Sony has published new research into approaches to sustainability in the European media and entertainment industry.
Releasing its findings in a report, ‘Means & Mindset: the state of sustainability in the media industry’, the company is aiming to present a realistic view of the current state of the industry’s sustainability credentials. The survey, which featured respondents from Sony’s European contact database, uncovered both positive impacts already made as well as identifying barriers to further, more significant change.
While the results show that sustainability remains an important concern for businesses in the industry, cost pressures and – perhaps surprisingly – industry culture and behaviour were factors in hindering progress. However, nearly three quarters of respondents said action was underway, with travel requirements, on-site headcounts and operations while on location being reviewed.
Key findings included:
- 73 per cent say their employer has made changes to reduce environmental impact
- 71 per cent claim their employer has clear commitments to improving their sustainability
- 43% say their employer is actively investing in sustainability
Barriers to industry-wide adoption of more sustainable practices:
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- The financial investment required (46.7 per cent)
- Industry culture and behaviours (41.21 per cent)
- Availability of sustainable products or services (28.02 per cent)
- No existing industry-wide policies (24.45 per cent)
Commenting on the results, Olivier Bovis, head of media solutions business at Sony Europe, said, “It’s clear from this research that for the industry to better address environmental challenges, businesses need to invest more into their own sustainability practices. But beyond the financial aspect, we found a change in mindsets is what most needs to take place and that employees felt they had the most impact on making operational changes. And it’s for that reason that we’re inviting businesses across the industry to use this to their advantage. Sustainability should be considered a currency used to implement changes. We need to be making sure suppliers, partners and users are ‘kept honest’ as part of a movement for change, not just shrug it off because ‘this is how we’ve always done it’.”
The full report, Means & Mindset: the state of sustainability in the media industry, is available here
