Cactus Imaging and EcoBanner, an integral part of oOh!’s sustainable future

oOh!media has unveiled plans to lead the Out of Home industry to a more sustainable future, including a partnership with environmental not-for-profit organisation Greening Australia, accelerated decarbonisation and the comprehensive rollout of Ecobanner.

“As Australia’s largest Out of Home media company, oOh! recognises the important role we play in driving the sector to a sustainable future. We want to ensure that our business has a positive impact, one that is good for the world, good for society and good for our partners. We have invested in a permanent ESG team who are guiding our strategy from the board down, and one which is embedded across all areas of the company,” said Paul Sigaloff, Chief Revenue and Growth Officer, oOh!.

The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) team of three full-time staff, established only one year ago, already has its strategy embedded throughout the business’s operations, company culture and communities within which it operates, reflecting one of its values to ‘Grow Sustainably’.

As part of an intention to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills, oOh! has become the first media company in Australia to use Ecobanner. Made in Australia by Gale Pacific, Ecobanner is a fully recyclable, closed-loop and PVC-free material that is also highly durable.

The innovative Australian-designed and developed material is suited to large format billboard sites – including the Glebe Island Silos in Sydney, which are also 100% powered by renewable energy.

Following the launch of Ecobanner at the Glebe Silos in August with signage printed by Cactus Imaging, oOh! is extending its role to make it the default product for large format billboards in 2024, providing advertisers with more environmentally sustainable options to connect with audiences at scale.

Additionally, a new partnership with Greening Australia – a national not-for-profit organisation with over 40 years of experience restoring Australia’s diverse landscapes and protecting biodiversity – was announced.

oOh! will provide pro bono advertising to help drive visibility of Greening Australia’s brand awareness and create impact in metro and regional locations to educate and inspire consumers about environmental restoration.

oOh!’s creative and innovation hub POLY will develop end-to-end, creative campaigns to highlight Greening Australia’s important land restoration work across oOh!’s Out of Home digital network.

Kate Smith, Director of Marketing, Communications and Director of Greening Australia Foundation, said, “We welcome the opportunity to partner with oOh! to highlight the urgent need for environmental restoration across Australia. Together, we can tell the story of our work and let people know how they can support us in our goals of protecting biodiversity and our unique landscapes to enable communities, economies, and nature to thrive.”

oOh! also reinforced its commitment to building out a strategy for a decarbonisation of the business. As part of the long-term strategy, more than 8,000 oOh! assets across Australia and New Zealand have already been converted to renewable energy, including solar and green power, with 2,400 switched over the past 12 months. In addition, all 17 of oOh!’s depots and offices are now running on renewable energy. It follows the net-zero certification of oOh!’s New Zealand operations earlier this year.

In the coming year oOh! will supercharge the transfer of its Out of Home network to sustainable energy and is exploring the electrification of its operational fleet.

“The collaboration with Greening Australia, the full roll out of Ecobanner and plans to accelerate the decarbonisation of the business are just a sample of how oOh! will grow sustainably in 2024 to reach the future faster,” concluded Sigaloff.