SAVe Sustainability in AV’s lineup of keynote speakers for its third annual Global Conference, taking place October 13-14, 2026 in Los Angeles, will address critically important sustainability issues, including the sustainability movement’s impact on technology innovation, the unchecked proliferation of electronic waste, and efforts to sustain Earth’s critical materials.
“Attendees of SAVe 2026 will have the opportunity to hear from, and interact with, industry and scientific leaders who are at the vanguard of sustainability in AV,” said Christina De Bono, Founder and President of SAVe Sustainability in AV. “Never before has an industry organization assembled experts of this caliber to shape our understanding of the most important issue facing our industry, our communities, and our planet.”
The keynote speakers at SAVe 2025 include:
- Michael Blackman, Managing Director of ISE Events – One of the most influential figures in AV, Mr. Blackman will speak about how aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals drives innovation and opportunity in AV. Under his leadership, ISE has grown year-on-year to become the largest annual exhibition and trade show for professional audiovisual and electronic systems integration, featuring 1,751 exhibitors and attracting 92,000+ unique attendees in 2026. Even more impressive: Mr. Blackman has made sustainability a principal thrust of ISE’s educational and advocacy efforts, giving it a global platform our industry cannot ignore.
In addition to delivering the conference’s first keynote address, Mr. Blackman will serve as a panelist in the “Partnership for the Goals” breakout session, which will focus on the impact of SAVe’s partnerships with ISE, AVIXA and HETMA.
- Oladele “Dele” Ogunseitan, Ph.D., M.P.H. Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine – The title of Professor Ogunseitan’s keynote is “From Recognition to Remedy: Research and Advocacy at the Intersection of Electronic Waste and Sustainable Development.” His address will present an overview of more than two decades of research and advocacy dedicated to identifying and remedying the adverse health and environmental impacts of e-waste, and will highlight pathways toward solutions, drawing on collaborative work with industry partnerships. Attention will also be given to end-of-life product stewardship as one of the most immediately actionable opportunities available.
- Diran Apelian, Distinguished Professor, Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine – Professor Apelian, who also serves as co-Director of SPARC, the Institute for Sustainable Processing and Resource Convergence for Critical Materials, will focus on the importance of reexamining sustainability through the lens of design and manufacturing for recovery and recycling. The global AV industry runs on technology that depends on critical and near-critical elements whose supply chains are strained, geopolitically concentrated, and largely linear: extracted, used and discarded. Drawing on the work of SPARC, he will offer a roadmap for recovering critical elements from secondary vs. virgin sources, rethinking now materials are made and unmade, and forging partnerships among researchers, industry and policymakers.
The SAVe 2026 Global Conference is the organization’s third annual gathering of change makers from around the world. The two-day conference is a unique event in the AV industry, as it features a rich agenda of keynote speeches, educational workshops, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities for attendees representing industry, government, higher education, NGOs and other organizations who share SAVe’s mission to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
“Our roster of keynoters for SAVe 2026 reflects the urgent need for action on sustainability,” noted De Bono. “As Michael Blackman, Oladele Ogunseitan, and Diran Apelian will demonstrate, we have the vision, expertise and resources to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. What we have lacked to date is a vehicle to organize and unleash our collective will to bring them to fruition. The SAVe 2026 Global Conference is a pioneering effort to harness that energy meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
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