Sony has revealed new research into employers’ approaches to sustainability in the European media and entertainment industry. The report, entitled ‘Means and Mindsets: The State of Sustainability in the Media Industry’, reveals how seriously the industry is working to become more environmentally conscious.
The study, conducted using Sony’s proprietary European contact database, examines the realities around the industry’s sustainability credentials, including both the positive changes that have already taken place, as well as the barriers to further, more significant changes. The purpose was to present an opinion.
The encouraging news is that while just 40% of businesses are concerned about being seen as more sustainable, almost three-quarters (73%) of businesses are making operational changes to reduce their environmental impact. This is the result of a survey that shows that this is being done. The most common changes were reviewing travel requirements and the number of people needed on-site (46% and 33%, respectively), and changing on-site operations (45%).
Of particular interest, however, was that more than half of respondents disagreed that their customers, end users, or audiences are the drivers of change for their media organizations. Instead, they said the organization’s employees had the most influence here.
While this result shows that companies care about appearing more environmentally friendly, the reality is that the barriers to doing so are more significant than ever. Because of this, Sony asked what those barriers are.
It’s no wonder that respondents (46%) said the financial investment needed to become more sustainable as an industry is the biggest barrier. Additionally, just under 50% of respondents cited cost as a reason why their companies are not actively reducing their environmental footprint.
More than half (52%) say cost is considered at least sometimes in their existing procurement and purchasing processes, but 55% believe cost is more important than equipment sustainability. It says that there is.
Perhaps even more surprising, Sony research found that industry culture and behavior play a key role in both the industry as a whole (41%) and individual companies (46%) becoming more proactive in becoming more sustainable. This turned out to be the biggest barrier.
Olivier Bovis, director and head of Sony Europe’s media solutions business, commented:
“But beyond the financial aspects, we found that what was most needed was a change in mindset, and that employees felt that making operational changes would have the greatest impact. That’s why we is calling on companies across the industry to take advantage of this.
“Sustainability should be thought of as a currency used to achieve change. As part of our movement towards change, we encourage our suppliers, partners and users to “always be honest.” We need to look at it and not just ignore it because “this is what we’ve always done.” ”
Read the full report.