Press release -
New Green Games Guide launched to help UK games businesses address urgent climate crisis
- Created by Ukie and Games London and shaped with the Playing for the Planet Alliance, the Green Games Guide outlines how games businesses can change their practices – such as emissions and waste reduction – and educate their player base in response to the climate crisis.
- Launched with a special broadcast at London Games Festival with contributions from Space Ape, Ustwo Games and Playmob.
- Ukie also joins the Playing for the Planet Alliance to start encouraging industry-wide responsibility for the environment.
Thursday 25th March - Ukie and Games London today launch a new Green Games Guide to help UK games businesses take action against climate change.
The two organisations have also announced that they are partnering with the Playing for the Planet Alliance, founded in 2019 by members including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Space Ape, Ustwo and Sports Interactive and facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the support of GRID-Arendal and Playmob.
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 will also 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.
Green Games Guide is launched today at London Games Festival via an online broadcast that includes guidance from companies with already-active sustainability programmes: Space Ape, Ustwo Games and Playmob. (The launch can be viewed on Thursday 25 March, 2pm at festival.games.london).
Ukie has also announced they will join the Playing for the Planet Alliance as an Associate Member. As a Playing for the Planet member, Ukie is committing to going carbon net zero by the end of 2022, to promoting the work of the Alliance to UK games businesses and to collaborating on events such as a games industry presence at this year’s COP26 Climate Change summit, held this year in the UK.
Ukie CEO, Dr Jo Twist OBE said: “The impact of climate change affects us all, as individuals, businesses and global citizens. The games industry, with its boundless creativity, its constantly evolving interaction with technology and its power as a communications medium to reach and inspire a global audience of billions is particularly well equipped to start collectively making a real difference.
We’re delighted to join Playing for the Planet, to help games businesses understand how their practices in making games and doing business can be more environmentally friendly. Some games companies are already taking action, so amplifying their efforts and sharing best practice widely will make a bigger difference.”
Sam Barratt, Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy at UNEP, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the support of Ukie and Games London for the Playing for the Planet Alliance. Through initiatives like the new Green Games Guide and collaboration on events like COP26, we can further increase awareness and action around the greatest multiplayer challenge of our time: climate change.”
Michael French, Head of Games at Film London / Games London said: “The launch of the Green Games Guide is a milestone for London and UK games developers – most importantly it starts a conversation about how businesses of any size can play a part in addressing climate change. Interactive entertainment is one of the most innovative sectors in the world with one of the most engaged audiences. Let’s use all that to make a swift and positive contribution to the planet.”
Read the Green Games Guide here: https://ukie.org.uk/greengamesguide
Discover the Ukie sustainability campaign page here: www.ukie.org.uk/sustainability
Watch a live session about the Green Games Guide at London Games Festival this afternoon on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjqDRNTlUM
Categories
About Games London
Games London is a groundbreaking programme delivered by Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and UK games industry trade body Ukie. The project is backed by the Mayor of London with funding worth £1.2m over three years.
The Games London programme includes a number of initiatives to make London the games capital of the world. It re-established the London Games Festival in April 2016 – the event went on to attract 100,000 people every year before pioneering as an online event. Other areas of activity include inbound and outbound trade missions and work connecting and supporting games development skills in London.
About the Playing for the Planet Alliance
The Playing For The Planet Alliance was launched in 2019 during the Climate Summit at UN Headquarters in New York. In total, the members of the Alliance have the ability to reach more than 1 billion video game players. In joining the Alliance, members have made commitments ranging from integrating green activations in games, reducing their emissions and supporting the global environmental agenda through initiatives ranging from planting millions of trees to reducing plastic in their products.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About Ukie
Ukie is the not for profit trade body for the UK games and interactive entertainment industry. Its mission is to turn the UK into the best place to make, sell and play games in the world.
It represents nearly 500 businesses working across the UK, including game developers, publishers, platforms and service providers. This includes industry advocacy work, managing industry press relations and running trade missions, as well as providing member services.
Website: www.ukie.org.uk
