SAVe Archives - ClearTech

SAVe Makes International Debut at ISE 2023 in Barcelona

Christina De Bono and Joe Perez introduce SAVe, Sustainability in AV, to ISE 2023 in Barcelona.

In June, 2022, when SAVe, Sustainability in AV, was formally launched at InfoComm in Las Vegas, little did we suspect that mere months later we would be presenting on a global stage at ISE 2023 in Barcelona.

But that’s the power of an idea whose time has come (or, in our industry’s case, an idea that’s long overdue).

Thanks to generous support from ISE, which has designated SAVe as its official Sustainability Partner, along with event sponsors QSC, Legrand AV and Salamander Designs, SAVe was able to send a full delegation to Barcelona, where we exhibited, presented, and introduced ourselves to a global audience at the world’s largest AV industry gathering.

It’s hard to overstate the scale of ISE 2023, but perhaps most amazing for the SAVe team was ISE’s “all-in” support for our mission, which included giving SAVe prime display and meeting space in the ISE Impact Lounge, centrally located in ISE’s Congress Square, the hub within the vast Fira Gran Via complex.

Two questions you might ask.

Why did we go to Barcelona, when we’re still establishing ourselves as the first U.S.-based industry-wide organization to bring the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to our industry? Because sustainability can only be achieved as a global effort. ISE 2023 provided a singular opportunity for SAVe to bring stakeholders together in our industry to take concerted action to achieve the SDGs on every continent, in every nation.

And how much progress did we make toward achieving our goals for ISE 2023?

An astounding amount.

Missions accomplished.

Our principal objective was to provide education and to put out a call to call to action on advancing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our industry. One measure of success in this regard is the number of industry leaders we signed up who want to take meaningful action. Individuals and organizations from across our industry – and across the world – expressed keen interest in partnering with us on a number of fronts, from volunteering on specific initiatives like SAVe: A Second Life and SAVe Certification, to becoming SAVe Ambassadors. Another indicator of success is the amount of media coverage we received. See our blog page for links to the various articles. We’ll post them all as they are published.

In addition, SAVe made critical initial connections to prospective sponsors and partner organizations. And not least, we solidified our relationship with ISE, its parent organizations AVIXA and CEDIA, and laid the foundation for continued collaboration.

In the coming months, we’ll have much more news to report on these and other fronts. For now, we’re busy absorbing and responding to all the contacts we made and potential avenues for partnership that we identified.

The road ahead

Look, we’re clear-eyed about the challenges that our industry (and our planet) face as we strive to achieve sustainability. But after spending a week meeting with many of our industry’s brightest, most impassioned and committed people and organizations, it’s impossible not to be energized about our prospects for success.

The vast majority of people we interacted with understood the challenges we face and were favorably disposed toward taking action. And among them were scores of attendees – many of them industry leaders – who had already done their homework and indeed made it a personal priority to meet with and learn more about SAVe.

We have momentum. We have the numbers. And in the 2030 SDGs we have a blueprint to make a real difference for the future of our industry, communities and planet. SAVe, in partnership with other committed organizations like ISE, HETMA, EDGE, CVSA and others, helps fill in the other pieces of the puzzle by providing leadership, resources and inspiration to take concerted action in those areas where we can have the most impact.

What we need now are volunteers!

We need more people to join as volunteers who share our vision, understand the urgency of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and are ready to make a commitment to turn strategy into reality.

Join us on this journey – and discover just how much of an impact you can have in securing a sustainable future for us all.

Volunteer with SAVe today

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A New Beginning

A SAVe-themed Thanksgiving Celebration to Remember

Ever year ClearTech hosts a themed Thanksgiving party for our staff, their families and ClearTech’s extended family. This year we dedicated our celebration to SAVe, or Sustainability in AV, a non-profit organization we founded earlier in 2022 to bring stakeholders in the AV industry together to take concerted action to advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

As always, we began the day with an all-staff gathering, where we reflected on the incredible gains and accomplishments of the past year. In addition to the founding of SAVe, our team commemorated many well-deserved promotions, fantastic new hires, and the impressive contributions made by staffers to bring in new business and deepen our existing client relationships.

And of Course, Food!

Then the celebration began in earnest, with a full Thanksgiving dinner prepared by our own David Navarro, owner of Iggy’s Catering. From the turkey and ham to the myriad sides and desserts, it was a meal to remember. And the ambiance of the gathering – including the tent, lanterns, balloons and other Thanksgiving decorations – only added to the flavor.

Spinning for Knowledge

After we ate, it was time to nourish our minds, while satisfying our love of competition. Earlier in the day, everyone had been giving a SAVe t-shirt. Red t-shirt recipients were on one team while those who got a green t-shirt were on the opposing team.

The game: A SAVe-themed version of Wheel of Fortune, with questions and answers highlighting SAVe’s mission, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and salient facts in the struggle to achieve sustainability. Winners received gift cards. All participants absorbed a wealth of knowledge.

For more information and how to get involved with SAVe, please visit the website at www.saveav.org.

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ClearTech’s Christina De Bono Talks About SAVe on Edge Bandwidth

Talking about sustainability in AV with just the right audience

The AV sector produces a lot of e-waste, but it does not produce a lot of sustainable solutions, with the exception of recycling, which is occasionally useless because it actually transfers the problem to others; this is a critical situation that we can’t ignore anymore. In this episode, Debbie Williamson from Tempest Technologies LLC and Christina De Bono, president of ClearTech, talk about sustainability in AV and the organization SAVe, which strives to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a number of initiatives, one of the most significant of which is the SAVe certification, which aids in the development of an action plan and opportunities for the business to give back to the community so we may create a more sustainable future.

