Green Games Guide at GDC 2026!

Tabletop Sustainability at GDC 2026: Carol Mertz on Creating a Culture of Change

At the 2026 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Green Games Guide board member Carol Mertz took to the stage to ask a pressing question: what responsibility do tabletop creators bear for the environmental impact of the games they make?

Her talk, Creating a Culture of Sustainability in Tabletop Games, addressed designers, publishers, and manufacturers directly, arguing that the people who make board games hold practical power to reduce the industry's carbon footprint. Moving between concrete actions and more ambitious proposals for changing the norms of tabletop production and distribution, Mertz made the case that sustainability is not just a materials problem — it is a cultural one.

The talk grew out of work done for the Green Games Guide, a community-authored resource developed by publishers, designers, manufacturers, and players committed to making the tabletop industry more sustainable. Timed just days after the release of GGG version 1.1, the GDC appearance offered a high-profile platform for the Guide's expanded guidance on materials — including textiles, metals, and glass — alongside new case studies of environmentally thoughtful design already emerging from within the industry.

Version 1.1 was informed in part by STRATEGIES researchers Chloé Wake and Paul Wake, who are also GGG board members and leads on STRATEGIES Work Package 6. Their involvement reflects the kind of research-practice collaboration that sits at the heart of our project. Our existing relationship with the Green Games Guide — including the panel we co-hosted at UK Games Expo in 2025 alongside independent studios and Asmodee — means that work being presented at GDC is work we have been part of shaping.

The full talk is available to GDC Vault members here. The Green Games Guide can be downloaded free at greengamesguide.com.