Sustainability for Public Service Media

Scope

Research shows that televisions and associated devices are responsible for about 1.4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that figure is expected to grow as personalisation, AI, and streaming services expand. As public service media organisations, we have a responsibility to improve the environmental performance of the broadcasting industry. Our group helps Members use sustainability measurement and metrics to support business transformation and informed decision-making, drawing on experience from related industries such as ICT and working jointly with EBU's Legal & Policy and Media Intelligence teams.

Objectives

We produce guidelines on best practices in sustainability, develop a common methodology for measuring the carbon footprint of production, and act as a collective voice when liaising with external bodies such as the ITU. Our key deliverables include EBU R 170 (Sustainability Requirements for Procurement of Cloud Services), Tech Reports TR 057–059 and TR 082 (Scope 3), and an annual Sustainability Summit. We support case studies that draw on work done in adjacent sectors to accelerate practical progress within public service media.

Deliverables

2026

2025

Cloud
- Cloud Energy Use Tools
- Metrics

Sustainability Summit (Q2 2025)

2024

Sustainability Rulebook: The Green Claims Directive
Joint EBU MIS
- Environmental Sustainability: Public Service Media Take Action
Joint EBU L&P Meeting
- CSRD & Double Materiality Assessment
What About Sustainability and Scope 3?
Sustainability Summit (Q2 2024)

2023

2022

2021

Sustainable Supply Chain and Procurement
Sustainable Transport in Broadcast
Joint EBU Academy Sustainability Awareness Sessions:
- Starting the Journey
- What Does Good Look Like and Creating a Sustainable Culture
Sustainability Summit (Q2 2021)

2020