How much better for the planet are cardboard components versus plastic components? Should we shrink wrap board games? How does box size impact emissions? What is the end-of-life journey for a typical board game? How many will end up in landfill? 

There are no easy answers for to how to “green” board games but STRATEGIES researchers teamed up with the Green Games Guide, as well as with designers from independent studios and Asmodee, to explore how the industry is grappling with important dilemmas. Watch the video here…

We’re conducting a short survey (approx. 10 minutes) to better understand what sustainable practices indie game studios like yours are implementing —whether environmental, social, or economic. Your insights will help identify current challenges, good practices, and opportunities to support more sustainable game development across Europe and beyond. 

Are you interested in games and nature? Have you ever wondered how games impact the natural environment? Do you want to find out how game developer communities address the climate crisis?

If any of those questions have crossed your mind, engage with our latest work. In the “Green Transition at Play” report we are unpacking social and environmental sustainability in the European video and board game industries. The report provides a systematic overview of diverse sustainability-related information: underpinning frameworks, guidelines and initiatives, EU policies, design tools and green games. The aim of this work is to better understand the current fragmented picture around sustainability issues in the context of games. 

We were proud to take part in an inspiring and insightful panel at this year’s Nordic Game conference, bringing together leading voices to discuss how the games industry can become a driving force for climate action and sustainability.

The Green Gaming seminar is a cooperative adventure developed in collaboration with the Game Studies Research Centre (Poland), the Manchester Game Centre (UK), Cologne Game Lab (Germany) and the Centre for Excellence in Game Studies (Finland).

The event will take place over a month, and explore ideas at the crossroads of game studies, environmental sciences, and ecomedia research. Key STRATEGIES researchers are participating in the seminar.

STRATEGIES is deepening its collaboration with the Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA) to support the development of a credible and effective industry standard for environmental responsibility in games production.