Playing for the Planet Alliance: Gaming Industry's Green Revolution
25-Sep-2023
The Playing for the Planet Alliance is a group of video game companies and organizations that are working together to take environmental action. The alliance was founded in 2019 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and currently has over 30 members. The goal of the alliance is to inspire the gaming industry and community to take action to protect the planet. The gaming industry is a powerful platform that can be used to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage players to make sustainable choices.
The alliance has a number of different initiatives, including:
Green Game Jam: This is an annual event where game developers come together to create games that promote environmental awareness. Sustainability Toolkit: This toolkit provides resources for game developers who want to make their games more sustainable. Player survey: This survey collects data on players’ attitudes towards environmental issues and how they want to see them addressed in games.
The 2022 Annual Impact Report highlights the progress that the alliance has made so far and sets out its goals for the future. This article summarizes the key findings from the report.
The alliance has made significant progress towards achieving its objectives. For example, the potential reach of alliance initiatives has grown to 636 million players, more than triple the number of players reached in 2021.
This is a testament to the growing popularity of the alliance and the increasing demand for sustainable gaming.
The Playing for the Planet Alliance is making significant progress in its efforts to decarbonize the video gaming industry. In 2022, 64% of members raised their decarbonization ambition to achieve net-zero carbon or carbon neutrality. More than half of the members are now adopting science-based methods for carbon accounting and reporting.
The alliance conducted a baseline mapping of members’ decarbonization commitments and created a template to support new commitments. It also produced an internal white paper on how the video gaming industry could work towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets.
The world’s biggest green gaming survey, conducted by the Playing for the Planet Alliance, found that 81% of gamers are eager to see more sustainability themes in games, if relevant to other content. This suggests that there is a strong appetite for green gaming content and that gamers are willing to engage with it.
The survey also found that 32% of gamers would be more likely to play games that incorporate green themes. This suggests that green gaming content could be a way to attract new players and grow the gaming industry.
In 2022, the Green Game Jam led to the planting of 2.5 million trees, a record number. The Jam also reached over 275 million players, raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging sustainable action.
The Jam 2022 focused on the theme of food and forests. Players were encouraged to make in-game purchases that support tree planting initiatives. As a result, 2.5 million trees were planted, which will help to offset carbon emissions and protect biodiversity.
In addition to tree planting, the Jam 2022 also featured a virtual climate march organized by Ubisoft in the game Riders Republic. This was the first ever virtual climate march to be held in a video game. The march was a powerful way to raise awareness of the climate crisis and to mobilize gamers to take action.
The Green Game Jam not only reached a large number of players, but it also had a positive impact on their attitudes and behaviors towards the environment. Nearly 70% of respondents said they were open to changing their environmental behaviors before playing the game, but this number rose to 81% after playing.
Additionally, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would be motivated to pay for environmental content if it added to their gaming experience.
Source: United Nations Environment Programme
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