Netflix Plans to Achieve Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sustainability

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Netflix is by far the largest subscription-based streaming service that currently has more than 208 million active users across the globe. The company announced that it is planning to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions sustainability. It will be a multistep process, and Netflix will first invest in the projects in 2021 to keep carbon from entering the atmosphere. It’ll allow the company to neutralise all the emissions fully, which can’t be avoided internally, and by the end of 2022, Netflix will eventually hit net-zero emissions.

Net Zero + Nature Plan

Netflix’s Net Zero + Nature plan was recently outlined by the company’s very first sustainability officer, Emma Stewart, Ph.D. She said that the team of Netflix aspires to entertain people across the globe but in the habitable world. For that, the company is looking for ways to work with nature instead of going against it.

Netflix Carbon Footprint Stats

The carbon footprint of Netflix was estimated to be 1.12 million metric tons in 2020, and it was 1.31 million in 2019. According to the officials, the carbon footprint was primarily reduced because of the delayed content production, thanks to COVID-19. It’s important to note that 50 percent of the total carbon footprint in 2020 generated by the physical Netflix series and films production projects. Moreover, marketing expenses, goods purchase, office spaces, and corporate operations were responsible for 45 percent of the total carbon footprint, and 5 percent came from the cloud service providers such as Open Connect by Netflix and Amazon Web Services.

Three-Step Plan

The Net Zero + Nature plan by Netflix consists of three different steps that include reducing the emissions, retaining the carbon storage, and removing the atmospheric carbon. The plan also focuses on aligning with the goal of the Paris agreement that aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to Netflix, the Net Zero + Nature plan has a higher standard as compared to carbon neutrality. That’s because this plan requires the greenhouse gas emissions reduction that carbon neutrality doesn’t.

Step One: Reducing the Emissions

The first step of the latest Netflix plan is to reduce the company’s internal emissions. The primary goal is to reduce both Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030. Moreover, this step is aligned with the guidance of the Science-Based Targets Initiative. It’s basically a partnership between WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), WRI (World Resources Institute), the UN Global Compact, and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

Step Two: Retaining the Existing Carbon Storage

Netflix will invest in several carbon capture projects in order to neutralise the emissions (including Scope 3 emissions) that can’t be avoided internally. Netflix aims to achieve it by the end of 2021, and the starting point will be conserving the natural areas which are at risk, such as tropical forests.

Step Three: Removing the Atmospheric Caron

By the end of 2022, Netflix will regenerate the critical natural ecosystem by investing in several projects to achieve net-zero emissions. Some of these projects are restoring healthy soils, mangroves, and grasslands that, along with many other benefits, will help the company to capture and store carbon.

Other Efforts by Netflix

In order to achieve the goals that Net Zero + Nature plan outlines, Netflix will take every necessary action to cut emissions for series and films production. For example, reducing the on-set fuel, especially diesel generators, using LED lighting whenever possible, using electric vehicles rather than gas-powered ones, and working with local crews instead of sending teams by air travel.

Emma Stewart mentioned a couple of different projects that will help Netflix with decarbonisation. The first one is the Lightning Creek Ranch, based in Oregon. It focuses on preserving the largest bunchgrass prairie of North America. The second project that Emma mentioned is Kasigau Corridor REDD+ based in Kenya, and it aims to protect the dryland forest of that region.

Netflix Sustainability Strategy

It’s also mentioned in the outline of the plan that Netflix devised its sustainability strategy after consulting with over 60 experts. Moreover, the company has also established a dedicated advisory group that will monitor all the sustainability and environmental issues.

In order to measure the streaming footprint, Netflix has also joined DIMPACT research led by the University of Bristol. The experts of this research have developed a calculator that Netflix used to estimate its carbon footprint. The DIMPACT calculator has four different modules, which are video streaming, business intelligence, publishing content, and advertising. According to the calculations, it’s estimated that streaming Netflix for one hour generates the same carbon footprint as driving a gas-powered vehicle for a quarter-mile does.

Emma Stewart says that understanding how carbon footprint is generated is critical. That’s because not only does it help the company to calculate the quantity, but it also allows the experts to develop ways to reduce the carbon footprint significantly.

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Written by The Original PC Doctor on 10/08/2021.

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