Sony and the Environment

Select a well known company. 1) Explain why you have chosen them and briefly outline what they do. 2) Identify some of the positive environmental and social steps it has undertaken in relation to its products or services. 3) Suggest ways in which your company might better communicate its sustainability commitments to its customers via brand messages, further product changes or other design management related methods.

All of my past education has been focused around design. For my final year I have chosen to research the music industry. In 2000 I was awarded the National Arkwright Scholarship, for Technology. This award opened my eyes up to see how everyday life is affected by design, and how important designers are for the future of our planet.

During my time dedicated to my Design Management degree course, and my close work at the Students Union, as Entertainments Officer, I have found another interest - The Music Industry.

I am trying to link each of my third year projects to this subject, so that I can adapt design management to the music industry. My dissertation plan is to study bands such as Coldplay to see how they are supporting, promoting and marketing Charities such as Fair Trade. Understanding the different impacts that the music industry has on the population will be interesting.

I am writing to several record companies, to see if I can gain work experience. One of my chosen companies is Sony Music, part of the Sony Corporation.

For this project I shall be looking at the Sony Corporation in general, and studying the policies that they put in place for sustainable and environmental issues.

Sony was founded on the May 7th 1946, by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. It was established in a run down, and bomb devastated area of Tokyo, the company formally being a tiny radio repair shop. They never would have thought it would turn into a $50 Billion Business.

Sony Firsts:

- Japanese company to be listed in the stock exchange.

- Develop transistor radios.

- Extended the production run to further counties. Setting up industrial manufacturing in places like America.

Sony Key Points:

- Family run business

- Life time employment

- Dominates the global electronics market.

- Have over 168000 employers.

- Sony corporation was established in January 1958

Bullet point brief History:

- Originally named Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company

- Repairing Radios and Manufacturing few numbers of Voltmeters.

- The first product to be made by Sony was an automatic rice cooker.

- Latin for Sonus (sound) and the English derived phrase sonny-boy- a so called term used in 1950s America, implying a bright youngster.

Sony Corporation consists of:

Sony Music

Sony Pictures

Sony Erricson

Sony Playstation

Sony Electronics

Sony's Target Market has always been aimed at a young innovative audience. Sony consumers are associated with style, class and wealth, as Sony products can be very expensive.

The reason that Sony Electronics are ahead of their game with the brand image is due to the fact that Sony invested a lot of money into the development of technology, making sure that they come on top at all times. They have a high and fast turn over of goods, allowing new products to be introduced regularly.

Sony Corporate Image

Sony is perceived to be a top international company. It is one of the most renowned electronic suppliers on a global basis. With a Sony product you are given the impression of a top reliable, and stylish investment, that incorporates style and wealth.

'Design and marketing are used to generate product concepts of high quality that appeals to western markets' (Cooper, 1995:109)

Personally I agree that Sony is a great mega brand that is highly renowned for its mass production, its large manufacturing factories, and its highly priced, quality products.

I also see a macho company that is perceived to do little in improving the environment or the social economies that it surrounds. Sony appeared to be a company that is so wrapped up in their product developments and dominating the market that I felt they give little time to making the products more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Social Sony

Staff

There are many social issues in place at Sony that purely astonished me. I can understand that Sony would look after its staff, but I didn't think that they would look after surrounding communities too.

Sony has schemes in place that not only look after the health of the worker but maintain a healthy lifestyle too.

For example in Japan, the staff work long enduring hours that can be stressful. Sony offers the use of the gym, long distance walking, to keep the body healthy, it offers intense counselling sessions, and monitors the health of each member of staff.

Outside the Staff Circle

One of the original founders- Masuaru Ibuka set up a fund within Sony. This fund collects money for furthering the education within primary schools supporting the importance of a science education.

'Sony operate worldwide according to a basic philosophy of 'global localisation' which aim to promote harmony with the countries in which it operates'

(CSR, 2005:28)

Along side this; Sony has an organised volunteer base within the company. The in-house team, travels to local and sometimes international countries in order to help and make a difference. For example,

In Thailand over 1000 Sony group volunteers helped the local government to restore the coral reef that had been badly damaged. They also made awareness of marine conservation to