Giving Back

Deji

It starts with listening

We engage with communities and organizations through stakeholder roundtables and intentional conversations, learning how we can best provide support and make a positive impact.

"We bring a holistic approach to building our products sustainably, fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce and giving back to our communities — all of this helps us act responsibly for our stakeholders.”

Deji Olukotun

Director of Global Affairs and Sustainability

Giles Martin

Regenerative sound

Conserving forests and promoting biodiversity

Ecoacoustics is a cutting-edge field that uses sound to promote biodiversity and conservation. In 2023, Sonos launched our signature $250,000 campaign in partnership with Rainforest Connection to support their work preserving biodiversity around the world. With projects spanning 35 countries, Rainforest Connection enables scientists, governments, nonprofit partners, and local communities to take action against climate change and the ongoing biodiversity loss crisis that threatens thousands of species with extinction.

"By listening to and learning from nature, we can contribute to global conservation efforts and safeguard critical species and forests from the worst impacts of climate change,” says Deji Olukotun, Director of Global Affairs & Sustainability at Sonos.

Sonos funds will help support a Rainforest Connection project site in the Malaysian state of Sabah, in the northern part of Borneo. “We have a long history of working with manufacturing partners in Malaysia,” Olukotun continues, “Sonos wanted to act locally in support of an initiative close to where our products are built.” Borneo is known for its rich biodiversity because it is home to thousands of wildlife and plant species. But these species face increasing threats of land degradation and fragmentation due to various agricultural practices. In collaboration with local partner HUTAN, Rainforest Connection is using their acoustic monitoring technology to measure the impacts of reforested agricultural landscapes on local species, which includes the critically endangered orangutan that is endemic to Borneo and Sumatra. Using sound to better understand the dynamic ecology of the region is essential to the long-term conservation of the orangutan and its threatened habitat. Some 3,000 species of trees thrive across Borneo — more than the total number of native species in North America and Europe combined.

Hear the sounds of Malaysian Borneo below.

Giles Martin

Music education

Positively changing the lives of young people

Since 2018, we have donated over $1 million to youth music education programs around the world, partnering with youth orchestras, beatmaking workshops, choral groups, and music camps. We’re proud to have achieved our goal of providing 100,000 hours of quality music education to underserved youth by 2025.

One of our long-standing partners, ZUMIX, empowers young people to build successful futures for themselves — transforming lives and communities through music, technology, and creative employment. Sonos supports ZUMIX’s programming that equips youth with the tools necessary to reach their full potential, while creating a safe space for them to explore who they are and who they want to be. ZUMIX is committed to providing access to top-quality arts experiences for a low-income, historically underserved neighborhood of East Boston in Massachusetts.

Giles Martin

Inclusive sound

Championing women and BIPOC in sound

A 2021 study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that only 2% of audio engineers were women. That doesn't sound right to us, so we're supporting We Are Moving the Needle, a nonprofit founded by Grammy award-winning sound mixer Emily Lazar.

We Are Moving The Needle is focused on closing the gender gap and bringing equity to the recording industry. From providing scholarships to leading music production academies, donating recording equipment, and expanding career opportunities, their work is laying the foundation for long-lasting change.

Read all about our efforts

Learn more about our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the 2022 Listen Better Report, where we share detailed information on our broader initiatives regarding sustainability, supply chain responsibility, giving back, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and disclose the progress we've made in the past year.

Listen better report png Download the 2022 Listen Better Report (PDF)