In honor of Earth Day 2023, rAVe [PUBS] has partnered with Commercial Integrator to explore sustainability in ProAV. We sat down with Martijn van der Woude, vice president of global marketing and business development at PPDS, to discuss the company’s sustainability efforts in 2023.

rAVe: Tell us why your company is passionate about sustainability.

MARTIN VAN DER WOUDE: At PPDS, sustainability isn’t just about checking a box or earning PR points, it’s a top priority and about doing what’s right as a business, for our customers and our communities and, most importantly, for the planet. This isn’t about a strategy from the top. The results of our sustainability efforts affect us all, so it’s an inclusive approach that we’re all engaged in and committed to, throughout PPDS.

As a global manufacturer, we feel a responsibility and recognize that sustainability is about much more than words or short-term actions. It’s about creating fundamental shifts in the way we operate and function as a company. Today, we are among the top 6% of companies in our field, and we are continuously working to make changes to our industry.

We’ve taken a circular approach to sustainability, ensuring it goes beyond product management and includes every aspect of our business and all our stakeholders. This includes creating products that are more sustainable and energy efficient from the moment they are conceived, through the manufacturing process, their delivery and installation, all the way to the end of their extended first life and beyond. Our holistic approach is fully engaged across our own organization and encouraged with our strategic partners.

Following significant and ongoing R&D efforts, some of the first public examples of our sustainability strategy are now being displayed, with power-free and carbon neutral lines, new modular design and advanced remote management opportunities.

rAVe: Can you give us an example of concrete efforts your company is making to be more sustainable?

MV: From the amount of energy our products consume, through to the components from which they are made and the type and amount of packaging they arrive in, we work tirelessly to continually monitor and modify where we can make a small difference that will work into a big impact.

Take for instance our packaging. We now use 100% recycled brown boxes, and only use single color environmentally friendly, soy-based ink. The use of plastic has been reduced by more than 98%, with ongoing efforts to make this 100% soon. Palletization has also been reviewed and refined, with a 184-ton Tank to Wheel (TTW) CO2 reduction and 107-ton reduction of wood pallet consumption in the process to date. These are significant shifts.

Part of our strategy is also focused on playing our part in reducing the collective 50 million metric tons of e-waste generated globally. By basing our displays on an open Android SoC platform, and collaborating with software and hardware partners, we are dedicated to providing solutions that extend the lifetime of our products, such as our Chromecast built-in Philips MediaSuite hospitality TVs. By enabling regular updates of the firmware, bringing the latest features and benefits to existing fleets, our solutions deliver a better return on investment to our customers, while reducing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

A growing number of the products within our digital signage, professional TV and direct view LED portfolios are also now being designed and updated to support energy savings, with low energy consumption (up to 20% lower compared to comparable models elsewhere in the market) and lower heat dissipation built in via our common cathode design. The same high quality performance, with reduced running costs, potentially saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually. And with active health monitoring, and pixel monitoring (dvLED), as well as options to turn down brightness levels, remotely or via our PPDS Wave remote display management platform, cost of ownership can be significantly reduced, while boosting green credentials.

Taking things a step further, we also recently unveiled the now multi-award winning ‘zero power’ Philips Tableaux, which has become the world’s first Advanced Color ePaper digital signage series from a global manufacturer, delivering full color (60,000) content, while running 24/7, unplugged, without using a single kilowatt of energy.

This energy efficient, Android-powered series is perfect for businesses (including retail, corporate, education, public venues, and transportation) looking to digitize paper signage or replace existing screens with more sustainable digital models. No power needed, no installation boundaries, only requiring minimal energy during content changes, and can be managed either remotely or manually.

These are just some examples to date. The journey continues.

rAVe: What sustainability efforts are you planning to implement in the next year?

MV: Sustainability is an ongoing process. Whatever we achieve today, we want to improve on for tomorrow. It’s the same with all our solutions and our entire business philosophy. We’re not a company that likes to sit back and admire what we have achieved, we will always feel we can improve and that’s a very healthy mindset.

Our product team works tirelessly to develop new displays, and enhance existing ranges, to ensure power consumption and environmental impact is kept to a minimum and this will always continue.

In addition to further improving the energy efficiency of current and future solutions, we will also continue to enhance and extend the availability of our PPDS Wave cloud-based display management ecosystem to support more markets, such as hospitality.

Newly available, PPDS Wave is designed to bring a fresh and future-proofed approach to controlling and managing display fleets of any size, with incredible sustainability benefits. In a continuing climate of rising energy prices, the features of Wave can play a pivotal role in delivering environmentally conscious, sustainable solutions for almost any business, helping to reduce total cost of ownership with energy saving opportunities and extended product lifetimes.

Connecting with the features built into the hardware on Philips professional displays, PPDS Wave allows users to control the power scheduling of their displays, powering them down when not in use, either automatically, for instance outside of core business or school hours, or manually if required. Brightness can be adjusted intelligently, based on the lighting conditions, again supporting energy savings and extended product lifetimes.

The display is only part of the story in our sustainability strategy.

rAVe: Can you give a long-term overview of your sustainability plan?

MV: There are no limits and no end points for our sustainable vision. Our global approach to business is supported by our agile approach to development and this allows us to react quickly to market needs and to innovate display solutions to meet them. In 2022, the focus on energy prices was simply not a question of concern. Today, it’s now increasingly part of the tender process, and we feel duty bound to our customers and the industry to respond quickly to their needs and introduce solutions when they need them. We have a proud history of achieving this, including during the pandemic.

We will continue to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and remain committed to making a difference, with our actions, as well as with our products, to ensure we are leading our business, and our industry, sustainably into the long term. We encourage others in our industry to do the same.

rAVe: Anything else you’d like to add?

MV: At PPDS, we work to continually monitor and modify where we can make a small difference that will work into a big impact. Our path is paved with smart goals and science-based targets.

We encourage people to learn more by visiting our website, which details our strategic approach to sustainability, or by contacting your local sales manager. Alternatively, we’d love to welcome you to our newly-opened PPDS Studio in Charlotte. Join us on our journey to an ever more sustainable future.

This sponsored content was created as part of a paid partnership with PPDS. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the opinion of PPDS. In lieu of payment to rAVe or Commercial Integrator, PPDS made a $1,000 donation to SAVe AV and a $1,000 donation to Trash Turtles.