Charting the Path to Progress: How MetaBroadcast is Transforming ESG Commitments into Action

2024 represents the beginning of MetaBroadcast’s measurable Environmental, Social, and Governance journey. With strategic customers inquiring about our commitment to sustainability in late 2023, we realized that even smaller media tech companies like ours could—and should—play a role in creating a greener, fairer future. 

The first step? Keeping it simple. With limited resources, we focused on what we could realistically achieve, starting with tracking our carbon emissions. With a cloud-based platform running in the AWS cloud, we started tracking estimated customer-facing carbon emissions. As a small business, our day-to-day operations and product development platforms also run in the cloud. We have been able to either utilise carbon footprint calculators (e.g., Google) or validate the carbon-neutral status of 90% of these platforms.

However, measurement is only a starting point. To set meaningful goals, we turned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals for inspiration and asked our team what mattered most to them. The result? Our first ESG report—a blend of sustainability initiatives, like tracking emissions, and people-focused goals around diversity, education, and well-being.

Our sustainability strategy really took off when we signed up for the DPP Committed to Sustainability Assessment. This introduced us to a treasure trove of resources like the SME Climate Hub and SBTi (science-based targets for those not fluent in sustainability acronyms). 

• We’ve developed best-practice sustainability actions that our 100% remote workforce can take. 
• We capture monthly carbon emissions data from both AWS and Google Workspace. 
• We track all business travel by plane, train, or car, using available online tools to estimate related carbon emissions. Unsurprisingly, business travel is the biggest source of carbon emissions. 
• 100% of our team has taken an online sustainability awareness training. 
• In Q4, we began testing the use of smart plugs to measure energy usage related to work-related devices (e.g., PCs, monitors, phones, or printers). 

But ESG isn’t just about the planet—it’s also about people. That’s why we created an ESG team to meet monthly and keep our progress on track. With the help of a bright university intern, we’ve explored new ideas like AI ethics policies, carbon offsets, and work-from-home best practices. We even conducted a “Knowledge Action Gap Survey” to find out what our team is passionate about. 

This survey revealed employee commitments to sustainability and provided many recommendations that will be incorporated into our best practices guides. More importantly, it brought to light ESG priorities that are broader than sustainability. While we have taken small steps to address education, diversity and mental health & wellbeing, the survey indicates there is more we can do. These findings will guide our ESG journey as we move into 2025. 

As we reflect on the progress we’ve made in 2024, it’s clear that our ESG journey is just beginning. Each small step—from measuring carbon emissions to fostering a culture of diversity and mental health & well-being—builds the foundation for a more sustainable and inclusive future. Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to deepen our commitments, explore innovative solutions, and continue aligning our efforts with the values of our team and the broader goals of the global community. Together, we can turn intention into impact, driving meaningful change for our company, our customers, and the planet.

Our foundational 2024 ESG report can be found here. The 2025 ESG report will be available upon completion in early 2025.