The Berlin-based game company GameDuell is working towards the vision of reducing their carbon emission production to zero. In order to move towards this goal, they set up an internal Green Team to coordinate and implement steps and actions.
The designated Green Team
In 2009, GameDuell decided to work towards the vision of making the company more sustainable. An important step for GameDuell was to set up an internal task-force called the Green Team, which was given the challenge to come up with ideas and initiatives. The task-force consists of team members from different parts of the organisation who meet up regularly to discuss ways to implement ideas and initiatives into the day-to-day business. The team has been fighting climate change at GameDuell for over ten years.
Any of our team members can join our Green Team and can help to contribute in protecting our environment by directly taking part in many of our green and charity initiatives.
Mathias, Climate officer at GameDuell
By having members from different teams and professions, the Green Team can look into all the nooks and crannies of the business and optimise as much as possible. The Green Team also chooses which projects to support through the company’s offsetting efforts.
What is offsetting?
Offsetting is a way to compensate for carbon emissions. This compensation works by donating to projects around the world creating sustainable living. These projects could be windmills in India, planting trees in the Amazon, climate-friendly stoves in Somalia. This way you help reduce emissions globally and create sustainable development benefits for communities around the world.
The price to compensate for CO2 differs depending on which project you choose to fund. The projects currently on Gold Standard for the Global Goals vary from 10 USD to 30 USD per Tonne of CO2.
Cutting emissions
There are many things you can do to make your company more sustainable. However, finding a suitable strategy and figuring out where to start can be challenging. What GameDuell did was to start by taking small steps towards reaching their goal, and identify those that have the biggest effect. There are often plenty of easy targets you can begin with.
You don’t have to come up with one big revolutionary concept. Constantly work on small steps that lead toward your goal while focusing on the bigger levers. Reduce plastics, contract a genuine green energy provider, improve your travel policy, buy sustainable and local office supplies, and so on. There is so much potential. Every little thing counts and in the end it all sums up.
Mathias, Climate officer at GameDuell
If you have already measured your carbon footprint, you can look into the bigger categories – where a reduction will have a bigger impact – and begin there.
Reducing the carbon footprint around the office might not have the biggest impact – compared to travel policies and servers – but it can help create a company culture that embraces sustainability and helps team members make sustainable choices in the future.
We are working on inspiring our own team members to take action in environmental protection, and raise awareness.
Mathias, Climate officer at GameDuell
Examples of initiatives at GameDuell
Making the office greener
- The electricity consumed in the office is generated from renewable energy sources
- Buying sustainable office supplies
- Separating waste
- Installing energy-saving light bulbs
- Buying palm oil-free chocolate spread
- Buying only organic groceries
- Reducing travel for all team members to an absolute minimum, where possible conducted with environmentally friendly transport systems only, and subsequently neutralised by purchasing carbon offset certificates, acknowledged by the acknowledged by the VCS or Gold Standard
- Switching from plastic bottles to water dispensers and recyclable glass bottles
- Instead of throwing old hardware away (monitors, laptops), donating them to Refugees on Rails & SeniorenComputerClub
- Green Christmas presents: Team members at GameDuell can choose a Christmas gift voucher from one of four regional sustainable shops or alternatively make a donation to one of three charity projects
Helping employees be greener
- Raising awareness about environmentally-friendly commuting and green energy
- Providing tips to reduce the personal footprint.
- Every team member receives a plant as a birthday present, making the office greener
- Making vegetarian/vegan meals the default
- Team members who want to participate in a global climate strike were allowed paid time off work to do so
Making the games greener
- Servers run on green energy
- Working on implementing green topics on the website
Offsetting the rest
We offset the remaining emissions. We donate to reforestation projects around the globe on a standard that contributes in a measurable way to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is done via our involvement in the “Leaders for Climate Action” alliance.
Mathias, Climate officer at GameDuell
There are many things to consider when offsetting, and it certainly isn’t a fix-it-all solution. Carbon is still being emitted, so reducing your emissions should still be a priority.
The offsetting market has also been accused of being too unregulated and with money not being used in the best way possible. GameDuell gets around this by only investing in projects that have been certified by reliable organisations. These could be the Gold Standard for the Global Goals or Verified Carbon Standard.
About GameDuell
About: The passion for creating high-quality games and the focus on superior customer experience have made GameDuell one of Europe’s most experienced games studios. Founded in 2003, with almost two decades of success in the online world, GameDuell offers a broad portfolio of over 70 multiplayer titles on the popular game site www.GameDuell.com as well as on social networks and mobile devices
Players: More than 130 million registered players across all platforms
Employees: 130