There is a tension in the digital and creative industries right now. Agencies are working hard to earn their sustainability credentials, committing to Net Zero targets, pursuing B Corp certification, and publishing impact reports with genuine conviction. And yet, for many, a quiet contradiction sits just beneath the surface.
The problem is not the intention. It is the supply chain.
Building a roadmap for emissions reduction requires mapping the entire picture, yet in practice most agencies focus on what they can directly see and control. When a business sends a brief, books a supplier or signs a service contract, it’s also making a values decision. If the businesses that form that service chain do not share the same environmental standards, the sustainability narrative starts to unravel.
Most sustainability-focused agencies have a reasonable handle on their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions: their direct emissions and indirect emissions from energy use, respectively. Scope 3, meanwhile, covers indirect emissions from the wider value chain, including all goods and services purchased from third-party suppliers.
For a typical agency, this can account for the majority of the total carbon footprint, while often receiving the least scrutiny.
Think about the range of external suppliers a mid-sized digital agency might rely on week to week. Services like couriers, print and production, cleaning contractors, event caterers, even software and hosting vendors for their IT, are all responsible for their own energy outputs.
If none of them have been assessed against any sustainability criteria, then the agency’s own Net Zero commitments are, at best, partial.
Some of the most common blind spots in agency supply chains are hiding in plain sight.
Office facilities
Office cleaners may visit premises every week, often using chemical-heavy products and generating plastic waste with consumables. For an agency that has committed to reducing harmful chemical use, partnering with a conventional cleaning company is a direct contradiction. Choosing a provider that specialises in eco-friendly office cleaning, like Reflections Cleaning who are COSHH compliant, using non-toxic products and sustainable methods, is a straightforward way to close that gap.
Catering and hospitality
Event catering is another area where good intentions can quietly fall short. Agencies that have removed single-use plastics from their own offices will sometimes book event catering firms with no such policy in place. However, there are good options available across the UK, with businesses such as Lettice Events that are B Corp-certified sustainable caterers, demonstrating that eco-conscious hospitality is both accessible and commercially credible.
Digital infrastructure
This can be the least visible blind spot of all. The energy consumption of servers, data centres, and cloud platforms can represent a significant portion of an agency’s Scope 3 footprint. Fellow B Corp-certified providers, such as Krystal Hosting run entirely on renewable energy, making it straightforward to align hosting choices with wider environmental commitments.
The stakes here are high. As scrutiny of corporate sustainability claims and greenwashing intensifies, agencies with emission-heavy supply chains are going to be under a microscope.
B Corp certification has faced increasing criticism in recent years, with several high-profile businesses exiting the programme after raising concerns that standards do not adequately address supply chain performance. For agencies whose client relationships are partly built on their sustainability reputation, the message is clear: the badge alone is no longer enough.
Clients, particularly those in regulated sectors or with their own ambitious environmental targets, are beginning to ask harder questions about the supply chain practices of the agencies they partner with. An agency that cannot demonstrate that its own suppliers align with its stated values is exposed to uncomfortable conversations at the procurement stage.
Getting to grips with your supplier sustainability credentials does not need to be a lengthy exercise. A focused audit of your core service suppliers can be completed in a matter of weeks.
Start by mapping all recurring third-party suppliers. For each, ask three questions:
It is also worth reviewing your procurement criteria. If sustainability is not already a formal evaluation factor when appointing new suppliers, adding it creates a consistent standard and demonstrates that your commitments extend beyond your own operations.
For agencies looking for a structured starting point, the BIMA Net Zero programme offers a framework built specifically for digital businesses, covering measurement and reduction across all three scopes.
The agencies that will lead on sustainability are those that hold their entire service chain to the same standard they hold themselves. That starts with asking a simple question: who are we working with, and do they share our values?
The answer might be more revealing than expected. And the actions that follow could matter more than any certification on the wall.