Createch Sustainability: A New Tool

1st September 2023
2.00 –3.30 GMT
Online via Zoom

Webinar Video Recording

Organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design (®) at the University for the Creative Arts in partnership with Trevor Davis & Associates Ltd.

Background

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the integration of technology into all aspects of the Creative Industries and Cultural Economy has given rise to a new wave of high-growth businesses known as Createch. Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK, in the introduction to the 2023 UK Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre State of Creativity report, defines Createch as the “special combination of creativity and technology in creative industry sectors”. Examples include businesses offering specialised generative artificial intelligence tools for TV, film and game development studios, and organisations creating immersive virtual reality experiences for the audiences of tomorrow. In terms of creative businesses exploiting new technologies, Createch is singled out as having a “similar upward growth trajectory to other tech companies” in the UK Department for Media, Culture & Sport Creative Industries Sector Vision (July 2023).

Createch companies tell us that they have a sustainability mission such as a net zero ambition or a positive social impact. However, our research shows that the current sustainability maturity of Createch in the UK is low in terms of specialist terminology and concepts, relevant laws and regulations, standards, setting sustainability policies, allocating resources, measuring environmental and social impact, and understanding how carbon offsets work. The journey for many is just starting, but the benefits can be significant in terms of winning future business, positive employee relations, etc. But where do they find support?

Looking to the future, the use of technologies such as generative AI and blockchain mean that Createch is becoming more and more energy intensive. As an example, carbon emissions due to training GPT-3, used for generative AI and which involved over 400 years of specialist hardware accelerator time, are over 500t of CO2e! Having robust approaches to integrating sustainability into business models, strategy and operational decision-making is more important than ever.

In 2022 The Centre for Sustainable Design (®) launched a self-help tool for Createch to help them benchmark their sustainability maturity and devise actions plans. We are now delighted to launch version 2 of that tool on the web offering the following benefits at no cost to the user:

Target audience

The webinar is focused on founders, CEOs and CTOs in Createch companies, particularly start-ups and scale-ups. However, all in the Creative Industries are welcome to use the tool to help them move through their sustainability journey.

Event objectives

The objectives are to:

  1. Unveil the Createch Sustainability Tool
  2. Present the findings of the latest UCA research into Createch that underpins the tool
  3. Hear from entrepreneurs involved in developing the tool
  4. Establish a link to initiatives such as Sustainable Computing and Green IT as championed by the British Computer Society

Agenda (all times UK)

The conference is co-chaired by:

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design (®), Business School for the Creative Industries, University for the Creative Arts (UCA)
Trevor Davis, Managing Director, Trevor Davis & Associates Ltd

14.00 Welcome

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA

14.10 The Createch Sustainability Landscape

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA
Trevor Davis, Managing Director, Trevor Davis & Associates Ltd

14:25 Lessons from Responsible Computing and Green IT

TBC, British Computer Society*

14:40 Introducing the Createch Sustainability Tool

Trevor Davis, Managing Director, Trevor Davis & Associates Ltd

14.55 The Entrepreneur’s Perspective

Nick Inoue, CEO, GroundWaves*

15:10 Q&A

Moderated by Professor Martin Charter & Trevor Davis

15.20 Summary and Product Roadmap

Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design ®, UCA

15.30 Close

* To be confirmed
** The programme may be subject to change

Registration

The event and use of the tool is free of charge but please email your name, affiliation, and position to Ros on rcarruthers@uca.ac.uk.

Further information

For more information contact:
Ros Carruthers
The Centre for Sustainable Design ®
Business School for the Creative Industries
UCA
+44 (0) 1252 892772

Funding

Funding received from Research England Strategic Priorities Fund. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation, a public body funded by the UK government. For more information visit www.ukri.org or re.ukri.org