GRDF × Arena Media × Cutz × Precious
CO2 emissions avoided during the campaign
223T
File size reduction
89%
Three independent professional accolades for a single campaign, a rare alignment between creative recognition and environmental recognition.
How GRDF saved
223 tonnes of CO2
on the Green Gas campaign
A national eco-responsible campaign awarded a Gold at the Nuit des Rois 2025 and a Gold plus a Silver at the Deauville Green Awards. GRDF, together with Arena Media (Havas Media Network), Rosa Paris, Cutz and Precious, aligned message and method down to the last byte broadcast.
TV coverage
69.5% coverage
4.6 frequency
Wave 1: 21 February to 6 March 2025
Wave 2: 4 to 17 May 2025
Precious
Production
Reduced carbon impact of the film’s production (shooting, post-production)
Cutz
Distribution
Low-carbon video encoding, reducing the size of files distributed across digital platforms
- ADEME reference tables · Base Empreinte for emission factors related to video streaming.
- AFNOR frameworks for the general methodological framing.
- ARCEP reports for sector data on the digital footprint.
- Final validation: the Havas Carbon Impact framework, integrated into the media agency’s tools.
Context
In April 2024, GRDF launched a large-scale campaign for Green Gas, fronted by Jamel Debbouze and created by Rosa Paris. The goal: to raise awareness of a renewable energy produced locally from organic waste, and to establish Green Gas as a pillar of France’s decarbonization alongside green electricity.
But GRDF went beyond the message. The company chose to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of its own campaign, in line with its brand positioning and its Just Decarb program. The question became concrete: how do you align the substance (a clean energy) with the form (responsible media distribution)?
Challenge
A 360° campaign with a well-known ambassador involves a significant media volume: TV, VOL, digital and social distribution, across several waves over 18 months. Each channel, each platform, each format generates its own carbon footprint, often invisible in the final assessment, rarely measured at the impression level.
Arena Media (Havas Media Network), GRDF’s media agency, chose to build a clear requirement into the brief from the outset: reduce the carbon footprint of distribution without degrading reach, visual quality, or campaign effectiveness. It was within this framework that Cutz was brought in as a specialist in low-carbon video encoding.
The Arena Media method in three pillars
Arena Media structured the media plan around three principles, all verified by the Havas Carbon Impact framework.
- Presence – at the right moment, in the right place, in front of the right target
Rather than aiming for mass exposure, the plan prioritized precision of targeting. One person in two consults several media at the same time: capturing attention requires appearing in the right contexts, not simply occupying space.
- Affinity contexts
Editorial targeting consistent with the campaign’s universe: nature, wellbeing, environment. Ad placements sit within a continuum of content relevant to audiences engaged with the energy transition.
- “Green Enthusiastic” optimization
Activation of a specific affinity segment – audiences committed to an environmental approach – identified through Havas Media Network’s planning tools. The message reaches further because it is addressed to those who are receptive to it.
Cutz's role : encode lighter, broadcast better
Cutz specializes in low-carbon video encoding. One of the most significant sources of carbon footprint in a video campaign — and, paradoxically, one of the least measured , is not production, but distribution. Every view consumes bandwidth; every heavy file consumes twice as much as an optimized one.
Cutz’s encoding technology is built on artificial intelligence. The files broadcast weigh less without any effect on perceived visual quality. With every impression, the impact is reduced, and multiplied by the campaign’s volume, the gain becomes significant.
A 360° approach : Cutz and Precious
Cutz is part of a broader effort. The campaign also drew on Precious, which operated upstream: the eco-responsible production of the film (shooting, post-production, logistics).
Measurement methodology
The 223 tonnes of CO₂ saved are not a self-declared figure. They rest on a calculation methodology built by Cutz from recognized public reference frameworks, then validated by the Havas Carbon Impact framework.
The scope covers the distribution phase (file size × number of impressions × ADEME emission factors). The reduction is calculated by comparing the original (unoptimized) file with the file encoded by Cutz, at equivalent perceived quality.
The results
The Nuit des Rois jury, made up largely of media buying directors from leading advertisers, praised the quality of the entry. Gabriela Grajewska, a member of the 2025 jury, notably stressed that “impact is becoming the common thread of every campaign,” citing file size reduction as a concrete illustration.
Indicator
File size reduction
Total CO2 avoided
Perceived visual quality
Reach / coverage
Result
89%
223 tonnes
Preserved
Preserved
Equivalent
Between the original version and the Cutz version
≈ 223 round-trip Paris–Vegas flights
No degradation identified by Arena Media or GRDF
69.5% coverage, 4.6 frequency
What this case proves
Measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of a video campaign is not a technical add-on reserved for niche brands. It is an achievable goal within a mainstream campaign, with a well-known talent, massive TV coverage, and no compromise on creative quality.
The approach led by GRDF and Arena Media – with Cutz and Precious – shows that aligning message and method is possible today. The joint recognition from the Nuit des Rois and the Deauville Green Awards is the public validation of that.
“At GRDF, we believe that our commitment to decarbonization must happen at every level — and must also be reflected in the way we communicate. That is why, with Arena Media, we sought a partner able to concretely reduce the carbon footprint of our advertising assets, particularly video, without sacrificing reach or quality. Cutz enabled us to reach that goal, with measured and certified results.”
Alexandre Hassani – Head of Brand and Social Media, GRDF
Reduce the weight of your videos, not their quality.
Cutz is the AI video encoding technology that makes your files lighter with no compromise on visual quality. Broadcast lighter, stream faster, and weigh less on your infrastructure and on the planet.
Test Cutz on your next productions.
