Big brands join tve debate to talk seriously about addressing the UN SDGs Lucy/ September 13, 2019/ news
Business and sustainability practitioners from key global companies joined a selected audience for tve's debate on 12 September, to take a good hard look at how corporates are working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Jennifer Viccars, Brand and Marketing Director of Octopus Group and President of the 2019 tve Global Sustainability Film Awards chaired the event which was hosted in the boardroom of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). On the panel was Mark Watson, Head of Sustainable Development at John Swire and Sons, the shipping, aviation and trading conglomerate; Alistair Clark, Managing Director of Environment and Sustainability at the EBRD; and Jess Kennedy, Associate Director of Sustainability at Arup, the global engineering and built environment specialists.
Debate Highlights:
Jennifer questioned where leadership and accountability should come from with corporate efforts to achieve the SDGs. In the finance sector, Alistair Clark remarked that leadership is coming from a range of sources: from our investors, from business groups like the WBCSD or the TCFD, and even central banks.' Alistair highlighted these organisations as providing more direction than governments in the UK and many other countries.
Jennifer asked the panel to address the issue of how best companies should build sustainability into their business model, commenting, There is a view that a sustainability department is a way for everyone else in the organisation to outsource their thinking about sustainability. On the other hand some organisations have made a huge success of that structure.'
Mark Watson commented: You cannot leave this issue to specialists alone, or it risks becoming a quiet backwater of the business. I work a lot with finance, because if you can't get sustainability prioritised by the guys with the money, it will be hard for it to have any real traction elsewhere in your business.'
The panel discussed how to translate the SDGs into practical business action. Jess Kennedy from Arup responded: We run SDG workshops, socialising the SDGs so people can think about the opportunities that each goal represents - that is the place to start.'
Jennifer pushed the panel to address the question of industries whose product or service cannot ultimately work within the UN goals, such as oil exploration or aviation. Mark Watson, commented that where there are no viable alternatives, corporates in these businesses must improve sustainability where they can. In the long term, investing in innovation to find sustainable alternatives is crucial.
We were the first airline globally to put money into a biofuels facility a closed loop zero carbon system that produces jet fuel from waste. The dream is to bring that technology to other parts of the world including Hong Kong,' said Mark.
The panellists agreed that for business, the key value of the SDGs lies in setting out a common purpose. Jess Kennedy stated: It's the fact they have global consensus, five million people were engaged in the consultation to bring them together and that's really powerful. If nothing else, it gives us all a common language and vision at the national level and across sectors, and we haven't had that before.'
The debate is part of a series of events tve runs in the lead up to the Global Sustainability Film Awards. Showcase your company's sustainability initiative by entering a short film about it for the Awards now, before the deadline on 10 October. Find the entry guidelines here: www.gsfa.tve.org/how-to-enter/.
Share this Post
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
Big brands join tve debate to talk seriously about addressing the UN SDGs Lucy/ September 13, 2019/ news
