What goes on inside a Sony laboratory?

Everyone knows what press trips are about right? A chance to jet off to some sun-kissed location, get drunk with your journalist mates and generally avoid doing work for a few days. It’s all a big laugh. Well, no actually. Not always, anyway.

Especially not when the trip has eco-conscious thinking at its heart, as when I visited Sony’s Technology Centre in Stuttgart recently. We were there to get a closer look at the different ways a global technology manufacturer is ensuring that its activities display a real commitment to being eco conscious. It sounds dull, but it really wasn’t.

Not only that, but I also had some eye-opening experiences. Did you know, for example, that any product produced by a third party that includes Sony branding is pulled apart and tested for any potentially hazardous materials?

Obviously, it was a client trip so you know I’m not going to say anything negative, but it genuinely was extremely eye-opening, especially if you’re a bit of a geek like me. Dr Joachim and his team explained everything in layman’s terms that were easy to understand, even though this was only the second time they’ve opened their doors to journalists.

Goes to show that companies sometimes don’t know which of their assets could actually be a rich vein to tapped for PR purposes.

Check out some of the coverage from the attendees here:

Treehugger – http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/sony-bravia-3d.php

Gizmodo – http://www.gizmodo.de/2010/03/23/video-hinter-den-kulissen-sonys-forschungsabteilung.html