SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is one of principal challenges of our time, and the media industry has an essential and central role to play in ensuring that the world works towards achieving the SDGs.
The AIB is working with its members and the wider media industry on sustainability, for the good of humankind.
Creating the Global Media Sustainability Initiative (GMSI)
Member states to the United Nations will fall far short of accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the target date of 2030. Moreover, increased obstacles and cascading crises of the COVID pandemic, continued extreme weather events relating to unabated climate change, wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the subsequent global impacts of all of these on the global economy, energy, transportation, labour, food, and fertiliser supplies are further impeding the already ambitious goals. The setbacks caused by the recent crises have compounded the urgency of strengthening a robust multi- stakeholder approach that promotes global solidarity, stronger international cooperation, and partnerships to support national, regional, and global efforts for ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth.
The news, media and entertainment industries play a critical role along with governments, the multi-lateral system, and private-sector industries in maintaining stability and the pursuit of sustainability.
The Global Media Sustainability Initiative, as an extension and an activity of the UN SDG Media Compact, is a demonstration of news, media and entertainment executives to commit their companies, reach, resources, and creative talent to advancing awareness, dialogue and participation in addressing the significant challenges of social and sustainable development goals. Additionally, it is a platform for the exchange of ideas and best practices of sustainability in the industry’s standard operations and procedures.
GMSI will be launched in 2024 at a Media Leaders’ Summit during the UN General Assembly in New York with the aim of bringing UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, together with Chief Executive Officers, Directors-General, Executive Directors, Editors-in-Chief and Commissioners of major global and national press, broadcast, on-line and social media organisations and in order to agree a long-term strategic collaboration between media companies and multi-lateral development organisations throughout the world.
In advance of this Summit, an Advisory Council is being created to collaborative define the work of the Initiative and ensure that its work programme is achievable, relevant and can be funded.
The Initiative has been proposed, and the initial groundwork carried out, by the Association for International Broadcasting, a not-for-profit trade association headquartered in the United Kingdom as a leading participant of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Media Compact (UN SDG Media Compact) and with the support of many its 200+ members.
The global media industry has a central and crucial role to play in helping the world achieve the SDGs. The AIB is facilitating global collaboration on this vital work.
UNITED NATIONS and the MEDIA
The AIB has been working with the United Nations on the issue of sustainability. The UN’s Economic and Social Affairs Council has been heavily involved and the 2022-23 EcoSoc President, HE Lachezara Stoeva, issued a call to the world’s media companies to support the Global Media Sustainability Initiative.
GMSI Advisory Council
Join the Advisory Council that is supporting the establishment and operation of the Global Media Sustainability Initiative. Contact Craig Hobbs, Director of Multilateral Relations at th AIB Secretariat for more information
AIB – SUPPORTING MEMBERS in SUSTAINABILITY
The AIB has established a member-only working group on sustainability
Many news organisations have been actively reporting on the devastating impact of climate change and efforts towards sustainability. Beyond their coverage of the issue, there is an increasing urgency for newsrooms to take actions themselves – to walk the talk, so to speak.
Some newsrooms have already started measuring their carbon footprint, charting their path to reduce their emissions, implementing sustainability policies and procurement practices.
As a collective, AIB members have the opportunity to share their knowledge and efforts in the sustainability space, assist one another on this journey, activate and motivate staff as well as leverage their position of influence to encourage meaningful change in the behaviour of audiences.
The AIB Sustainability Working group, with members across four continents, meets every eight weeks or so to exchange information, discuss challenges and explore opportunities for collaborative work.