CLIMATE COMMITMENT
The video games industry shares the European Union’s belief that addressing climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. As a result, it has taken numerous environmental initiatives and is working to improve the energy efficiency of its devices and services.
Raising awareness through video games
Video games have a unique opportunity to inspire change and raise awareness among their players through gameplay and innovative storytelling. More and more games include content related to climate change and this is something that is positively welcomed by players.
“Video gaming is one of the biggest communication mediums on the planet. We aim to support the industry to encourage gamers to be educated, inspired and activated around the wider environmental agenda, and so far it seems to be working.” (Source: UNEP)
In September 2024, the Alliance celebrated its fifth anniversary. In under half a decade, it has expanded from a handful of members to a collective of over 50 leading video games businesses driving forward the environmental agenda in games, and beyond. The 2024 Annual Impact report provides a year-on-year review of the work of the Alliance, facilitated by the UN Environment programme, and its membership.
New report: Code, Climate, Creativity
The Swedish games industry is a low-emission, high-ambition sector with the potential to drive climate benefits beyond its own operations. The report explores the video game industry’s challenges, such as emissions from video gameplay activity, and highlights opportunities to lead in the green transition through innovative solutions like eco-modes, fossil-free energy investments, and green infrastructure. Additionally, the report underscores how video game culture and technologies, including digital twins and serious games, can inspire climate action and support sustainability efforts across sectors.
Untangling the carbon complexities of the video gaming industry
Assessing its environmental impact as a video game studio is an essential step towards understanding and reducing its carbon emissions, but navigating international carbon accounting standards may be difficult. In 2023, the P4P Alliance produced guidance on the GHG Protocol and how video game companies can measure their Scope 3 emissions.
game Umwelt-Guide
game, has developed a free environmental guide (in German) aimed at assisting those in the video games industry looking for practical tips and best practices for games companies to become more climate-friendly. 76% of German companies are already involved in initiatives such as saving measures for energy and heating, the use of green electricity, waste separation, and lots more.
A Climate Handbook for Game Companies
During the Bornholm Game Days 2019, more than 40 Nordic video game companies decided that the most important issue to address in the coming year would be climate change. As a result, Nordisk Games founded PlayCreateGreen, a platform where studios can find tips and guidance to embark on their environmental journey.
Green Game Guide
In early 2021, Ukie partnered with Games London and the Playing for the Planet Alliance to create a Green Games Guide to help companies think about how they can improve their approach to sustainability.
Video Games Europe Secretariat’s commitments
During the 2021 EU Green Week, Video Games Europe became an Associate Member of the United Nations-facilitated Playing for the Planet Alliance and supported Green Game Jam, which aims to mobilise 1 billion video game players to take action on the climate crisis.
With the help of ClimatePartner, Video Games Europe Secretariat measured its environmental impact for 2020, estimated at 17,570 tCO2 eq. The calculation follows the GHG Protocol and includes Scope 3 emissions. We are committed to repeating this exercise each year in order to achieve continuous climate neutrality.
Games Console Voluntary Agreement
In 2015, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft agreed with the European Commission to further improve the energy efficiency of games consoles. They launched the Games Consoles Voluntary Agreement (GCVA), which includes provisions for energy and resource efficiency that apply to both current and future generations of games consoles.
It is estimated that the GCVA will save 48 TWh of energy over the lifetime of current-generation consoles (equivalent to Greece’s annual electricity production in 2019). To ensure continuous improvement, the agreement is reviewed every two years. Source: https://efficientgaming.eu/
The industry also contributes significantly by sharing its expertise in ensuring that proposed solutions are both efficient and technically feasible.
