By Shuan Lim
With more and more businesses prioritising a shift to sustainability to build resilience and achieve competitive growth, the broadcast and media industry, is unsurprisingly, not an exception. However, what does sustainability really mean for broadcasters and media organisations?
In the context of the broadcast and media industry, sustainability refers to practices and initiatives aimed at minimising negative environmental, social, and economic impacts while ensuring the long-term viability of the industry, said Barbara Lange, Principal & CEO of Kibo121, a boutique consultancy which works with the media industry to help educate and progress on sustainability initiatives.
Speaking to APB+, she noted, “This includes efforts to reduce carbon emissions, minimise resource consumption, promote diversity and inclusion, and foster ethical business practices.”
As a start, Lange encouraged broadcasters to understand their current state of operations by running an assessment that measures energy consumption and waste reduction. “Once they understand their current state, broadcasters can then set out a plan for improvement in the form of a Sustainability Action Plan (SAP).
“The SAP can then be embedded into the operation to ensure the broadcaster can meet its ongoing sustainability targets.”
Examples of sustainability actions, she highlighted, include utilising energy-efficient technologies and practices in broadcast operations and facilities; embracing eco-friendly technologies and production methods such as virtual studios and cloud-based solutions to reduce hardware and energy consumption; implementing strategies to reduce waste during the production and broadcasting processes; recycling and reusing equipment and materials to minimise the environmental impact of media production; and being transparent about sustainability efforts and reporting on progress regularly.
From a philosophical perspective, sustainability is all about intent, suggested Siddharth Nakai, a sustainability consultant for the media and entertainment industry. He is the Co-Founder of India-based G.A.M.E, a sustainability solutions and consulting organisation that helps brands, studios, and production companies to envision and chart a strategic plan for their sustainability goals.
He told APB+, “In the context of the broadcast and media industry, sustainability can be defined as the conscious effort an organisation is willing to take to protect its crew and produce content with minimal impact on the environment.
“Sustainability is equally important both behind the camera and in front of the camera.”
Therefore, leading by example is a powerful way to drive sustainability, as Siddharth explained, “The media and broadcast industry with its significant influence on public opinion and behaviour has a crucial role to play in shaping a more sustainable future.”
He is encouraged to see measures being put in place to shape this future in India. Starting with simple and effective measures, production houses are replacing single-use plastic with reusable ones and having appropriate waste segregation practices in place.
A concerted effort is also being put together to drive sustainability culture building by creating more modular and low-waste production sets. “When the intent is right, people brim with ideas and solutions,” said Siddharth. “We have had instances where the production house themselves pledged to reduce the use of tissues on set. This includes the top actors and stars. When you look at the data, a simple change such as that comes with a lot of economic and environmental benefits.”
On a more global scale, Lange pointed to initiatives such as the Canadian Broadcasters for Sustainability, a group formed in June 2023 with the goal of increasing environmentally sustainable change.
There have also been significant technology advancements that continue to drive sustainability, including virtual productions reducing a production’s carbon footprint by virtually eliminating transportation costs, while advancements in cloud remote production are reducing energy consumption in live productions.
Yet, Lange readily accepted that the broadcast and media industry lacks a sustainability infrastructure with a set of best practices and agreements on what to measure and how.
She elaborated, “We are in the infancy stage for developing such parameters that will help guide the industry. As the industry comes together through initiatives such as Greening of Streaming and the Media Tech Sustainability Series as well as recognising those who are leading the way, others will learn and follow.
“By adopting a holistic approach that encompasses environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability, the broadcast and media industry can contribute significantly to a more sustainable future. Continuous innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to positive change are key to ensuring long-term success in sustainability efforts.”
To support long-term sustainability, energy consumption is an area that needs to be prioritised, argued Siddharth. “In terms of what can be improved, infrastructure and access to greener technologies definitely top the list. Film studios in most Indian cities are not yet equipped with solutions like renewable energy and the industry must have a common pool of experts and finance to make greener decisions possible.”
Through G.A.M.E, his vision is also to create an alliance between leading media companies, environment, health and safety experts, along with government bodies, that will empower and drive a more sustainable future.
“A common voice by the industry, and for the industry, is needed to drive faster changes within communities,” said Siddharth.
Why broadcasters are prioritising economic and social sustainability
Like all commercial entities, the broadcast industry is for all intents and purposes, a profit-driven operation. However, when it comes to securing long-term economic sustainability through improving internal efficiency, the broadcast industry has plenty of room for improvement, highlighted Dr Ahmad Zaki Mohd Salleh, Director of Technical Operations at Malaysia’s Media Prima.
He described to APB+, “Broadcasting is essentially a technology dependent industry – we rely on technology to function. Throughout the entire value-chain, from planning, to ingest, quality control, censorship, subtitling, editing, right up to transmission, technology plays a vital role in each step of the process. The only thing that has changed is the additional value-added services and the balance between human and machine.
“To me, the balance between human and machine will determine the future sustainability of many industries.”
As technology improves, Dr Zaki sees two natural developments. First, the number of people needed for operations must be reduced as automation begins to take over. Then, the end product must improve as technology enables news offerings and opportunities.
He hypothesised a scenario where, initially, a large proportion of operation costs will be spent on high manpower numbers. At this stage, technology cost is minimal and operations remain largely manual.
Over time, as work processes are gradually taken over by automation, manpower numbers should fall as the cost to acquire and maintain technology rises.
“Ideally, the total costs for manpower against technology should be the same or even if it increases, it should be offset by the new offerings and value-added services. And eventually, we should see a remarkable reduction in manpower which is replaced by automation. Hence the operational costs now shift to maintenance, operation and service level support arrangements to maintain the machines.”
This however, does not reflect reality, lamented Dr Zaki, who proposed that manpower cost remains high because a large number of people are needed to operate the newly acquired machines and systems.
He continued, “This phenomenon is by far, the largest threat to sustainability in broadcast stations today and management has to re-look at investment strategies and workflow transformation plans.”
In this regard, Media Prima has introduced a Digital Transformation Plan that is designed to control technological investments in tandem with manpower planning, a process Dr Zaki says is necessary to ensure long-term sustainability and a future not only for Media Prima, but other broadcasters in Malaysia.
In neighbouring Singapore, national media network Mediacorp’s social sustainability initiatives extend to raising awareness across the organisation and actively encouraging employees to adopt sustainable practices in their personal lives, with the aim of making sustainability an integral part of the corporate DNA.
A Mediacorp spokesperson told APB+, “As an organisation, sustainability plays a key role in our business decisions, with green procurement guides and other environmentally conscious practices being part of our decision-making process.”
Through significant and sustained coverage of environmental issues across CNA’s (Channel NewsAsia) platforms, Mediacorp also strives to drive conversations on sustainability and help their communities understand that conversing with the environment is everyone’s responsibility.
“These educational efforts complement Mediacorp’s priority in supporting green initiatives, as part of our best practices and core corporate responsibility pillar of driving sustainability through public engagement,” the Mediacorp spokesperson added.