From Amsterdam to Shetland: Threads of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Community
September and early October formed a tapestry of experiences that reminded me just how interconnected our efforts toward sustainability truly are. From the bustling show floors of IBC in Amsterdam to the global conversations of New York Climate Week, and finally to the windswept beauty of the Shetland Islands for its annual Wool Week, each stop offered a different lens on what sustainability means — in industry, in policy, and in community.
A Turning Point for the Media Industry: IBC and the Media Climate Accord
Introducing the Media Climate Accord
Charter signatories who are committed to a net zero target for the global media industry.
At this year’s IBC, sustainability wasn’t a side conversation. For years, the media technology sector has been building awareness around its environmental footprint, but now the focus is shifting to accountability and action. Through my work with the Corporate Star Awards (CSA), the Media Tech Sustainability Series (MTSS) session, and the Greening of Streaming Hour, it was a main stage topic.
We also conducted MTSS’ first-ever sustainability tour on the show floor, taking “tourists” to meet the companies innovating for efficiency and impact. From AI-enabled workflow optimization to green power management and corporate responsibility actions, the takeaway was clear: sustainability is no longer just “good PR.” It is gratifying to see some many who see sustainability innovation as good business and good engineering.
Launching the Media Climate Accord (MCA) was another significant milestone in that journey. The MCA aims to bring together the global media industry around a shared goal: to be net zero as an industry by 2040. Standing alongside partners and early signatories, I could feel the momentum building and the sense that this industry, often criticized for energy intensity, is ready to lead by example.
The Global Pulse: Lessons from New York Climate Week
Just days later, I was back home in New York to tune into another conversation: NY Climate Week, where global leaders, activists, and innovators converged to assess the state of climate action worldwide.
The tone was both urgent and pragmatic. We’re not moving fast enough and yet the stories of innovation and local resilience were inspiring. Cities are experimenting with decarbonized public transport, companies are integrating Scope 3 transparency into their reporting, and financial institutions are increasingly tying investment to climate performance.
Still, the biggest takeaway was that progress is uneven. While Europe continues to lead on regulation through initiatives like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), other regions lag, often constrained by policy uncertainty or lack of data. Technology, when deployed responsibly, remains one of our best levers for acceleration, not just through emissions measurement but through smarter design, predictive modeling, and resource efficiency.
What struck me most was how the conversations in New York mirrored those from Amsterdam. Whether in media, manufacturing, or mobility, all organizations are grappling with the same challenges on how to align ambition with data, and how to turn pledges into performance.
A Personal Pause: Shetland Wool Week and the Art of Circularity
Attending the Shetland Wool Week
Each year the SWW releases a hat pattern which all attendees are encouraged to wear during their time in Shetland. It’s a great way to connect with festival and each other.
After two intense weeks of conferences, I traveled north — far north — to the Shetland Islands for Shetland Wool Week, an annual celebration of fiber, craft, and community. The experience was both grounding and inspiring.
Here, sustainability isn’t discussed in panels; it’s lived every day. The islanders’ relationship with their landscape is a masterclass in circularity. Sheep (and there are many of them!) graze on natural pastures, their wool processed locally, dyed with natural pigments, and turned into garments designed to last generations. Nothing is wasted. Everything has a purpose.
Amid knitting circles and workshops, I found myself reflecting on the quiet power of this ecosystem. In many ways, circularity in textiles echoes the same principles we’re trying to embed in technology. Design for longevity, minimize waste, and respect natural limits. And there was something profoundly calming about it all. In a world of dashboards and metrics, the rhythmic motion of knitting offered a reminder that sustainability isn’t only about systems, it’s also about humanity.
Weaving the Threads Together
Each of these experiences — the collaborative innovation of IBC, the global ambition of NY Climate Week, and the community wisdom of Shetland — reminds me that sustainability thrives when ideas, policies, and everyday choices align toward real change.
In the media technology sector, our challenge is to make sustainability intrinsic to how we create and deliver content. On the world stage, our task is to align policy, finance, and innovation to keep the 1.5°C goal alive. And in our personal lives, it’s to reconnect with the slower, circular rhythms that remind us why this work matters in the first place.
As I sat in a windswept cottage one evening in Scalloway in Shetland, knitting from locally spun yarn, I realized that each stitch represents a choice, just as every workflow decision, every policy draft, or every investment plan does.
Together, these experiences weave a pattern of resilience and hope. A reminder to me that the connections for a better future already exist. It’s up to us to knit them into something lasting.
