Sky says it is using its place as a major player in UK telecoms to lead the industry towards a better customer experience and reduced waste.
It provides set-top boxes and routers in 11.5m homes in the UK and Ireland. Under the maxim, “fewer bigger better”, Sky does lifecycle assessments to identify the impact of its products, including manufacturing and logistics, energy consumption, waste management, and conflict and rare earth minerals. The strategy has enabled it to cut costs, save customers money and reduce waste.
The targets are many and varied and include: sourcing materials responsibly; reusing or recycling 100% of all products returned to Sky; leaving no waste at customer homes; reducing packaging and boosting fleet efficiency.
The strategy is to improve sustainability. Identified objectives include: longer product life spans – up to 10 years; remote software updates; and the Sky+ HD box has been reduced in size, while the logo has been repositioned to encourage people to sit the device the right way up and avoid over-heating.
The company has designed the box’s wireless connector so customers don’t need an extra plug and has cut the amount of cable needed by its new router. The latest Sky+HD boxes are at least 20% more efficient than the previous version and an “eco” setting enables the boxes to switch to a low energy mode when unused.
Sky also operates auto standby, which kicks in after four hours during the day and turns off at night, saving the equivalent of 103,500 tonnes of CO2 and £21.5m a year for customers.
Sky founded and currently chairs the voluntary agreement for complex set-top boxes, which sets energy targets and has 20 signatories, approximately 80% of the European industry. It has also signed up to Wrap’s electronic sustainability action plan.
