100% green from sustainable suppliers. As you can imagine, that’s a large amount of electricity.

Light Pollution

We limit hours of operation and voluntarily reduce brightness to below permitted levels and in more sensitive locations override our technology to deliver brightness levels lower than those dictated by our ambient light sensing equipment.

Ocean as a policy, do not operate our screens on a 24/7 basis, instead most of our large format screens are powered down between 23:00hrs and 06:00hrs, and Ocean’s small format networks between 03:00hrs and 06:00hrs. Ocean where possible places a self-imposed limit on brightness to override the integrated ambient lighting sensing systems.

This benefits our neighbours, the environment and our wildlife.

Sustainability Central to Ocean Procurement

Ocean’s procurement access’s our supplier’s environmental processes to ensure a multi-faceted approach to sustainability that strives to optimise our procured technology, educate our suppliers, reduce our corporate waste, and to stay actively involved to reduce our environmental footprint throughout all processes and in our eco-system.

Ocean continually review our environmental practices.

• Implementation of a general awareness program for suppliers. This general awareness is a component of being a new supplier to Ocean.
• Eliminating corporate waste through automation and LEAN manufacturing principles.
• Dedicating staff towards environmental stewardship and compliance.
• Recycling all eligible office and industrial materials.
• An ongoing commitment to procure energy-efficient, environmentally friendly products.

LED Supply

The move to LEDs is a huge shift in sustainability and the green credentials for Ocean and the wider DOOH market. Recognising the demand on energy sources, the typical LED burns about 10% of their energy as heat and the rest as light; as opposed to their predecessor, the incandescent light bulb, which burns about 98% of their energy as heat and 2% as light.

Ocean’s has chosen the world leader in LED technology as our preferred supplier. Part of this selection process was a firm commitment to exacting environmental and sustainable criteria, we have a partner who we are confident delivers the most efficient form of lighting commercially available today.

The technical commitment:

• Implementing Power Factor Correction (PFC) technology to maximise the efficiency of all display power connections.
• Creating RoHS-ready products completely devoid of mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) and other hazardous materials.

The sustainable commitment:

They also aggressively recycle all eligible office and industrial materials. Materials which are recycled as part of the manufacturing processes include;

• Aluminium , Steel, Cardboard, Plastic, Glass, Paint product cans, Wood, Paper, Printed Circuit Boards Industrial solvents, All outer packing materials used for shipping are free of PVC and are recyclable, No materials which have been bleached during the manufacturing and or shipping process.

The advertising industry is mobilising in response to the climate emergency. The Ad Net Zero initiative represents an industry-wide collaboration to curb emissions from advertising industry’s operations: including the ad production process, media planning and buying. This is delivered as part of a partnership between the Advertising Association, IBSA and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

Their ‘Ad Net Zero’ report launched November 2020 calculated the operational emissions of the advertising industry to be 84,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and outlined a 5-step plan for organisations to reduce emissions.

Over 80 companies spanning brands, agencies, media owners, tech platforms and trade bodies have signed up to the Ad Net Zero initiative. As of December 2021, Ocean Outdoor are proud supporters of the Ad Net Zero group in order to help combat climate change within the industry and create a more sustainable future.

Visit adassoc.org.uk for more information.

Ad net Zero purposes action on five fronts:

• Advertising businesses’ own operations
• Advertising production
• Media buying and planning
• Awards and events
• Using advertising’s positive influence to promote more sustainable behaviour

Ocean’s footprint across the key cities of the UK, allows us to create environments for wildlife to flourish.

Ocean are creating safe havens for species that can act as stepping stones for both flora and fauna across our cities.

We have identified 18 existing advertising locations across the UK that we are in the process of returning to nature. Creating habitats of native species to encourage the return of wildlife and act as educational focus points for schools in the area.

Our Dutch colleagues are introducing Bee and Butterfly Hotels. These Hotels can be constructed around the superstructure of Ocean’s existing large format advertising displays that have the land capacity to support the planting of wild-flowers to feed and sustain the bees and butterflies.

Video of a Bee Hotel in the Dutch city of Utrecht

Working with the Wildlife Trusts to establish land management principles.

As part of our response to this crisis we are managing our sites land so that they positively contribute to biodiversity, particularly for pollinators

Such transformative action across the whole Ocean network is necessary to create ‘more, bigger, better and joined up’ habitats and ‘Making Space for Nature’.

Management Plan

From Autumn 2021

1. Early August cut/collect after which yellow rattle sown immediately across “meadows” areas on all plots.
2. Plots where we know no previous wildflower sowing some mix spread with the yellow rattle. Focus on perennials with small amount annual for immediate visual.
3. Shaded sessions – cut/collect in Autumn and sowing of woodland edge mix.

Drops in the Ocean supports environmental charities by donating 2% of Ocean’s reported revenue through advertising value across our iconic digital screens.

Drops in the Ocean Testimonial video

In 2018 Ocean Outdoor created Oceans for Oceans; an initiative to act together to help end the use of single-use plastics within our business and stop plastic ending up in our seas and oceans. Partnering up with the Marine Conservation Society to work simultaneously on these issues, we supplied advertising space across the UK network to help amplify their messages, causes and fundraising appeals.

Following on from this partnership, in November 2021, Ocean advanced Oceans for Oceans to sit within our wider sustainability mission and created the Drops in the Ocean Fund. Under this initiative, Ocean Outdoor have donated 2% of the Group’s reported revenue to environmental organisations and causes associated with the preservation of the planet.

Some of the chosen beneficiaries since 2021 working to protect the planet are Pipal Tree, Justdiggit, Cool Earth, Our Only World, the Blue Marine Foundation, Marine Conservation Society, Coral Restoration Foundation, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Canal & River Trust, World Land Trust, The Gaia Foundation, RangerLab and Global EverGreening Alliance.

Drops in the Ocean gives charities and causes a change to appear at scale across some of Oceans Group’s 8,631 plus premium DOOH advertising locations in 834 cities.

Find out more about the fund here.

Effective from January 2024, we will pledge a percentage of our 2024 revenue via the Pinwheel platform, to four critical marine-based projects that remove atmospheric carbon and are helping to repair the planet’s natural ecosystems. The best bit? Our agency partners get to vote for their favourite project.

Ocean x Pinwheel launch video

In a media first for the out of home industry, when buying and planning campaigns across Ocean’s UK assets, agency partners will get to vote for which of the high potential projects a percentage of their ad spend will support.

The four projects are carbon coastal removal, turtle protection, plastic removal and coral protection. All the initiatives have been verified by the sustainability platform, Pinwheel, which supports the world’s most effective planet-saving initiatives.

Ocean’s position is informed by scientific evidence which shows that many carbon offset programmes have no environmental value and sadly do very little or nothing to mitigate global warming. According to research, 70% of the $2billion spent globally on carbon avoidance or removal projects has little to no impact – and sometimes even negative consequences.