A wide range of consultants, manufacturers, live music experts and recording studio specialists came together on Friday 3 December on the programme of Sustainability AV 2010, Europe’s first online conference on the subject of green issues for professional audio and video.
Presented by Pro Sound News Europe and Installation Europe, the conference was the first ‘virtual event’ to be held by UBM Information’s Music and Entertainment Technology Division.
The most popular session was ‘A greener installation’, a double-header in which consultant Sam Wise of Arup outlined some of the tools and techniques for those looking to make buildings, and the AV equipment inside them, more environmentally friendly. He was followed by Tim Barker of AECOM, who talked about the refit of BBC Broadcasting House, which uses a range of green technologies – although, we learned, several other options were considered but had to be discounted.
Another well-attended session was about how to map a company’s carbon profile and then set about reducing it. This was given by Catherine Langabeer and Helen Heathfield of Julie’s Bicycle, a broad coalition of music, theatre and scientific experts with a brief to make the creative industries greener.
At the end of each presentation, speakers answered questions posted online by delegates during the course of the session. Speakers then adjourned to the networking lounge to continue the conversation.
“We had a marvellous day at SustainabilityAV 2010, with fascinating contributions from a wide range of speakers,” said Dave Robinson, Pro Sound News Europe editor and conference chair. “What I took away from the day is that there are still pockets of expertise in green matters tucked away across the worlds of pro audio and video. There’s still a lot that different parts of the industry can learn from others – and SustainabilityAV has a significant part to play in this.”
“The online conference format worked really well,” added Paddy Baker, editor of Installation Europe. “Just about anything that happens at a physical conference – speaker sessions, live Q&A, exhibitor booths and the like – all have their online counterpart. And by removing the need to travel, the online format strongly reinforced the green messages of the day.”
Unlike a physical event, SustainabilityAV 2010 has a life beyond the day itself. The entire content of the conference remains online and can be accessed by both attendees and non-attendees, free of charge. To access any of the online materials, go to the event website and click the ‘Register to attend’ button.
