A Sustainable Public Address and Voice Alarm Solution from Zenitel

Decision-makers often prioritise upfront costs when choosing systems, but focusing solely on CAPEX can be shortsighted. The total cost of ownership, including maintenance, energy consumption, and end-of-life disposal, plays a crucial role in the overall financial and environmental impact of a system, especially for systems with a typical 10–20-year life cycle. This is where Zenitel's communication solutions, a Sustainable Public Address and Voice Alarm Solution, stand out.

At Zenitel, we strive to make a positive impact on the environment and contribute to our customer’s sustainability goals. In 2024, Zenitel was awarded the Ecovadis Silver Sustainability Rating, placing us in the top 15% of companies. This achievement reflects our ongoing dedication to transparency and continual improvement in sustainable business practices.

This article explores how our high-quality and proven PAVA solutions are designed for both longevity and efficiency. These solutions reduce long-term costs and, most importantly, help minimize environmental impact.

Our ecological approach

Zenitel delivers high-quality, proven, and sustainable public address and voice alarm solutions for safety and comfort. Furthermore, our products are designed with an eco-design approach, using long-lasting components for minimal environmental impact. They are also based on future-ready technology platforms for maximum durability and sustainability.

Our commitment to sustainability is deeply embedded in our corporate strategy, aligning with global frameworks like the UN Global Compact. We integrate the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into our business strategy, culture, and daily operations. These principles guide us toward high standards in human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption practices. Additionally, our sustainability efforts align with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals for a more sustainable future.

Our Sustainability Roadmap is another critical aspect of our commitment, ensuring compliance with the European Sustainability Reporting Directive. This roadmap guides our efforts to incorporate sustainability both upstream and downstream in our value chain, emphasising its importance in every aspect of our operations.

Material selection and design

When selecting materials for our PAVA products, we also always prioritise materials with a minimal environmental impact, incorporating recycled and biodegradable materials whenever possible. This approach not only reduces the environmental footprint associated with raw material extraction but also ensures that, at the end of the product’s life, components can be safely disposed of, recycled, or upgraded.

We’re committed to providing long lifecycles for our products. Typically, we design products to last 10 years or more. Our Research and Development (R&D) department is at the forefront of creating energy-efficient products that reduce lifetime power consumption. This is particularly important for products that operate 24/7 with a typical service life of 15 years. We focus on both full power efficiency and quiescent power consumption, utilising high-efficiency switch-mode power supplies and Class-D amplifiers.

Our amplifiers enter a ‘sleep’ mode when not in use to minimise power consumption, only ‘waking’ periodically for monitoring purposes. Additionally, we employ proprietary adaptive Class-D technology, which adjusts the amplifiers' operating mode according to the signal content, further optimising efficiency and reducing power consumption. We are actively researching higher-efficiency components to enhance the sustainability of our next generation of products.

Estimated energy cost over system lifetime  

Current consumption in W/Hr during quiescent operation

Whether you're installing a communication solution inside a tunnel or at a corporate building, installation footprint is important. Our high-power, density amplifiers save up to 45% on rack space compared to other products on the market. This can reduce the need for peripheral systems such as cooling and ventilation, leading to additional savings.

Our sustainable public address and voice alarm system uses energy-efficient components, designed for long-term use with fewer replacements. This results in a smaller footprint and lower energy bills, translating to substantial savings over time.

Backward compatibility

Zenitel is committed to develop system platform with typical 25+ year lifetime. The system platform should ensure backward compatibility to older systems and technologies, as well as provide future compatibility to new technologies and systems to come.

As an IP-based system, VIPEDIA systems from Zenitel can often use the existing IP-building infrastructure with standard cabling and network switches. The lifetime of the voice alarm can be extended by only replacing the obsolete control equipment and amplifiers, while utilizing existing IP infrastructures and cabling. This can generate considerable cost savings for system integrators, installers, and building owners. By reusing existing infrastructure, material waste can be reduced, and service life can be extended.

We manage the entire supply chain

We extend our commitment to sustainability throughout our supply chain. Zenitel partners with suppliers who prioritise sustainable and ethical practices. By evaluating the environmental impact of the entire supply chain, we ensure that our products are produced responsibly, from raw material sourcing to manufacturing and distribution.

In our operations department, we are continually seeking ways to improve efficiency and reduce waste. One of our major manufacturers has recently invested in new premises and tools aimed at minimising waste in their processes, demonstrating a clear commitment to investing in the future. This focus on efficiency extends to our key suppliers as well.

Our repair service offering allows out-of-warranty products to be repaired rather than discarded, reducing waste and promoting sustainability. We also audit our key suppliers and encourage them to complete sustainability questionnaires, supporting their continuous improvement efforts. For example, by increasing batch sizes, we have improved time efficiencies. Our global Supplier Code of Conduct, which addresses issues such as human rights, environmental protection, material compliance, conflict minerals, and business ethics, reinforces our commitment to sustainable business practices.

Additionally, to minimise packaging waste, we combine units into boxes when packing customer deliveries, optimizing pallet use and reducing cardboard consumption. We also have contractual agreements with our suppliers to reduce component wastage by setting maximum limits on excess stock holdings.

These efforts help also to lower transportation emissions and reduce the overall environmental impact of our products.

We truly lead by example

Not only have we committed to delivering sustainable products and solutions to our customers, but we also truly lead by example. Our team at the Lewes office has taken several initiatives to further reduce the facilities carbon footprint.

We have replaced inefficient strip lighting with LED lighting throughout the site, which significantly reduces energy consumption. Additionally, all lighting is now linked to timers with motion sensors, ensuring that lights automatically switch off when not in use. We have also invested in more energy-efficient air conditioning systems and gas boilers, further reducing our energy usage. These efforts have been closely monitored over several years, and the results for 2023/2024 show a dramatic reduction in energy consumption.

Our commitment to sustainability is further demonstrated by our ISO certifications.

Zenitel is ISO 14001 certified across all five sites in the UK and Norway. This certification ensures that our environmental management systems meet international standards. Recent amendments to these standards, particularly on climate action, require us to consider changes in our ISO management systems. This includes updates to ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, and 27001 standards for compliance. Additionally, our new global Corporate Social Responsibility Policy addresses key sustainability issues such as sustainable development and environmental protection. Our CSR Policy also includes human rights, equality, and ethical business practices for sustainable operations.

Explore how Zenitel can support your organization’s sustainability goals with our state-of-the-art Sustainable Public Address and Voice Alarm Solution.