Marketers Cite GenAI as Top Barrier to Sustainability

The survey reveals top barriers to sustainability in marketing, highlighting challenges like carbon-intensive technologies and the need for stronger decarbonisation strategies.

A new annual benchmark of top brand marketers’ sustainability sentiments has found that 42% believe the increasing use of carbon-intensive GenAI in their day-to-day roles is the greatest barrier to operating more sustainably. 

As part of Zeroed In: The Brand Marketing Pulse – the first in a planned series of surveys from climate tech company 51toCarbonZero, 40% of senior UK and US-based marketers at leading global brands also said that ‘marketing decarbonisation is not part of their wider enterprise decarbonisation strategy’. 

This is a particular issue in the UK, where almost half (47%) of respondents said this is the case, compared to a third (33%) of marketers in the US.

Richard Davis, CEO and Co-Founder of 51toCarbonZero, said, “It’s highly concerning that the decarbonisation of marketing departments isn’t always a chief focus for global brands. We know that digital marketing, in particular, is highly carbon-intensive, with previous studies showing that it’s responsible for as many emissions as the aviation industry.”

“And its impact on the environment is only set to increase in line with the proliferation of GenAI data centres. Making it imperative that marketing is part of every brand’s wider sustainability programme.”    

“GenAI is the least sustainable digital technology to-date. But it is possible to use GenAI sustainably. However, it requires greater education, as well as the right investments and solutions in the development of efficient AI infrastructure and language models.” 

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In the UK, 43% of respondents said ‘insufficient collaboration with suppliers and partners’ is a major obstacle. Yet, when selecting marketing partners, 95% said that their sustainability credentials are important. In fact, 52% of all respondents said the sustainability credentials of potential partners are ‘extremely important’. 

“With half of marketers stating that the sustainability credentials of prospective partners, such as agencies, tech vendors or publishers, is extremely important, means that those companies in the wider ecosystem that don’t have solid carbon reduction plans in place are likely to miss out on significant business opportunities”, added Richard.  

37% of marketers on both sides of the pond also referenced ‘insufficient budget or funding’, and ‘uncertainty about the ROI of sustainable practices’, as key challenges. 

“It’s crucial there is a greater focus on the business benefits of reducing carbon emissions, which in turn will boost funding and investment in this area”, said Richard. “We know from experience, the more sustainable a company is, the greater the business benefits and the more enticing its products or services are for consumers, stakeholders, and potential partners.” 

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The Positive Picture 

In the US, one of the biggest barriers cited by 34% of marketers is the ‘lack of clear industry standards and guidelines’ while 30% say there is a ‘lack of buy-in from leadership’. 

Despite this, 62% of US brands are committing more to sustainability in 2025 than in previous years, 33% are committing the same, and only 5% are committing less. In the UK, 65% are committing more, and 35% are the same. No brands are committing less. 

What’s more, despite the challenges to becoming more sustainable, almost all respondents (98%) said it is important to their customers that their brand is operating sustainably and minimising its impact on the environment. Positively, 100% of brand marketers said their company has made progress towards reducing carbon emissions, with 61% saying they have made ‘significant progress’. 

Neil Woodcock, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of 51toCarbonZero, said, “With 100% of brand marketers saying they’ve made progress towards net zero, marketing is in a good position to drive sustainable action forward, both within the sector and for brands as a whole. To do this for their company is important.” 

“As part of a fuller decarbonisation strategy, marketers must hold their supply partners to account and only work with those that can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to emissions reduction. Committing to this will not only bring down an individual organisation’s carbon emissions but, vitally, those of the whole supply chain. And this will really mark major progress.”

When asked whether the marketing industry is on target to reach net zero by 2030, in line with Ad Net Zero, 90% of marketers across both geographies agree that it is. Less than one in 10 (7.5%) said they didn’t think the industry would hit this target, while 2.5% said they didn’t know. 

“Despite recent negative sentiment around the issue of climate change, particularly in the US, it’s really positive to see that sustainability is still a major focus for brands, and the majority are committing more to sustainability in 2025”, added Neil. 

“Sustainability is not just a buzzword. Our research has shown it’s important to customers, employees, investors and partners that brands operate sustainably. The outcome can be significant when brands work with partners across their entire carbon footprint, using platforms like ours to simplify the process of reducing their impact on the environment.” 

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