A Finnish Game Industry Model for Calculating Your Game Developer Studios' CO2 Emissions

This framework provides a standardized, open-source methodology for Finnish game development studios to calculate and assess their carbon dioxide emissions. The primary objective is to help studios identify their most significant emission sources, enabling them to prioritize sustainability efforts effectively. While the model is not part of a formal, standardized protocol, it serves as a practical tool for companies to map their environmental impact across various operational scopes.

The model categorizes emission sources by priority, identifying player activity, office electricity and heating, remote work, and business flights as the most critical areas for assessment. Secondary considerations include office equipment purchases, waste management, commuting, and YouTube audience engagement. For each category, the framework provides specific data requirements—such as device power consumption, grid emission factors, and employee work patterns—and suggests utilizing existing tools like the WWF Ilmastolaskuri or ICAO flight calculators to derive final figures.

The scope of the model covers the entire value chain of a game studio, including both direct office operations and indirect impacts related to player hardware and server hosting. It emphasizes the importance of establishing a reliable baseline, particularly for travel, by recommending the use of 2019 data to account for pandemic-related fluctuations. The methodology is designed to be flexible, allowing studios to substitute general estimates with specific data from landlords or service providers when available. By centralizing these calculation methods, the initiative aims to increase transparency and environmental accountability within the Finnish game industry, encouraging studios to quantify their footprint and refine their sustainability strategies over time.