How to help the gaming sector go green

COMMENT The gaming sector is huge. In fact, it’s larger than the movie and music industries combined, and it’s growing. The global gaming market was valued at $198.8bn (£152.2bn) in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of $339.9bn by 2027, according to Mordor Intelligence. Gaming platforms are attracting hundreds of thousands of new users every year. This growth was accelerated by the pandemic, with nationwide lockdowns and more people staying at home, choosing gaming as a way to pass the time. But as public awareness of topics such as climate change, air quality, biodiversity, waste, circular economy and health and wellbeing reach new heights, how can gaming occupiers – involved in the development, marketing and monetisation of games – drive forward their sustainability goals? Next level The UN’s Playing For The Planet Alliance, launched in 2019, has signed up some heavyweight players in the sector, which have pledged to make measurable commitments to reduce their environmental impact, ranging from integrating green activations in games to reducing their real estate emissions. With the sector uniquely placed to leverage gamification tactics to engage people in sustainability, the alliance also hosts the now annual Green Game Jam, during which studios design and implement green content to encourage game players to contribute to a more sustainable future. In terms of real estate, the trade association for the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry, Ukie, has partnered with the alliance to produce the Green Games Guide. This includes a simple five-step process to help the sector think about its property and supply chain carbon impacts. It gives consideration to carbon emissions reduction – for example, through decreasing office emissions, reducing waste and minimising staff travel. But it does not consider broader sustainability issues. It’s a good start, but more will need to be done by gaming companies to fully understand and manage their environmental, social and governance impacts. Mine craft Another aspect for consideration is that gaming consoles can consist of a variety of mined materials, including copper, nickel, gold and zinc. The extraction of these components can have huge environmental and human rights implications. And once ready for disposal, electronic waste is a global challenge. According to the UN, 50m metric tonnes of e-waste are produced around the world each year. A solution could be in cloud gaming, which is growing in popularity and allows gamers to stream high-end games across hand-held devices such as laptops, tablets and mobiles, eliminating the need for a dedicated gaming console or PC. However, data centres, the cloud and digitisation still have huge energy demands, which is why it is vital that the sector considers sustainability, not only in the way it manages its own business and real estate, but also in product design and development. Most studies indicate that between 85% and 90% of Generation Z, or those born from the late 1990s to the pre-2010s, are playing video games on smartphones, gaming consoles and computers at least weekly. As well as being players, the gaming sector has become a career choice for many who have grown up with gaming being a part of their lives. This generation is environmentally motivated, sustainability literate and pushing the climate change agenda. They will certainly expect workplaces which reflect these core values. The gaming sector, by its very nature, is forever evolving and is based on innovation and creativity. It has the ability not only to address sustainability within its own operations, but also to empower its player communities to make a difference. Tanya Broadfield is sustainability director at Savills Photo © Savills