The Go Green Call for OOH industry

The Go Green Call for OOH industry

Disclaimer: all views expressed in this article are in my individual capacity as an OOH professional and not of the organization I work for.

Its time, We the Buzz creators of OOH should get ready to take a larger share of responsibility as we have the largest share of viewership (by sheer length of times the viewer spends with us).

It is the clarion call of the times and time for us to stand for one good reason.

We all know what all ills plague our industry enough has been talked and debated about it.

Now is the time when we can show ourselves as not only a good taxpaying legal industry but also as an industry that is responsible for its actions and hence wants to lead from the front.

I am listing here some very creative and cost effective solutions to make our industry, Green:

Use of painted signs for vacant/contact site messages: Reduce use of Flex/Thick flex.

Increase use of paper mesh, thin, bio- degradable flex: Each 4 x 20 flex weighs 25 kg, hence for each campaign with average of 100, 40 x 20s we use 2.5 ton non bio degradable flex. Can we look at solution for this? Onus would largely be on printers and material providers for this.

Create breathing, Oxygen giving structures, we all know that areas around big structures are rendered useless, can we plant some tress in front of those, which would grow in 5 years to hamper the visibility but can be pruned from time to time and keep the visibility of our sites intact, the easiest way is to say chuck it.

For roof tops, all roof top sites to act as solar charging units: Especially on top of Societies so that they can be use to the environment we operate in, also we can generate our own electricity, which is required for not more than 5 hours of the evening. Why to depend on BSES, generators etc. when we have space to generate our own electricity and government can give funding for the project.

Imagine : each roof top generating  its own need of power and also providing excess power to its surrounding, illuminating street lights and common facilities of societies, approx potential  500KW per billboard PM , rough estimate of efficiency  12 x 500 billboard locations = 60000 KW Per Annum of power saving and generation ; effective output 12000 MW.

Use of LED lights for illumination: costlier by 4 times compared to halogens/halofins .

Advantage :power consumption down by 70%, No wastages, longer shelf life and least environmental impact as no mercury of lead or any other residual chemical.

Now the economics of all this.

All sites to have green accreditation by some accepted body , approved by IOAAA, IOAAA to claim cumulative carbon credits for reduction in carbon foot print of Indian OOH industry, after getting all due environmental audits.

Agencies and clients to give preference to media owners with green creds. As they would be part of reducing carbon foot print campaign.

All such media to be advertised as green media and hence by default those who don’t comply become toxic.

Revenue from power saving, govt incentives and carbon credits are expected to recover the cost of this green drive by the end of 3^rd year of project..

So friends, I Hope the reading was great. But can we make this dream a reality, can we actually rise above petty disputes of PO’s , payments rates, regulations and see the big picture and role for us in Indian corporate world.

I know it cannot happen in isolation, It needs the support of largest media owners like JCD, Pioneer, Times OOH, Jagran Enagage, Selvel,  LAQSHYA  , largest agencies like, Mudra, Portland, Primesite, MOMS, Lintas, Milestone.

Can OAC, or exchange for media, Agency FAqs, allboutoutdoor can be platform to start this debate ?

Can IOAAA be the force behind this ?
Can brands like, HUL, Nokia, Nestle, Reliance, Airtel, Coke, Pepsi. Through thier weight behind such initiatives.

I don’t know, but I know for sure, is that this is our time to rise and change the world perceives us.