Products and services could and should have minimal impact on the environment, suggests a paper by the network video product company Axis, titled A Sustainable future: The drive towards conscious capitalism.
Against the global backdrop of population growth, the strain on limited resources and climate change, there is a growing demand for businesses and governments according to the paper, to deliver improvements in how profits are generated and civil society is managed. The challenge for businesses around sustainability is how to balance concerns about the planet with profit; invariably concerns about profitability become the focus of such talks, and sustainability takes a back seat, perceived as a ‘nice to have’ while offering little in the way of a return on investment, the firm points out.
Atul Rajput, Regional Director, Northern Europe, Axis, pictured, says: “We live in a time when climate predictability is coming to an end. The WEF itself listed extreme weather and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation as its top two biggest impacts. These are real challenges that we must respond to. In this white-paper, we outline some of the steps Axis is taking to improve its performance on this front, and the challenges and opportunities that we face, making our practices clear and assisting others in putting their own strategic plans in place to put sustainability at the heart of their business.”
And Jens Strinsjö, Segment Lead, Smart Cities, Northern Europe, at Axis adds: “If we’re serious about mitigating environmental damage as a result of business activity, we need a global response. But regulations around the world vary widely and we are calling for a unified approach to the prohibition of dangerous materials, employment and rights, CO2 reduction mandates and anti-corruption laws. The physical security industry has been a slow starter around issues of the environment and sustainability, and lags behind other sectors such as IT in most key areas. We believe Axis’ efforts gives us a competitive advantage in a market increasingly sensitive to sustainability issues. It’s all about discovering the real value of balancing profits, planet and purpose.”
The Swedish firm says that it was the first company in the physical security sector to begin phasing out PVC from its products, a process which takes time to complete. It began restricting its use in 2009 and by 2018, 95pc of its cameras and encoders, and 80pc of its complete product range were PVC-free. The firm began preparing for the introduction of the EU’s Restrictions of Hazardous Substances directive 2015/863 (RoHS 3) in early 2018, using the same processes that were developed for monitoring and eliminating PVC. Visit https://www.axis-communications.com/sustainable-future.
