Resources

Untangling the carbon complexities of the video gaming industry is the first report of it's kind and has been commissioned in support of the Playing for the Planet Alliance. This report addresses the uncertainty in the application of the GHG Protocol accounting and reporting standards to organisations in the video gaming sector. It's a consolidation of learnings and experiences of organisations in the industry as well as a valuable guide for video games businesses that seek clarity on applying GHG accounting standards.

The Climate Check is a short survey that allows anyone to explore what the most effective actions are we can all take to protect the planet.

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Sometimes it can feel overwhelming and hard to know where to begin. By taking the Climate Check anyone can learn where to start, get ideas on what more can be done, and have access to UN backed resources to help you on your environmental journey.

A number of video game studios asked for guidance on how to consider investing in carbon credits. In response, Playing for the Planet prepared this document with the support from the United Nations Environment Programme to share key principles to guide decisions on carbon credit programme selection, that have been based upon guidance from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).  While there have been a series of articles challenging the efficacy of some carbon credit programmes, the recommendation is to invest in carbon credits that meet set criteria in order to compensate unabated emissions as part of a robust net zero 2050 plan.

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A groundbreaking landmark research paper that explicitly connects environmental psychology to best practices in game design for the purpose of co-creating a common design language for discussing climate action in games. Built by game developers for game developers, in partnership with researchers, climate activists, and people who love games, this initial release details 4 key predictors of pro-environmental behaviours and 19 design tactics.

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Whittle, C., York, T., Escuadra, P.A., Shonkwiler, G., Bille, H., Fayolle, A., McGregor, B., Hayes, S., Knight, F., Wills, A., Chang, A., & Fernández Galeote, D. (2022). The Environmental Game Design Playbook (Presented by the IGDA Climate Special Interest Group). International Game Developers Association.

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A Drawdown-Aligned Framework for the Gaming Industry is a guide for gaming software employees who are on sustainability teams or are generally climate-concerned, to help them understand the high-impact actions that will align their companies with drawdown—the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.

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The guide includes a framework for action, real-life examples, and key gaps and barriers the industry currently faces. With all of this information in hand, employees can encourage colleagues and decision-makers to integrate the framework into their work, self-evaluate their company’s climate targets, work with leadership to strive for more ambitious climate goals, and formulate more sustainable long-term business strategies.

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"Yes, game developers can help solve Climate change! But where to start? This talk is a 360 overview of the solutions you can deploy as a game developer at any level, in any game, whether your expertise is in Aesthetics, Narrative, Gameplay or Technology."

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Arnaud Fayolle is an Art Director at Ubisoft who has spent the past 15 years working on diverse AAA games such as Forza Horizon 3 & 4, The Division 2, The Last of Us, Deus Ex Mankind Divided and many more. He developed a holistic approach to Game Art, merging the complex elements of Aesthetics, Narrative, Gameplay, and Technology to “create Art that plays great”. You can find him in the IGDA Climate Special Interest Group, co-leading the Game Design Patterns workstream.

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Neogames Finland Association and The Finnish Game Developers’ Association (Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry.) built a model for Finnish game companies to estimate their carbon footprint. The model united the methodologies leading Finnish game developer studios currently use to calculate their emissions with existing third-party online resources, such as Ilmastolaskuri by WWF Finland.

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The model has now been updated with emissions of YouTube audience and with some smaller fixes in wording and figure updating. The model is free to use for any company that wants to understand its carbon footprint better. It combines emissions from players playing the games, YouTube audience, office electricity, heating and cooling, wastes and purchases, working from home, and travelling.

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Homo Ludens has created a calculation sheet based on the model to support the calculations. The sheet can be copied for your use here.

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All feedback is more than welcome. If you have any thoughts you want to share, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Elina Tyynelä from Neogames (elina@neogames.fi).

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Ukie and Games London launched a Green Games Guide to help UK games businesses take action against climate change.

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The two organisations have partnered with the Playing for the Planet Alliance, founded in 2019 by members including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Space Ape, Ustwo games and Sports Interactive and facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the support of GRID-Arendal and Playmob.

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The new Green Games Guide is the UK’s first resource that contains practical advice and outlines steps that games business can take to reduce emissions and waste across their offices and operations. The partnership between Ukie, Games London and the Playing for the Planet Alliance encourage the sector to think about how it can use its huge reach – the games industry has the potential to reach 1 in 3 people on the planet – to inspire players to change how they think about the environment and to start conversations about the wider collective efforts the sector can make.

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