Season 1 Episode 8 - Sustainability in Broadcast
Links to the Episode:
Episode published - 5th September 2025
Show guests:
Barbara Lange is a distinguished entrepreneur, executive business leader, and industry speaker with a proven track record in global not-for-profit professional associations. She has served as Executive Director and CEO, earning a reputation for strategic adership, innovation, and driving organizational success.
Known for her ability to collaborate effectively with Boards, Barbara excels in optimizing performance and ensuring long-term growth. Her career includes executive leadership roles at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA), two of the media tech industry’s most influential organizations. Additionally, she has held key positions in business development and product management at IEEE, further solidifying her expertise in advancing technology-driven industries.
In 2022, she founded Kibo121, a consultancy committed to guiding industry towards sustainable solutions, encompassing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. In 2023, together with Dovetail Creative, Kibo121co-founded the Media Tech Sustainability Series (MTSS), a non-commercial program to aid the media tech industry on sustainability issues through webinars, training, and industry events.
A certified Sustainability Excellence Associate (SAE), Barbara is deeply engaged in sustainability initiatives. She has developed and curated industry sustainability awards programs for the NAB and Corporate Star Awards. She serves on the board and chairs a working group for the Greening of Streaming industry initiative and participates on sustainability committees for SMPTE and ATSC. Barbara volunteers for the TV NewsCheck Women in Technology Awards committee, as a leadership council member for GalsNGear and contributes to the White Plains City Sustainability Committee. Additionally, she is an active member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), SMPTE, and HPA.
Media Tech Sustainability Series - MTSS
Media Tech Sustainability Series has a load of information and resources, all free, to help the industry get up to speed on issues around sustainability in media.
At IBC 2025, we will be doing a number of things, including:
- Together with Akamai and Greening of Streaming, we are participating in a meeting to discuss sustainability, what’s working and not, with the hope to help organizations to get started on their journeys. This is not an official IBC session, but rather a get together. Light lunch will be served. Saturday, Sept 13, from 12.00 – 14.00 in G107.
- MTSS Sustainability Tour is our first go at highlighting vendors who support sustainability. We have at least 8 on the docket in halls 1, 6, and 7. Free to participate, from 14.30 – 16.30 on Saturday, Sept 13.
- MTSS talk at the HP stand on Saturday, Sept 13, in hall 7 at 17.00.
- MTSS Sustainability Session is our main event on Sunday, Sept 14, from 10.00 – 12.00 in E102. We have a packed 2 hour session with speakers from within the industry as well as outside. We’ll be launching the Media Climate Accord and hope to have a few signatories on stage with us. I attach the pitch deck for your reference.
- Our friends at Greening of Streaming hold their annual GoS Hour on Sunday, Sept 14 from 12.45 – 13.45 in E105. Hear the latest on research in energy measurement.
Another highlight is the Corporate Star Awards that recognize excellence in ESG efforts within the industry. I am chief judge for these awards, which will be handed out on Friday, Sept 12 from 18.00 at the Okura Hotel. Tickets are for sale here.
Show References
- The Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the decarbonisation agenda
- The BBC is Putting Climate Change at Front of Broadcasting
- Sustainability is no longer a trend!
Big-picture concepts
- ESG — Environmental, Social, Governance; the three pillars for non-financial performance.
- CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility; company initiatives beyond profit (older term than ESG).
- Sustainability / Net Positive — Meeting today’s needs without harming future capacity / creating overall benefit.
- Double Materiality — Looking at both: impact on the company and the company’s impact on society/planet.
Reporting frameworks & standards
- ISSB (IFRS S1/S2) — Global baseline disclosure standards (S1 general; S2 climate).
- TCFD — Climate risk disclosures (governance, strategy, risk mgmt, metrics/targets).
- TNFD — Nature-related risk/disclosure framework (biodiversity).
- GRI — Global Reporting Initiative; impact-focused sustainability standards.
- SASB — Industry-specific ESG metrics (now under ISSB).
- CDP — Environmental disclosure platform (climate, water, forests).
- UNGC — UN Global Compact; 10 principles for responsible business.
- SDGs — UN Sustainable Development Goals (17 goals).
- SBTi — Science Based Targets initiative for validated decarbonisation targets.
Regulations & Disclosures
- CSRD / ESRS — EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive & detailed EU standards.
Media, Tech & Advertising-Specific
- albert (BAFTA albert) — UK programme for sustainable film/TV production.
- DPP Committed to Sustainability — Media industry self-assessment/kitemark.
- Ad Net Zero — Advertising industry’s climate action plan.
- Greening of Streaming — Group focused on energy efficiency in streaming.
- DIMPACT — Tool to model digital services’ carbon footprints (streaming, publishing, etc.).
- gCO₂e/kWh — Useful when comparing encoders, transcoders, or facility energy intensity.
The Growing Importance of Sustainability in Broadcasting
Traditional broadcasting processes involve extensive energy use, especially for live events, studio operations, and data center management. According to the BBC, global broadcasting is responsible for over 2% of worldwide CO2 emissions—a number comparable to the aviation sector. Moreover, the ICT sector, which includes broadcasting, accounts for around 7% of global electricity consumption, with predictions suggesting a rise to nearly 13% by 2030.