Sky unveils winners of £2m sustainable advertising initiative

Broadcast giant Sky has revealed the five winners of its £2m SkyZero Footprint Fund – an initiative which aims to harness the reach of TV advertising to promote business initiatives that are driving positive behavioural changes that curb environmental impacts.

The five winning businesses – Ecosia, Homethings, Royal Mail, Serious Tissues, and WUKA – have been awarded £250,000 which is to be used towards a sustainable advertising campaign.

The selected companies will advance to the next stage of the competition, which will see a judging panel gather in December to select the “most compelling” campaign that will secure a total of £1m for the business to deliver a wider TV advertising campaign.

“Each of the winning brands from this year’s Sky Zero Footprint Fund delivers a critical message that aligns with ours; that sustainable can be attainable,” said Fiona Ball, group director of the Bigger Picture campaign at Sky. “And, with the opportunity to use the power of TV advertising, this message is amplified, ultimately driving positive change.”

Sky said that the judging panel consisted of industry experts with credentials in advertising, creativity, and sustainability. Businesses were judged on the merit of their creativity and ability to capture the attention of the nation, their impact and potential to drive tangible and behavioural change, and their sustainability credentials.

Sky revealed this year’s judging panel included three new additions with Tara Chandra, co-founder of Here We Flo who won the ‘Grand Prix’ £1m ad spend prize last year; Bruce Crouch, executive creative director of Hatch London and the creative behind Here We Flo’s award-winning ‘period drama’ concept; and Marianne Matthews, Sky’s head of responsible business.

“As the UK’s greenest delivery company, we are committed to raising awareness about the real carbon impact of our parcel deliveries,” said Sonia Sudhakar, managing director of marketing and digital at Royal Mail, which has been shortlisted for the initiative. “Now, with the help of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund and AMV BBDO, we’ll campaign for our entire industry to do the same, thereby empowering customers to help tackle climate change – today,”

“TV has the power to make sustainable switches mainstream, showing how something as small as changing your toilet roll to Serious Tissues can have a massive impact,” added Chris Baker, founder of Serious Tissues, which has also been shortlisted. “Fingers heavily crossed for the final in December.”

Sky said that all five winning ads will be produced using insights, tools, and learnings from AdGreen. Part of the Advertising Association, AdGreen supports the ad industry’s shift towards net zero emissions and promotes a raft of best practices that help curb the negative environmental impacts of ad production.