Carbon-First Marketing Glossary

WE7 AI's proprietary composite index that measures the carbon intensity of a digital marketing campaign, expressed in grams of CO₂ equivalent per 1,000 impressions (gCO₂e / 1K). CCS integrates channel intensity, creative format, ad tech supply chain overhead, and campaign performance into a single actionable number.

The amount of CO₂ (or CO₂ equivalent) emitted per unit of activity or output. In digital marketing, carbon intensity is measured per 1,000 impressions served, per click generated, or per dollar of media spend. A campaign with lower carbon intensity achieves the same marketing output with fewer emissions.

Indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company's value chain — upstream (suppliers, purchased goods) and downstream (use of sold products, investments). For marketers, Scope 3 includes the carbon footprint of the ad tech supply chain, digital media buying, agency services, and campaign delivery. Under CSRD and IFRS S2, Scope 3 disclosure is increasingly mandatory for large corporations.

A category of digital advertising inventory that meets defined environmental standards — typically carbon-neutral or carbon-negative placements on publisher sites powered by renewable energy, with transparent supply chain practices. WE7 AI identifies and prioritizes green media within campaign channel mixes to reduce CCS without sacrificing performance.

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which requires large companies (and from 2026, many SMEs with EU operations) to disclose environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). For marketing teams, CSRD introduces mandatory disclosure of Scope 3 emissions — including those generated by digital advertising and media spend.

The International Financial Reporting Standard for Climate-related Disclosures, issued by the ISSB. IFRS S2 requires companies to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities that could affect their financial performance — including transition risks from regulatory changes and physical risks from climate events. Marketing activities that generate significant emissions may represent a material transition risk under IFRS S2.

A CSRD concept that requires companies to assess sustainability issues from two perspectives: (1) how climate and ESG factors affect the company's financial performance ("financial materiality"), and (2) how the company's activities affect the environment and society ("impact materiality"). For marketers, digital advertising's carbon footprint may be material from both directions — regulatory cost and brand reputation.

The standard unit for expressing greenhouse gas emissions, normalizing all gases (CO₂, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) to their CO₂ warming equivalent. WE7 AI uses gCO₂e per 1,000 impressions as the base unit for Campaign Carbon Score. It allows apples-to-apples comparison of emissions across channels, campaigns, and brands.

A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — or an increase in carbon storage (e.g., reforestation) — used to compensate for emissions produced elsewhere. In marketing, some brands purchase offsets to neutralize the carbon footprint of their campaigns. WE7 AI's position: offsetting should follow genuine reduction efforts, not replace them. CCS-optimized campaigns reduce at source; offsets complement what remains.

The layered ecosystem of technology vendors involved in serving a digital ad: DSPs (demand-side platforms), SSPs (supply-side platforms), ad exchanges, DMPs (data management platforms), verification vendors (brand safety, viewability), and CDNs (content delivery networks). Each hop in this chain adds latency, data transfer, and carbon overhead. WE7 AI models supply chain carbon coefficients for major programmatic paths.

Automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory through real-time auctions (RTB — Real-Time Bidding). Programmatic advertising is the dominant model for display, video, and CTV advertising. Open-exchange programmatic typically involves 10–15 vendor touchpoints per impression, generating significantly higher carbon intensity than direct publisher deals. WE7 AI factors programmatic supply chain complexity into Campaign Carbon Score.

WE7 AI's operating philosophy and framework: marketing that generates business growth while actively restoring environmental and social systems — not just reducing harm. Regenerative marketing goes beyond sustainability (maintaining current conditions) to actively rebuilding natural capital. In practice, this means optimizing campaigns for carbon efficiency, funding ocean and ecosystem restoration, and measuring true impact beyond revenue.

Marketing practices designed to reduce environmental and social harm — through lower-carbon media choices, transparent supply chains, and ESG-aligned messaging. Distinct from regenerative marketing: sustainability aims to "do less harm," while regenerative aims to "do more good." WE7 AI supports both as a baseline and aspiration.

WE7 AI's category-defining approach: treating carbon efficiency as a primary campaign optimization variable — alongside CTR, ROAS, and CPM. Carbon-first marketing does not sacrifice performance; it reveals that reducing carbon intensity frequently exposes wasted spend, inefficient supply chains, and underperforming creative — improving both environmental and financial outcomes simultaneously.

Making misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or campaign. Greenwashing is increasingly regulated — the EU Green Claims Directive (2024) and FTC Green Guides require claims to be specific, substantiated, and not misleading. WE7 AI's Greenwashing Guard feature screens marketing content and claims against current regulatory standards to protect brands from compliance and reputational risk.

A framework used to evaluate a company's impact across three non-financial dimensions: Environmental (emissions, resource use, biodiversity), Social (labor practices, community impact, diversity), and Governance (leadership, transparency, anti-corruption). ESG reporting frameworks — CSRD, GRI, SASB, TCFD — increasingly require granular disclosure of marketing supply chain emissions.