Display Technology

VITEC takes aim at climate change, overhauls product line

Provided

November 4, 2021

With the COP26 summit continuing in Scotland and climate change under an intense spotlight, VITEC is reevaluating its production ecosystem to reduce environmental impact by modifying all product design, development, and distribution processes, according to a company press release.

The issue of how enterprises use video applications and resources to support sustainably is key, acccording to Phillipe Wetzel, VITEC CEO, a streaming solutions and digital signage provider.

"The immediate challenge is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by racing toward carbon neutrality, but it will not be easy," Wetzel said in the release. "The video streaming sector will have to design products that utilize fewer raw materials, are easier to transport, consume less energy, and are easily recyclable. Adopting carbon-neutral energy strategies throughout the enterprise video supply chain will be necessary. In response to these challenges, VITEC has launched its GreenPEG initiative to invest in carbon reduction projects and retroactively offset all emissions."

Video streaming represented more than 80% of internet traffic in 2020. The internet accounts for more than 2% of global warming, and the footprint is still growing, with the impact of internet traffic on climate change on the same level as air travel and transportation, according to the release.

The need for video in workflows raises questions about the role the enterprise video community can play to meet the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which established a global framework for mitigating the dangerous effects of climate change by limiting global temperature increases to 2°C, preferably 1.5°C.

"VITEC launched the GreenPEG initiative to optimize MPEG technology by addressing — and minimizing — the size, weight, and power of devices that contribute to energy consumption," Wetzel said. "GreenPEG products are carbon neutral throughout production and use, then easily disassembled and sustainably recycled."

In January 2021, VITEC decided to invest in carbon reduction projects to retroactively offset all emissions since its foundation in 1988, including all direct and indirect emissions. Moving forward, all VITEC enterprise video products will be developed and labeled as GreenPEG-compliant.

"Enforcement of Paris Agreement rules is maturing rapidly. GreenPEG will help VITEC — along with its customers and suppliers — avoid the risk of being excluded from government tenders," Wetzel said in the release.