Open a newspaper and you’ll soon find stories about climate change, pollution and the consumption of finite resources. We all know of the threats to our environment, so the challenge of caring for it is important to everyone. For Sony, that means working towards the goal of zero environmental footprint – but how are we going about this?
In our offices
For Sony Europe, a team based in Belgium are responsible for environmental compliance for our products and environmental management for our sites in Europe. We also work to our global ‘Road to Zero’ plan, which has four aims:
1) curbing climate change
2) conserving resources
3) controlling chemical substances
4) promoting biodiversity.
In our products
Like quality and performance, environmental impact is considered from the design stage. We purposely design compact, lightweight, energy-efficient products to reduce power consumption and the waste of resources.
We’re also committed to using recycled materials. Our latest soundbars HT-ST5000, HT-MT500 and HT-NT5 and Blu-ray player UBP-X800, for example, all contain recycled plastic – and our engineers work hard to ensure the materials deliver quality and performance.
If you’re interested in the challenge of developing high-performance recycled plastics, watch this video interview with one of our engineers.
We’ve also reduced our use of non-renewables by creating our own recycled plastic. SORPLAS™ blends a Sony-developed flame retardant with recycled and waste plastics (such as optical discs and water bottles). It allows the use of up to 99% recycled material – compared to a typical usage of 30% in electronics products. Its many advantages include helping to reduce manufacturing emissions and the fact that it can be recycled again after disposal. It also keeps the characteristics of the source plastics: strength, lightness and a glossy, quality finish, plus oil resistance. It’s used by Sony in products such as televisions and cameras.
Other initiatives
Most recently, we worked with the European Outdoor Conservation Association on a project to raise awareness of endangered animals on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. We challenged a group of photographers – including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Winner for 2014 and 2016 – to photograph these special creatures using Sony’s RX10 III camera. The results included shots of the rarely seen wolverine, while long focal length lenses avoided disturbing the animals in their natural habitat.
How you can help
When it comes to the environment, we’re all in it together! If you’re buying a television, look for the ‘Energy Label and Product Fiche’ on our website product pages. It tells you about a product’s energy consumption.
You’ll also find the 'Designed with the environment in mind' box on all product pages. Some list eco-focussed product features that avoid damage to the environment. Visit this page to learn more.
