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Commentary
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| Reasons to Embark on a ‘Green Strategy’ |
| Manufacturer Explains Why It Chose to Adopt Environmental Practices and Why You Should Too |
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by Bruno Rost,
2.13.2008
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CEO The Audemat Group
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Dear industrial friends and broadcast customers,
For a number of years, the Audemat group has invested in sustainable development. We have always integrated practices that are relevant to the environment. We consider the environment when we design our new products.
Last summer, we obtained ISO 14001 certification. Today we are one of the few members of the broadcast industry to engage itself in global environmental awareness.
This action becomes more relevant as the planet is becoming “asthmatic.” The majority of scientists agree that global warming is at least partly due to human activity. The majority of world leaders are convinced that urgent action needs to be taken. Help and support for limiting greenhouse gases is growing, development around renewable energies is advancing.
As passionate participants in the radio and television industry, we are all under pressure to reach objectives set by our shareholders and our customers, the broadcast operators.
On that note, I want to state that, to our surprise, being a “green” company doesn’t mean restraints and the imposition of drastic, anti-business or anti-profit practices. On the contrary. In the case of Audemat, setting some environmentally friendly measures in place was quite easy. Today, we even realize that there are many economic advantages within this approach.
We identified five good reasons to embark on the “green strategy.”
Good for business, good for the planet
First, the “green” strategy is as good way to save money.
Here is a list of simple actions that can enable you to save without much effort: Use less paper by printing on both sides of a page; decrease energy consumption by using low-consumption light bulbs; switch off computers and unused equipment; recover rain water to water plants; heat water using solar panels; use mugs and glasses for coffee and water instead of disposable cups; and put a filter on tap water instead of buying bottled water.
Second, the “green” strategy is a marketing feature as it can save money for our customers, both radio and television, when we design products with low electrical consumption and longer life spans.
At Audemat we have designed a multi-function product with its own label: “Radio All in One.” Our Digiplexer is an audio processor, stereo generator, RDS encoder, remote control unit and audio backup within one single rack. For our customers, the electrical consumption is reduced by 75 percent and at the end of the product’s life, there is less waste for the planet.
We are always working on increasing the lifespan and efficiency of our products. A product that lasts twice as long means half the environmental cost of manufacturing and recycling. A more efficient and longer-lasting product also is a good benefit for our customers.
Our FM liquid-cooled transmitters (5 and 10 kW) benefit from the liquid-cooled technology. Compared to their air-cooled equivalent, the components operate at a lower temperature and last much longer.
Our R&D department works daily on replacing features that used to require hardware with new and powerful software modules.
Third, the “green strategy” can be a positive management tool that drives energy and establishes values throughout the company. An employee who respects the environment is more likely to respect his co-workers, and respect the place at which he works as well as its customers, if the company adopts “green” practices.
Environmental values are a positive guide during the acquisition of another company. The employees coming from the purchased company can find common values within the new group, which helps them to give the best of themselves.
The “green” strategy also is a way to drive brainstorming for employees. Everyone has ideas in this domain; positive thoughts are easily shared.
Fourth, the “green” strategy” is good for business. Many customers in the world today impose specific requirements on suppliers that integrate concrete benefits for the environment, such as recyclable packing, management of batteries and recycling products at the end of their lifespan. Many clients around the world are sensitive to the issue of the environment.
Fortunately we can be proud that we live in a world where citizenship and positive actions for a common goal are encouraged. Our customers are individuals too, who have children and wish to raise them in a safe and “green” world.
Finally, the “green” strategy is good for innovation. I am thoroughly convinced that progress will save us from progress. Our engineers, and many from other companies in our industry, are ready to find clever solutions. Give them a challenge and a direction, and soon they will come up with a solution.
I still can remember the answer of our team when we asked them to reduce electrical consumption and product waste: “Let’s create software and stop building hardware.” After that, we began the transition to a more digitally-based architecture.
Why not create an award for “Green Innovation” at the NAB Show this year? That will drive our engineers, for sure.
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