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Small changes with big consequences: Zero Waste & the Games Industry

During Zero Waste Week, it’s time to make small but significant changes to be more sustainable!

From individuals to businesses and communities, the waste generated by humans has had devastating effects on the world we live in - it doesn’t matter when we post this blog - if you look at global news, heartbreakingly there will be something happening in the world that can be linked to the destructive waste we create.

This is where Zero Waste Week comes in. Zero Waste Week is an annual awareness campaign encouraging people from all walks of life to consider the waste they generate and utilise sustainable consumption practices! Individuals are encouraged to make small and actually quite easy, but very important, changes to be more sustainable. For example, buying less food - the UK wastes approximately 9.5 million tonnes of food annually, and it's second only to the US in terms of countries that waste the most. Buying only the food you need, is a small but substantial change that would go a long way to be more sustainable.

Founded in 2008, the campaign promotes the goal of reducing the amount of material we throw away and instead reincorporating the by-products of one system for use in another system.

So… Why is it important? And why do we need to be mindful?

On average, the UK has been estimated to have generated 43.9 million tonnes of waste in 2018 alone, with the average person alone creating 400kg of waste each year. Household waste is one of the most significant sources of food waste produced in the UK, followed by construction, supermarkets and restaurants. Plastic alone is a huge issue, with UK households throwing away around 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging a year!

It’s crucial to the survival of the planet that we become more mindful and responsible for the waste we produce. Not only could we reduce our climate impact and minimising pollution, but also comes with the added benefit of conserving resources! Making just small and easy changes is very significant and goes a long way to doing your part for the planet.

How is Third Kind Games taking action?

TKG are already mindful of the waste we create as a business, but during Zero Waste Week we will be taking this even further, while also encouraging the team to think of their waste as individuals!

For the entire week, we’ll have an ‘Honest Market’ in the office, where the team can swap video games, board games or books they might not use anymore - and anything left over will be donated to local charity shops.

We’re also going to be encouraging the team to bring in all of their e-waste, as we’re working with WeRecycle who will be taking it all to be recycled and reused! As e-waste comprises 70% of overall toxic waste and 85% of it ends up in landfills - it’s vital that we as an industry continue to push forward and make changes that can help reduce waste.

Alongside these helpful swapping and reusing of resources, we’ll also be hosting an internal litter-picking competition - with the team encouraged to collect as much litter as they can, and prizes available at the end of the week for the team member who collects the most!

Lastly, TKG will be hosting a potluck lunch within the office, where the team can make food and then bring it into the office for everyone to swap and try each other's cooking! This is a great opportunity to encourage less wasted food.

What else is the Video Games Industry doing?

Third Kind Games isn’t alone in its steps to make some changes for the preservation of the planet! There have been industry-wide movements and schemes to contribute to zero waste, from business giants to small independent studios, and many are pushing to make changes within business or through games themselves.

In 2019, a UN Environment Programme titled ‘Playing 4 The Planet Alliance’ was launched, working with over 40 companies and industry groups to set standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by the games industry - organising the Green Game Jam competition to incorporate environmental messages into games! They’ve also planted over one million trees and engaged 130 million gamers on environmental messaging through the games created in the Green Game Jam.

Kieran Mayers, Senior Director of Environmental & Social Governance at Sony Interactive Entertainment said their game Horizon: Zero Dawn, which shows an apocalyptic future with nature taking over “speaks to our world where we all sort of want to make a difference” and that the game inspired the company to emphasize the real-world importance of natural ecosystems. Sony also worked alongside the Arbor Day Foundation to plant nearly 300,000 trees in areas impacted by deforestation or wildfires.

Lots of small changes can become big changes if we all work together!