Sustainable AV: What the Industry Is Actually Doing in 2026

Chris Gore
11 minutes ago
5 min read

What is the AV industry actually doing about sustainability in 2026? From circular economy programmes to energy monitoring, the honest picture.

Chris Gore | Updated 2026

Sustainability in the AV industry has moved beyond pledges and policy documents. At the AV Sustainability Summit 2026, a group of manufacturers, distributors and integrators submitted practical case studies of changes they have actually implemented, not plans, not targets, but things that are already working. The Quick Wins programme asked the industry to share what it is doing right now to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and extend the life of equipment.

The cases submitted are more concrete than most sustainability content the AV industry produces. This blog covers the most relevant ones for organisations managing meeting room estates, and what the pattern across them means for how SPOR Group thinks about sustainability in the rooms we design and manage. The full list of submitted case studies is at avsustainability.com.

What the AV Industry Is Actually Doing to have Sustainable AV

Extending the life of existing equipment

SCT — Sound Control Technologies — made perhaps the most directly relevant submission for anyone managing a meeting room estate. Their argument is simple: most AV equipment has more life in it than people realise. Organisations still running platforms like the Poly G7500 or the Cisco Codec Plus are often pressured into full system replacements when practical upgrades could bring modern capability to existing hardware at a fraction of the environmental and financial cost.

Their RC-SDA4+ and RC-SDA5+ camera extension kits allow older Poly and Cisco cameras to remain in service by making them USB-compatible with current collaboration platforms. The upgrade keeps cameras and codecs working rather than sending them to storage or landfill. It is a practical argument that applies directly to the question any IT Director should be asking before authorising a full room replacement: is there a targeted upgrade that achieves the same outcome?

Certified pre-owned programmes

Genelec runs a certified pre-owned programme that allows customers to return loudspeakers when upgrading or following venue changes. The returned units are refurbished and tested to the same standards as new products. The environmental case is significant, purchasing pre-owned products is estimated to reduce electronic waste by 60 to 80 percent and cut carbon emissions by approximately 50 percent compared to new manufacturing.

The loudspeaker market is different from the meeting room camera and display market, but the principle translates. Refurbished commercial displays, certified pre-owned video bars and tested secondhand room booking panels are increasingly available through authorised channels. For organisations where budget is a constraint, these routes deserve consideration alongside new equipment.

Reducing standby power across large estates

Sharp Displays submitted a practical energy case built around their LED Remote Power Switch. Professional displays are designed for extended operation but leaving them in standby mode still draws significant power — around 25 percent of full operating power with current dvLED technology. A single 108-inch display left in standby for 14 hours a day wastes approximately 2,555 kWh of energy annually, equivalent to roughly one tonne of CO2 and around £715 in electricity costs at current UK rates.

The Remote Power Switch enables full shutdown during non-operational hours rather than leaving devices in standby. Across a multi-site estate with dozens of displays, the cumulative saving is material. For any organisation with an estate of meeting rooms, auditing standby power consumption of displays and conferencing equipment is a genuinely quick win with measurable financial and environmental return.

Replacing estimated carbon data with verified product data

AVI-SPL submitted a case on carbon accounting methodology that has implications beyond their own organisation. They replaced estimated, spend-based emissions data with supplier-verified Product Carbon Footprints certified by third parties. The result: verified PCF data was 63 percent lower than generic emissions factors for electronics hardware. Generic emissions factors had been overstating actual emissions by 2.7 times.

For organisations preparing ESG reports or responding to client sustainability questionnaires about their supply chain, this matters. The AV hardware procured for meeting rooms represents a Scope 3 emissions item for most organisations. Using verified product carbon data rather than generic estimates produces a significantly more accurate picture — and typically a more favourable one.

Renewable energy at distribution level

Midwich — SPOR Group's primary distribution partner, submitted two cases. From 2026 their global headquarters in Norfolk is generating approximately 50 percent of its electricity from a new rooftop solar array. Across their UK and Ireland operations, 98 percent of all sites that consume electricity have transitioned to renewable green energy tariffs. For organisations where Scope 3 supply chain emissions are part of the ESG picture, the energy source of the distributors they procure through is a relevant data point.

What This Means for SPOR Group and the Rooms We Manage

Extending equipment life through proactive management

The most directly sustainable thing SPOR Group does is make AV equipment last longer. SPORTrack monitors every device in real time and catches faults before they cause failures. Firmware is kept current proactively rather than being left to drift. Devices that are approaching end of warranty or end of life are identified and planned for rather than discovered as unexpected failures. A room that is properly monitored and maintained runs reliably for longer than one that is not. That is both a reliability argument and a sustainability argument, equipment that lasts longer has a lower lifetime environmental cost than equipment that is replaced prematurely.

Targeted upgrades rather than full replacements

The SCT case above reflects an approach SPOR Group takes seriously. Before specifying a full room replacement, the question should always be asked: is there a targeted upgrade that achieves the required outcome? A room with a functioning codec and display but an outdated camera can often be upgraded with a new camera at a fraction of the cost and environmental impact of a full replacement. The AV report quiz helps identify what a room actually needs before any specification conversation begins.

Asset tracking and responsible disposal

Every device SPOR Group deploys is tracked in the SPORTrack asset register with installation date, warranty status and firmware version. When devices do reach end of life, responsible disposal through appropriate channels, manufacturer take-back schemes, certified recyclers, or refurbishment programmes like those described above, is part of the process.

Energy awareness in specification

Display standby power consumption, the energy profile of ceiling microphone arrays and compute units, and the operational power draw of room booking panels are increasingly relevant to clients with energy efficiency targets. Specifying hardware with strong energy credentials and ensuring proper scheduling of display power states, including standby and off-hours shutdown, is part of a well-commissioned room.

Sustainability in AV is moving from aspiration to practice. The case studies from the AV Sustainability Summit 2026 show that the changes being made are practical, measurable and achievable without significant additional cost. The pattern across all of them is the same one that runs through everything SPOR Group does: get more value from what is already there, and manage what you have properly rather than replacing it before it needs replacing. For the cost context, read how much does meeting room AV cost in the UK.