2023 Winners of £2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund revealed

• Five eco-friendly brands announced as winners of Sky’s 2023 £2 million sustainable advertising initiative.
• This year, Grub Club, Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle have been selected by an esteemed judging panel to each win £250,000 in media value, helping to supercharge their sustainable brands.
• The five brands will now move into ad production in advance of the final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing a total of £1 million in media value.
• Established by Sky Media, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, now in its third year, supports sustainable brands by helping to amplify their climate-positive campaigns using the power of TV and advertising.

Sky announces Grub Club, Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle as the five winners of its award-winning Sky Zero Footprint Fund. Now in its third consecutive year, the £2 million advertising fund uses the power of TV advertising to tackle climate change by supporting campaigns that drive behaviour change for a more sustainable world.

The five winning brands were selected because of their pitch’s display to inspire change, with each one demonstrating sustainable values that align to Sky’s own. Sky Zero‘s pledge is to go net zero carbon by 2030 and inspire others to join the journey.

Last Thursday, 10th August, a panel of industry experts, with credentials in advertising, creativity and sustainability, met and assessed live pitches from the shortlisted brands at the Thinkbox HQ in Holborn. Each brand was judged on the merits of their creativity (ability to capture the attention of the nation); impact (the potential to drive real, tangible behavioural change); and sustainable credibility (their authentic commitment as a business to tackle climate change).

Each of the winning businesses has been awarded £250,000 in media value. They will now move into ad production, ahead of a final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing an additional £750,000 (totalling £1 million) in media value.

This year’s judging panel included a range of new additions with Chris Baker, Co-Founder of Serious Tissues who won the Grand Prix £1 million ad spend last year; Sky Sports News Presenter and Sustainability Lead, David Garrido; Pippa Glucklich, Chief Executive Office of Electric Glue; Marketing Consultant Michelle Carvil, author of Sustainable Marketing and Co-Founder of Can Marketing Save the Planet Podcast; Creative Consultant, Rosie Arnold; Richard Shotton, Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Illusion of Choice and The Choice Factory; and Dino Myers-Lamptey, founder of The Barber Shop & Co-Chair of The Conscious Advertising Network GSD Advisory Group.

The panel also saw the return of Stephen Woodford (Chair of the Advertising Association), Fiona Ball (Group Director of Bigger Picture at Sky), Sarah Jones (Director of Planning at Sky Media) Jo Fenn (Global Director of AdGreen) and Gideon Spanier (UK Editor in Chief of Campaign).

All five winning ads will be produced using insights, tools and learnings from AdGreen. Part of the Advertising Association, AdGreen supports the ad industry shift towards net zero, eliminating the negative environmental impacts of production. Established by Sky Media, the Footprint Fund is part of the Sky Zero campaign to be net zero carbon by 2030.

The five winning businesses are (alphabetically):

• Grub Club (Hypoallergenic insect-based dog food)
• Milliways (Plastic free, plant powered and planet friendly gum)
• Ocean Bottle (B Corp certified reusable bottles)
• OceanSaver® (Ocean safe eco cleaning products)
• UpCircle (Natural skincare with upcycled ingredients)

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said “It’s been an absolute honour to work on the Sky Zero Footprint Fund for the last two years and I’ve been so inspired by the brilliant range of applications this year too. The calibre of presentations we saw in the Footprint Fund Dragon’s Den was truly exceptional. Thanks to our fantastic judging panel who helped to select our winners – I can’t wait to see the ads from our final 5 in December and to see the impact they have when they launch their campaigns.”

Fiona Ball, Group Director of the Bigger Picture and Sustainability at Sky, said: “Sky uses its platforms to engage audiences on climate change and encourage steps to reduce carbon emissions. Over the last two years, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund has helped produce 10 exceptional adverts, propelling sustainable brands’ messages onto television to inspire wide, tangible behavioural change. Advertising can play a key role in raising awareness of climate issues and inspiring changes in daily habits, so we look forward to seeing the 2023 winners’ adverts on our TV channels.”

