
Making life and business more sustainable is now a priority for governments, manufacturers and individuals. The audio market is among those playing its part, which, as Kevin Hilton reports, was discussed at the 2022 Audio Collaborative conference, hosted by Futuresource Consulting
By Contributor
Published: December 1, 2022
Making life and business more sustainable is now a priority for governments, manufacturers and individuals. The audio market is among those playing its part, which, as Kevin Hilton reports, was discussed at the 2022 Audio Collaborative conference, hosted by Futuresource Consulting
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Sustainability is an issue that has featured regularly on broadcast technology conference programmes in recent years but is usually confined to a specific session. This is now beginning to change as the broadcasting and general media sector comes to realise that ecological awareness should fundamentally inform not only its operations but also the manufacture and distribution of the equipment it uses. The recent Audio Collaborative event in London reflected this, with the need to work in a sustainable way discussed by many of the panels, not just those dedicated to the subject.
This year's event, organised by media research consultancy Futuresource, was the first in-person' conference since 2019. As at that last event, the opening keynote for 2022 was given by Carsten Olesen (pictured), president of consumer audio at Harman International. Sustainability featured heavily in his presentation and follow-up fireside chat'. It was, he said, one of the three main issues influencing audio technology today, together with data and AI (artificial intelligence) and the metaverse.
Picking up the point about sustainable innovation , Olesen said, Our presence on the planet changes the natural world and is a threat to the environmental world. Our industry has a role to play and it must play that role. Examples of people and organisations in the audio and music business who were doing this, he added, were the charity Earth/Percent, A Greener Festival, Julie's Bicycle and former REM singer Michael Stipe, who, in September this year, released the world's first bioplastic 12-inch record. With the EU target of climate neutrality set for 2050, Olesen commented that most hardware manufacturers were backing sustainability, with initiatives including the recycling of plastics.
Two afternoon sessions were given over to discussing how the audio sector is - or should be - working to make itself more sustainable. This segment was opened by Althea Ricketts, associate vice president of corporate initiatives and sustainability champion at Shure, who delivered a shortened version of a presentation she gives to the sound technology market: Sustainability What's in it for the Audio Industry?' That title appears to be have been at least partly inspired by a comment from a senior audio executive who asked Ricketts what audio had to do with climate change. Ricketts went on to illustrate how much global warming and other environmental concerns should be as much a major consideration for the audio sector as any other area of life.
Beginning with the Webster's dictionary definition of sustainability - using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged and staying within the bounds of finite resources - Ricketts set out to look at how that related to the audio industry, including associates, community, product and the environment. It is a balance of the triple bottom lines, she said, people, planet and profit. With community it is about being a good corporate citizen.
It was also, she added, about keeping an eye on the future , with the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals providing serious targets for companies and individuals alike. All the goals have a direct impact on your business, Ricketts commented. Those most connected to audio are: responsible consumption and production; industry innovation and infrastructure; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; climate action; life on land; life below water; clean water and sanitation; and sustainable cities and communities.
Ricketts revealed that what keeps her up at night is the thought of e-waste, the growing amount of electrical and electronic devices that are discarded either wholly or in part. The Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics (first published in 2017) set out how manufacturers could take responsibility for the supply chain footprint, design sustainable products and also be responsible for the end of life chain . This last point includes repairing or refurbishing equipment, with Apple setting an example through its Daisy recycling robots. Ricketts encouraged people to start asking questions and concluded by quoting the late British environment minister Michael Meacher: Forward thinking companies that adapt positively to the sustainable business agenda will be at the forefront of resource productivity, reducing waste and of environmental reporting.
The following panel discussion Sounding Out on Sustainability featured Ricketts, Dom Robinson, co-founder of international awareness forum Greening of Streaming; Andy Dowell, head of licensing at rendering technology developer MQA; and moderator Chris Carey of research agency Opinium. Responding to the question of how big a problem streaming posed in terms of sustainability, Robinson gave the bald statistic that it consumes between one and two per cent of world energy, which is the same as the aviation sector. Not everything needs to be delivered at 8K UHD, he said. We need to optimise energy. Lord of the Rings works in UHD but it's not necessary for eight channels being shown in a pub with only one person watching. For passiv
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
14/07/2025
The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
14/07/2025
Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...
14/07/2025
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...
14/07/2025
Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...
14/07/2025
HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...
14/07/2025
Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...
14/07/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...
14/07/2025
Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...
14/07/2025
Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...
14/07/2025
Stand 5.F45, IBC2025, Amsterdam, 12 15 September 2025 Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is ...
14/07/2025
Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Da...
14/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on th...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025
Product
14 July 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
One percent of Internet Service Providers (ISP...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Begins Filming The Map of Longing With Al cia Falc , P...
14/07/2025
This July marks 100 days since I officially stepped into the role of CEO at Grass Valley, a milestone not of abrupt change, but of confident continuity.
Unlike...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
13/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Expands B&B Universe' with Yu Jae Seok's B&B ...
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, the professional training division of Key Code Media, proudly announces a major update to its Adobe Premiere Pro Engineering and Advanced Op...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, a leader in instructor-led post production training for over...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...