A Climate Handbook for Game Companies by Game Companies
Reduce Negative Impact
Reducing negative impact relates to everything you can do to lower your carbon emissions. This includes anything from changing habits around your office to lowering power consumption for players when they play your game. The ideas for actions and examples from other game companies are sorted into five categories across the value chain of game development. Read More
Impact during game development and production – in the office
Sort garbage (and recycle where possible)
Turn off computers when leaving the office
Use second-hand furniture like Raw Fury
Buy local and/or organic food
Choose green energy
Measuring brings action, like Embracer
Impact during game marketing
Create policies to minimize travels for sales and marketing conferences
Choose sustainable marketing material
Demand sustainable choices from conferences
Work with influencers who have a sustainable mindset
Impact during gameplay
Optimize your game to require less energy while playing
Incorporate an ‘eco-mode’ where players can choose a less energy-demanding way to play
Nudge and encourage players to turn off devices after use
Read all articles and case stories here!
Impact during game development and production – transportation
Incentivise climate-friendly commutes, e.g. by supplying free public transportation passes
Establish policies to reduce traveling between offices
Shift to more climate-friendly means of transport, i.e. choose train over plane when possible
Impact during game distribution
Choose carbon neutral hosting services
Shift to sustainable packaging
Choose sustainable shipping options
Impact of hardware end-of-life
Make sure your games support older versions of hardware or devices, so players can keep playing them on existing hardware
Help players make the right decisions when discarding used hardware
Put pressure on hardware producers to make use of long-lasting, eco-friendly and easily recyclable or upcyclable materials.
Donate your own used hardware to people or organisations in need
Increase Awareness
Increasing awareness relates to everything you can do through your gameplay to create climate awareness amongst your players. This could be anything from including climate change as an in-game mechanic or creating games that educate on subjects such as carbon off-setting. Read More
Raise awareness in the industry
Speak publicly at events about what you do to reduce carbon emissions
Create guides for others to read and follow, like UKIE
Publish articles in industry media
Open-source your process, work tools and conclusions
Inform and influence consumers
Incorporate green nudges into your games
Have a sustainability mindset in the ideas phase
Consider an eco-version of your game
Develop climate educational games within your universe of IP
Use your skills to help educational institutions teach sustainability (such as NASA’s climate kids)
Raise awareness in the community
Campaign to turn devices off after use
Give influencers the tools to talk about climate change issues related to playing games
Write about climate issues and share with your community
Provide your community and its influencers with the tools and knowledge to make the right choices
Blog
Latest green news, cases and examples from the games industry
- How Madrid-based Vermila Studios encouraged its staff to become green-fingered
Vermila Studios’ blueprint for a more sustainable games studio Founded in 2020, Madrid-based Vermila Studios is an up-and-coming studio with a young team and some big ideas on how to… - A chat with MAG Interactive about reforestation and protecting the oceans
MAG Interactive is a Swedish mobile games developer based in Stockholm with a global player base and a wealth of puzzle games in its portfolio. We recently sat down with… - More than 25 game studios raise awareness of green issues as part of the second annual Green Game Jam
As part of World Environment Day game studios are taking part in Green Game Jam to raise awareness - How to sustainably make your COO cry over feedback
Behind the Nitro Games decision to use Evergreen, the Slack-integrated service that plans trees for every given positive employee recognition - Massive’s rooftop garden for biodiversity in the city center
Massive Entertainment’s efforts to bring nature close to their place of work and welcome the bees - Climate Replay: Play Games, Save The Planet
How Climate Replay plans to make a difference by activating players and content creators through fun, educational videos and other creative activities.
What are your best practices to lower your carbon emissions? Send us your advice at hello (at) PlayCreateGreen.org or here
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For game companies – by game companies
Play Create Green is started by a group of leading Nordic game companies. We believe that knowledge-sharing is necessary for the game industry to become climate-neutral.
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