IAB Europe Releases 2026 State of Readiness Report Revealing AI Concerns, Regulatory Pressure and Broader Sustainability Priorities Across Digital Advertising

Brussels, Belgium, 4th March 2026 - IAB Europe, the European-level industry association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem, today announced its fourth annual State of Readiness - Sustainability in Digital Advertising Report, providing a comprehensive overview of how the European digital advertising ecosystem is progressing across environmental and social sustainability.

Now in its fourth year, the survey reflects a sector expanding its sustainability lens. For the first time, the 2026 edition assesses both environmental sustainability (including carbon emissions) and social sustainability (including privacy, media plurality, accessibility, diversity, and responsible media).

This addition reflects a growing recognition across the industry that sustainability today is not only about environmental progress. It is equally about people, accountability, responsible practices, and wider societal outcomes. As regulatory scrutiny increases and expectations from advertisers, publishers, employees, and consumers continue to rise, digital advertising sustainability must be understood through both environmental and social lenses.

The survey was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026, gathering 135 responses from companies and associations active across all European markets.

Key Findings from the Report:

• The first aggregate Double Materiality Analysis (DMA) shows social impacts (privacy, media plurality) rank above environmental impacts on combined financial and impact materiality.
  
• AI concerns top the ecosystem’s agenda: Over half (56%) of respondents cite AI Content Ingestion & Traffic as the top ecosystem challenge, marking a significant change in the past four years, as AI-related concerns overtake long-standing priorities such as addressability and measurement
  
• Ad fraud rises significantly: Nearly 30% of respondents now list ad fraud as a major ecosystem challenge, compared with single-digit levels in earlier surveys.
  
• Regulation overtakes Corporate Social Responsibility: Compliance with regulation is now the leading driver of sustainability action, reflecting the growing influence of frameworks such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
  
• Employer reputation influences sustainability efforts: New this year, employer reputation ranks above client expectations as a driver for organisational action, pointing to sustainability’s role in attracting and retaining talent.
  
• Environmental measurement accelerates: The proportion of companies estimating environmental impact across all campaigns has doubled from 2025 to 2026.
  
• Environmental actions consistently outpace social actions (≈10pp gap). Carbon reduction levers are more widely adopted than social impact measures.

• Reporting readiness varies: A significant share of respondents (32%) have not and do not plan to publish sustainability reports, illustrating uneven readiness across the ecosystem.

Commenting on the report's findings, Steffen Hubert, Director of External Affairs & Sustainability, Seven.One Entertainment Group and Chair of  IAB Europe’s Sustainability Standards Committee, said, “This year’s State of Readiness confirms what the Beyond Reach report began to map: when you apply an industry-wide double materiality lens, social topics come out on top. Privacy, accessibility, responsible media and media plurality are business-critical conditions for trust and long-term value creation. Now we must turn that clarity into comparable definitions, credible evidence and practical action across the ecosystem."

Also commenting on the report, IAB Europe’s Data & Innovation Strategist, Dimitris Beis, said “State of Readiness 2026 provides quantitative grounding for the evolving scope of the Sustainability Standards Committee. It moves digital ad sustainability beyond being seen as a carbon footprint side-car, while recognising that environmental impact remains critical, and demonstrates that sustainability as defined here reflects the real structural issues facing our ecosystem.”

Strengthening Social Sustainability Through Industry Collaboration

In response to this year’s findings, IAB Europe’s Sustainability Standards Committee has enhanced its focus on advancing guidance, education, and best practices across social sustainability themes.

Building on established environmental initiatives, the Committee is intensifying its work on responsible media, accessibility, diversity, media plurality, and privacy. This ensures that sustainability efforts within digital advertising address both environmental impact and wider societal responsibility in a structured and measurable way.

The full 2026 Report is available on IAB Europe’s website here. Additional practical resources and information on how to participate in ongoing standards development can be found via the Sustainability Hub.