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Hunting for Treasure – and finding it – at InfoComm 2022

Each year, AV pros come together at InfoComm, our industry’s largest tradeshow, to see and showcase products, take continuing-education classes, and grow their professional networks. But 2022 was different:

This year, we were on a mission.

“In the face of supply chain issues that have forced so many integrators to pull back on their services, our goal was to find great products that manufacturers can actually deliver on,” says ClearTech founder Christina De Bono. “Concurrent with that quest, we also sought out products and providers who align with our commitment to offer our customers more sustainable technology solutions.”

Determined to uncover “InfoComm’s Hidden Technology Treasures,” the ClearTech contingent divided itself into teams and methodically surveyed InfoComm’s vast products and solutions landscape.

Two of ClearTech’s most intrepid technology sleuths were solution architect Max Brown and VP of business development Brian Reilly. Among the offerings they found most impressive:

What We Found

Apantac

“I’d heard of Apantac, but hadn’t used any of their products,” says Max, “but the more I’ve learned about this company, the more impressed I am.” Apantac is an innovative designer/developer of high-quality, cost-effective solutions for image processing and signal extension and processing. Better yet, their solutions come in a wide range of form factors. We’re particularly excited about their multiviewers, but everything this company creates warrants close attention.

Audio-Technica

What makes this well-established company a “Hidden Technology Treasure” is the fact that it’s actually DELIVERING on its products. Unlike many competitors that are reporting lead times of up to a year or more, Audio-Technica reports a 45-day delivery time on most of its products. Not only that, its products integrate beautifully into a wide range of solutions for business and education, our two principal sectors.

Aurora MultiMedia

Here’s a company that may be unfamiliar to you, but you should definitely get to know Aurora. This made-in-the-USA manufacturer offers a broad range of products, including 10G and 1G AV-over-IP devices and systems, DSPs, amplifiers and microphones. They were initially brought to our attention by various industry consultants, all of whom gave Aurora positive reviews. When we saw them at InfoComm, we also learned that they’re able to deliver their products right now. Great performance, great delivery model – two huge assets in today’s AV landscape.

AVgear.com

Based out of Las Vegas, AVgear.com provides new, refurbished and certified professional audio, video, lighting, staging and production gear and accessories. Companies like this are going to be integral to advancing sustainability in the AV industry, because right now our sector gobbles up scarce natural resources to produce new equipment and generates an unconscionable amount of e-waste when that gear is replaced. By providing a forum for industry members to extend the life of the technology solutions we design and deploy, AVgear.com is making a big contribution to meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (Learn more at Sustainability in AV, or SAVe.).

Convergent Design

Perhaps the newest company we discovered, Convergent Design’s audio pickup and auto-framing technology is a real innovation in conferencing and live-streaming applications. It’s new Erika AI system includes face-tracking, support for up to four UHD cameras, and ultra-fast voice-activated switching. Each participant (up to 20) has their own unique (virtual) camera and wireless microphone, enabling a superior close-up view with minimal echoes and reverb. A great example of innovation in conferencing, “This is a company we’re watching very closely,” says Max. Another item in the plus column: Convergent Design’s products are designed and made in the USA.

Joan

One of Max’s favorite finds, Joan provides innovative products to help organizations manage their ever-evolving workplaces, including meeting-room scheduling, desk-management, way-finding and visitor-management solutions. “There are a lot of things to love about Joan,” says Max. “For one thing, its products boast extreme power efficiency, drawing just 1/100 of the power needed by a tablet.”

Also important: Joan’s products are built to last at least five years, and they boast a failure rate of just 0.63%, the lowest in the industry. When they do come to the end of their useful life, Joan devices’ high-quality recyclable materials reduce the toll on the environment. We also like their simplicity of operation, commitment to security, and the ease with which they can be integrated into larger solutions.

K-Array

We can’t say that K-Array is an InfoComm discovery for ClearTech; we’ve known about this innovative Italian audio company for some time now, and are actually using them on some current projects. But it’s important to mention K-Array because they’re always introducing interesting products. For example, “The Anakonda is a flexible, ribbon-like speaker that you can run like a wire,” explains Max. “It can be almost invisible, yet the sound is huge. K-Array also has something called the RAIL system, which is an overhead light fixture that doubles as a speaker.”

Brian was just as impressed as Max. “K-Array are masters of getting big sound from small speakers,” says our VP of business development. “They can fit into all kinds of spaces and be inconspicuous and still perform like gigantic speakers.”

LEON Speakers

When both performance and aesthetics count, this Ann Arbor-based speaker manufacturer’s solutions for video conferencing, distributed audio, and technology concealment must be part of your consideration set. From off-she-shelf to custom solutions, Leon is an exemplar of American craftsmanship.

QSC Pro Audio

“This company has been on my radar for a while,” says Brian. “They’re typically known as an audio company – a really, really good one – but in their Q-SYS offering, they also provide a fantastic end-to-end solution for Teams, Zoom, and other platforms. The company’s demo suite is just the best.” This fully integrated, software-based audio, video & control platform eliminates the need for cumbersome, single-purpose hardware found in traditional AV systems. It’s been successfully deployed at a number of leading universities, and we’re excited to introduce it to new customers in that sector.