Alessandro Di Trapani, Cofounder & CEO, Grub Club, said, “We are absolutely buzzing to have made this year’s Final 5. The Sky Zero Footprint Fund gives us an incredible opportunity to tell the Grub Club story to millions of people across the UK, which will be a game-changer for us in educating pet parents about the sustainable alternatives that exist in pet food. Time to turn man’s best friend into Earth’s best friend.”

Tom Raviv, Founder and CEO, Milliways, said “We’re incredibly excited to be given this opportunity with Sky. We launched Milliways with the mission of taking the plastic and artificial ingredients out of conventional gum and replacing them with plant-based and plastic-free alternatives. It’s important for us to inform the public that most gum brands are made from single-use plastics which pollute our planet and may harm our health. Working with the Sky Zero Footprint Fund aligns with our mission and gives us the perfect platform to share Milliways’ story and purpose with the world – taking us a step closer towards making Milliways accessible for everyone to enjoy.”

William Pearson, CEO of Ocean Bottle, said: “We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. With Sky’s full support Ocean Bottle will be able to reach millions of people across the UK and fund the collection of over 100 million plastic bottles in weight and prevent them from entering the ocean in coastal communities around the world. We hope to help unbrainwash the nation from the single-use habits we have all become so accustomed to, save our pockets and the environment and make some history in the process.”

Adam Joe Parker, Marketing Director, OceanSaver® said, “The OceanSaver team is absolutely cod-smacked and delighted to have been selected as a Sky Zero Footprint Fund winner. This is a real seal of approval that saving our Ocean is critical to helping us solve the climate challenge and our creative idea that “the Ocean will thank you” for the small changes you make. We know that most people want to be more eco-friendly and deeply care about our Ocean. That’s why we’re making it easy for anyone to become an OceanSaver. We’re excited to partner with Sky to involve even more people in our wave of change.”

Anna Brightman, Co-Founder, UpCircle, said, “We are ecstatic to have made it into the final five brands in the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. With our total commitment to the circular economy we’ve been pretty disruptive in the beauty industry since day one, setting a new standard. It’s an industry that sends 120 billion units of packaging to landfills per year, so a new standard is necessary! This opportunity could be pivotal for UpCircle, taking the next big step towards making a concept like ours more mainstream. It’s incredibly exciting to know that we now have the opportunity to show our innovative ingredient rescuing concept on national TV and we can’t wait to get started”.

Qualifying conditions and offer prize confirmation can be found on the fund website. To get all further details on the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, visit www.skymedia.co.uk/skyzerofootprintfund/.

£2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund returns with the addition of a new ‘Local Heroes’ public vote

The third year of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund welcomes an additional local ad fund; new research into the impact of sustainable advertising; and the expertise of an expanded judging panel including 2022 Grand Prix winner Serious Tissues.

• Established by Sky Media, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund supports brands committed to driving a more sustainable future
• The £2 million media fund is split across 5 winning brands, with a Grand Prix winner walking away with £1 million in TV advertising
• Inclusive of this year’s initiative, the total media value gifted by Sky will be in excess of £6 million
• The 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund will see the launch of an additional media value for sustainable local businesses and initiatives around the UK
• Newly-commissioned research, to be released next month, reveals insights and the impact that sustainable messaging and creative has on consumers and brand metrics

The Sky Zero Footprint Fund returns for a third year with a new expanded format. The £2 million initiative was established to help brands accelerate their sustainable initiatives and inspire behavioural change using the power and scale of TV advertising. The campaign champions the adoption of tangible steps towards a sustainable future and is an extension of the media owner’s Sky Zero pledge to go net zero carbon by 2030.

Once again, the initiative is open to brands, media and creative agencies in the UK and Ireland – with the most imaginative and impactful idea securing £1 million of the £2 million advertising media value.

