The huge impact of streaming

While most of the attention of consumers and decision-makers is focused on industries that produce the most CO2 emissions, such as aviation, the automotive industry, and the food industry, the explosion in the popularity of streaming services raises the question of what impact it is having on our planet.

Netflix has estimated that one user’s hour-long streaming on its service produces well under 100 g of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). On the other hand, the Carbon Trust says the European average is 55-56g CO2e for every hour of streaming. This is equivalent to driving about 300 meters by car.

In a 2016 report by researchers at the University of Bristol, it was estimated that watching YouTube videos produces more than 11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which corresponds to the carbon dioxide emissions produced by a city the size of Glasgow or Frankfurt. Since YouTube had 1.4 billion users that year and has grown by over a billion, the company’s current carbon footprint is significantly larger.

According to a Netflix report, its top 10 series were watched for more than 6 billion hours in the first 28 days after each series was released. These popular series include Squid Game and Stranger Things, among others. This equates to approximately 1.13 billion miles (1.8 billion kilometers) of carbon dioxide emissions by car, which is the approximate distance between Earth and Saturn.

The growth of data has grown exponentially over the past few years. Up to 80% of all data capacity is used by a few companies such as Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Activision Blizzard (e.g., Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Diablo, Call of Duty), and Epic Games (e.g., Unreal Engine, Fortnite).

Goals to reduce carbon commissions

Netflix’s goal has been to achieve carbon neutrality by the end of 2022. Hopefully we will soon find out if they managed it. Netflix aims to reduce its direct emissions and those from electricity, so-called scope 1 & 2 emissions, by 45 percent by 2030.

One significant change has been the replacement of diesel-powered generators and vehicles on Netflix’s productions. One tricky question is whether the emissions caused by consumers should be taken into account in these estimates. Netflix does not take them into account, at least for now.

Famous Silicon Valley companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook have set similar goals in recent years. In the UK, companies such as BT, BBC, and Sky have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Kajawood Studios launched the biggest VFX rendering-focused carbon-neutral data center in Nordics with its technology partners already in 2022, which enables, for example, the rendering of special effects without burdening the environment. 

The introduction of ”Albert” is a continuation of the company’s ecological values. Kajawood Studios also intends to expand its understanding of sustainable development and undertake to inform and inspire production teams, partners, and consumers about how important it is to take the environment into account in all operations now and in the future.