Executives discuss initiatives at Green Media Summit

By Wendy Wilson -- Video Business, 3/21/2008

MARCH 21 | When executives come together for the industry’s first Green Media Summit in Los Angeles on April 2, the talk won’t be as much about what they’ve done to green their operations as to why increased environmental responsibility is best for their business.

Produced by The Digital Entertainment Group and The Entertainment Supply Chain Academy, the Green Media Summit will host representatives from sales, marketing and operations as well as content providers for a day-long discussion of these issues and more at L.A.’s Luxe Hotel. Among the topics is a discussion about DVD supply chain carbon footprint analysis with panelists from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Worldwide Home Entertainment slated to attend.

“As you know, one small change can make a big difference,” said Bob Chapek, chairman of the DEG and WDSWHE president. “For instance, The DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group is committed to formulating industry solutions to common problems facing today’s challenging environment, solutions that will enable us to have a cleaner carbon footprint for packaging, manufacturing, shipping and merchandising of entertainment products.”

Dan Esty, Hillhouse professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University and keynote speaker for the Green Media Summit, said companies across market segments should be scrutinizing their carbon profiles in anticipation of a changed political landscape. Expectations of tighter federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions are high for 2009, with three potential presidential candidates citing increased environmental protection as a priority if they are elected.

“A real risk for companies not focused on the environment is that they’ll be caught out in the cold and at a competitive disadvantage,” Esty said of the business impact of potential regulatory changes.

And beyond Wal-Mart’s push for more environmental responsibility from its vendors, Esty said that implementing an effective and visible environmental policy is especially important for media companies because they market so heavily to reach young audiences—a subset of the population especially focused on green issues.

“I would think it would become a real business risk to be seen as a bad actor on this issue,” he said.

Although he points to packaging as perhaps the most pressing challenge facing home entertainment companies, Esty said the industry would do well to address its environmental impact in other areas as well: logistics and transportation, chemical exposures and greenhouse gas emissions, all important to consumers.

“One of the particular challenges of environmental strategy is that you cannot afford to limit your focus to a couple of top issues,” he said. “You always have to keep your eye on a number of different balls at once.”

“It’s social consciousness, yes, but it also makes good business sense from a relationship perspective,” Fox senior VP of corporate and marketing communications Steve Feldstein said of the company’s work with partners such as Cinram to reduce carbon throughout the supply chain. “And, of course, there are the incremental opportunities to cut expenses, as well.”

Operating within a broader News Corp. initiative to reach carbon neutrality, Fox completed a study last year that established the carbon footprint of the average DVD from its hand-off by theatrical to its delivery at retail. The result was the company’s first carbon-neutral DVD release: DVD premiere Futurama: Bender’s Big Score in November.

Video Business and ContentAgenda are media sponsors of the Green Media Summit. For
sponsorship opportunities, contact Linda Buckley-Bruno at lbuckley@reedbusiness.com.

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