This year, will also see the introduction of an additional fund for local businesses and initiatives. The ‘Local Heroes’ Fund, with winners partially voted for by the public, will be launching in April using AdSmart from Sky to help connect worthy businesses to their local community.

So far, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund has invested £4 million in advertising support for sustainable brands, which will exceed a total of £6 million in 2023.

A panel of respected industry figures with credentials in advertising, creativity and sustainability will assess the entries, with this year’s judging panel welcoming a raft of new experts including:

• Pippa Glucklich – Chief Executive Office at Electric Glue
• David Garrido – Sky Sports Presenter and Sustainability Lead
• Michelle Carvil – Marketing Consultant, Author of Sustainable Marketing and Co-Founder and Host of Can Marketing Save the Planet Podcast
• Chris Baker – Co-Founder of Serious Tissues (and 2022 Grand Prix Sky Zero Footprint Fund winner)
• Rosie Arnold – Creative Consultant and AMV BBDO’s former Head of Art Creative Partner
• Richard Shotton – Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Choice Factory
• Dino Myers-Lamptey – Founder at The Barber Shop & Co-Chair of The Conscious Advertising Network GSD Advisory Group

The judging panel will ultimately select the five winners based on their sustainable operations to date, their commitment to a carbon-zero future and their product/services’ potential impact to drive positive behaviour change at scale.

The 2023 panel will also see the return of Stephen Woodford (CEO of the Advertising Association), Fiona Ball (Group Director of Bigger Picture at Sky), Lindsey Clay (CEO of Thinkbox), Jo Fenn (Global Director of AdGreen), Helen Brain (Head of Sustainability & Sustainable Communications Consultant at EssenceMediacom), Gideon Spanier (UK Editor in chief of Campaign) and Su-Mei Thompson (CEO at Media Trust).

New Research

New research, specially commissioned by Sky Media, on sustainability in advertising will also be released next month. In collaboration with Savanta, the analysis of over 5000 Sky customers delves into the role of green messaging, its impact on behaviour and brand preference. The research highlights key creative levers which drive influence, as well as the dangers of inauthenticity and greenwashing.

The findings show that 3 in 5 Sky customers say that sustainability messaging in advertising influences their brand choice, and that by including credible and actionable sustainable messaging in a campaign has the potential to drive 5% increase in short-term effectiveness, as well as greater long-term brand preference.

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, commented, “While the cost-of-living crisis is taking much of our attention, we can’t afford to forget about climate change. So, for this year’s Sky Zero Footprint fund, we’d love to see ideas that can save the planet and your pocket at the same time. We’ve seen the impact our fund can have on launching more sustainable businesses on TV and the catalyst effect on the categories they are in too. With our biggest ever Footprint Fund in 2023, we are excited to see how we can help drive change at a local and national level.”

Chris Baker, 2022 Grand Prix winner and Co-Founder of Serious Tissues, said, “The Sky Zero Footprint Fund is an absolutely incredible initiative that’s making a real difference in the industry…but I’m probably a little biased! It was brilliant to see all the great brands who are making huge strides towards a more sustainable future that we were alongside last year. I’m really looking forward to being a judge this year and being inspired by more great thinking. Bravo to Sky for continuing to drive this paradigm shift in the sector.”

Applications for the £2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund are open from the 29th of March until the 26th of May 2023.

From the entries, fifteen brands will progress to a live pitch with the judges in August. The five most impactful and creative ideas will share the £2 million pot of media value with each business being guaranteed at least £250,000 and the strongest submission securing £1 million for its campaign. The five winners will be announced in August before progressing with the TV advert production, which will need to be produced in line with guidance from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen standards.

Addressing the climate crisis requires all businesses, brands and individuals to take responsibility for lowering their carbon emissions. For 17 years, Sky’s ‘believe in better’ has seen it reduce its environmental impact. Motivated to inspire others to follow by sharing the knowledge and experience it has gained over that time, Sky launched the fund in 2021.

For full details and to find out how to apply for the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, visit skymedia.co.uk/skyzerofootprintfund.