Advertising Digital Publishing
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To decarbonize the media industry, Cedara raises $2.7M in seed funding

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Ad tech and software industry veterans have launched the first end-to-end software solution to enable the media ecosystem to reach net zero. Black Enterprise, the leading Black digital media brand, is one of the first publishers to participate.

The first end-to-end carbon intelligence platform for the media industry, Cedara, has raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round led by prominent angel investors along with additional support from execs in private equity, publishing and ad tech. The investment will be used to accelerate the commercial rollout of Cedara’s sustainable media solutions in the US, UK and additional international markets.

Cedara is able to comprehensively measure, report and reduce carbon emissions across the media supply chain, including media distribution, advertising production, events, and the entirety of media business operations.

By sharing carbon data with media agency account teams and brands, the company enables publishers to seamlessly track their overall carbon footprint from campaign activities as well as their reduction efforts towards net zero.

Founded earlier this year and led by co-founders, David Shaw and Andrei Baragan (former executives of the advertising platform Teads), Cedara has already seen a number of companies on-board to start measuring and reducing their carbon footprints as well as make their carbon data actionable for media buyers. Black Enterprise, the No. 1 Black digital media brand, is one of the first publishers to participate.

Sustainability is an important topic for Black Enterprise and its consumers, and we intend to be thought leaders in the media industry by being a first-mover in decarbonisation. Brands and their agencies are already starting to tackle sustainability and how to address this across the media ecosystem, so this also gives us an opportunity to be ahead of competition.

Justin Barton, senior vice president of digital strategy & partnerships at Black Enterprise

It comes at a time of increased focus on sustainability within media, not least how the industry intends to meet Net Zero emissions targets by 2050, as well as adhere to the Paris Agreement which requires global emissions to be halved by 2030. According to Purpose Disruptors, advertising currently adds an extra 32% to the annual carbon footprint of every person in the UK.

Sustainability is now front and center for the advertising industry as government regulators, investors and consumers now demand carbon emissions transparency and action from both brands and their media supply chains.

 David Shaw, CEO of Cedara