Selected Media
References
The advent of the digital age has fundamentally transformed the media landscape and accelerated the fragmentation of its supply chains. Sustainability risks have equally shifted. While paper manufacturing is still marred by a host of environmental and social challenges, topics such as emissions abatement and cyber security have gained in importance across the industry.
IntegrityNext helps you manage the key sustainability risks and opportunities in your supply chain with minimal effort. Our solutions cover the topics most material to your industry and allow you to meet due diligence requirements and boost your sustainability performance:
Risks and Opportunities
For years, the share of print media consumption has been in decline in many countries, largely due to mounting digitalisation. This trend has the potential to significantly ease pressures on the environment. However, wood harvesting and processing as well as paper production still entail a range of risks. There have, for instance, been reports of child and forced labour along the wood value chain. Unsustainable forest management and timber extraction can also lead to land use conflicts, illegal logging activities, biodiversity loss and an increase in GHG emissions.
Besides, paper manufacturing requires large amounts of energy and water and, just like printing, makes use of harmful chemicals or produces toxic by-products. Sound precautions are therefore indispensable to protect the health of workers and prevent the release of hazardous substances to water, soils and air. To mitigate all these risks, media companies must ensure their suppliers uphold high social and environmental standards in forest and plantation management, the provision of (recycled) timber and/or fibre, wood processing and paper production. This will not only facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements but can also bolster supply chain resilience.
The film and TV industry is characterised by a different set of risks such as rising energy needs. As the proliferation of entertainment and digital services continues, the industry’s carbon footprint also grows apace and has to be addressed accordingly. The creation of online content, especially when involving video and audio, is data-intensive. Much energy is needed for IT infrastructure operation, internal and external data centres, data transmission and viewing, among others. The rise of cloud-based content creation and delivery only adds to this. Supply chains are thus increasingly fragmented and complex with media companies relying on IT service providers, for example in terms of data processing. As for streaming services, the amount of content that is produced shows no signs of slowing down as entertainment companies vie for customers, partly in response to high churn rates. In this context, energy consumption and carbon emissions are taking centre stage. While the mapping of digital content emissions along the value chain is an intricate exercise it is still vital so that companies can determine and rein in their carbon footprint. Suppliers can play a critical role in such decarbonisation efforts.
In the wake of the industry’s drive for digitalisation, the trends described above hint at a growing dependence on IT suppliers and service providers. Data protection, information and cyber security are therefore gaining in importance and need to be supported by adequate systems and measures.
How IntegrityNext
can help
IntegrityNext provides a platform for comprehensive ESG supply chain risk management that allows you to meet due diligence requirements and improve your sustainability performance:
- Carry out a carbon footprint assessment and benefit from enhanced visibility into your suppliers’ emissions data, reduction efforts and targets.
- Analyse the most relevant environmental, social and governance risks as part of a five-step risk management process.
It includes an abstract country and industry risk analysis to deliver initial insights into your supply chain’s risk exposure. Based on more detailed pre-built assessments, which draw on authoritative international standards and conventions, you can monitor your suppliers with respect to the main ESG risks:
We help you identify suppliers with the most severe impacts so that you can develop a coherent strategy and target your preventive and remedial measures accordingly. The results gleaned from the assessments are synthesised in a GRI-certified report that can be readily used for your disclosures.