Our customers helped chart our journey
Since 2009, we’ve been on a journey at Akamai to not only advance our own sustainability goals but also to help bring our customers along with us. One of the best lessons I’ve learned in this work is the power of listening.
By asking for honest feedback from our customers, we’ve been able to build a sustainability program that doesn’t just showcase Akamai’s capabilities — it meets our customers where they are.
And here’s the reality: No two customer journeys are alike. Some companies come to us with well-established sustainability strategies and ambitious targets. Others are just starting to think about what sustainability might mean for them.
What we’ve discovered by listening is that, for many organizations, the very first challenge isn’t about data or reporting; it’s simply about setting goals to get started. Without that foundation, it’s hard to tap into the tools and insights that can accelerate real progress.
Enter the Media Climate Accord
This is why I see so much value in the Media Climate Accord (MCA). This new initiative officially launched at IBC2025 to unite the global media and entertainment technology sector around a shared commitment to climate action and net-zero emissions.
It gives the media industry a shared framework and a space for collaboration that makes it easier for companies, regardless of their starting point, to take that critical first step. By aligning on common principles and sharing what works, we can lower the barriers to action and help more organizations build momentum toward decarbonization.
Sustainability isn’t a solo effort
At Akamai, we take pride in being one of those collaborators. We provide the data, the technology, and the expertise to help customers not only set certain goals, but also achieve them with confidence. More important, we do it as part of a larger ecosystem because sustainability isn’t a solo effort. It takes collective action.
Enter the MCA. This initiative is about meeting companies where they are today and giving them the support, the partnerships, and the shared ambition they need to move further and faster.
Together, we have the opportunity to contribute in the effort of supercharging the environmental journey of the media industry and to prove that collaboration really is the fastest path to progress.
Meeting of the minds at IBC2025
As we started to explore this idea with our industry colleagues, we quickly realized that this challenge of setting meaningful sustainability goals is not unique to any one region, industry, or company size. It’s a global issue.
And Akamai is uniquely positioned to help address this issue, given our role at the intersection of technology, media, and customer engagement.
So, we decided to test some of these ideas at this year’s International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam. In partnership with the Media Technology Sustainability Series (MTSS) and Greening of Streaming, we brought together leaders from across the media, broadcasting, and technology space.
Our goal wasn’t to create another catalog of high-level commitments. Instead, we wanted to talk in real terms about what it takes to set sustainability goals that actually drive change.
What we learned
The conversations we had at IBC2025 were both informative and energizing. This session did not have a hard design, so we could give these leaders the chance to connect organically with industry experts and peers, to unpack what “good” really looks like, and to leave with tangible next steps.
Specifically, we focused on helping attendees:
Set bold, yet credible targets that stretch ambition but are achievable
Align those targets with business strategy so sustainability isn’t a side project but a driver of value
Activate teams and suppliers because goals only matter when they’re operationalized across the ecosystem
Since sustainability touches nearly every part of a business, we also wanted the event to be accessible to professionals who work outside of the sustainability area. That meant bringing in voices from engineering, operations, finance, marketing, and other parts of the business.
Having a mixed group of people in the room, sharing real stories and engaging in a live tabletop discussion, created a space for practical strategies that attendees could act on immediately.
This is exactly the kind of approach we see scaling within the MCA. By fostering collaboration across the media value chain, the MCA creates a framework where companies, whether they’re just starting or already leading, can learn from one another, align on what “good” looks like, and move the industry forward together.
Collective action can supercharge the journey
What excites me most is the potential for collective action. The MCA embodies the spirit of shared ambition, practical collaboration, and accountability that can transform how the media sector contributes to global decarbonization.
Akamai has prided itself on our role to help make those first steps easier and more impactful for our customers. But the real power comes when the industry acts as one. That’s how we’ll help supercharge the journey, not just for individual companies, but for the entire media ecosystem.
#JoinUs
We came away from this innovative session with insights that will shape how we grow this into a more comprehensive, long-form event. But, more important, we see this as the beginning of an ongoing conversation, not a one-time exchange.
Establishing a direct feedback loop with our customers and peers ensures that what we build will continue to evolve, adapt, and stay relevant as the sustainability landscape shifts in real time.
The launch of the MCA reminds us that the challenges we face are bigger than any one company, and the solutions require collective action. By leaning into collaboration, sharing what works, and being honest about what doesn’t, we can accelerate progress far beyond what any of us could achieve alone.
My three cents
Don’t wait for the perfect plan or the ideal conditions. Let’s commit to bold goals, align them with our businesses, and take action now. Together, we can turn conversations into impact and prove that the media sector has the power to lead on climate action.
If you are a customer who has a question about setting meaningful sustainability goals, please feel free to reach out to us at sustainability@akamai.com.
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