Majority want streamers to cut environmental impact

A recent poll has found that a majority of the British public want streamers to cut their environmental impact, after being told that streaming services globally have a similar impact on emissions to the aviation industry. 

Greening of Streaming, an organisation created to encourage energy efficiency in the sector, revealed the findings of the YouGov poll at an event on Wednesday, 8 June, at the Houses of Parliament. Over 100 people attended the event, from 40+ organisations including the BBC, Sky, ITV, Discovery, and more. 

Around 2,100 people were questioned as part of the research, chosen to be a representative sample of the British public that covered all socio-economic backgrounds and age categories above 18-years-old.

The results found that most people watch between 1-4 hours of streamed content a day, with a plurality of respondents ’somewhat concerned’ by the news that its emissions rival those of aviation. In addition, over 750 of the respondents said that they would be more likely to use a streaming service if they knew it had a better environmental impact.

However, most people put the responsibility to change at the feet of the streamers themselves. Only just over 1/3 said agreed that they have the responsibility to adapt, while almost 2/3s said that streaming providers are the ones that need to change.

Under 10% thought streaming providers shouldn’t change, and under 20% disagreed that viewers had a responsibility.

Greening of Streaming executive director, Adam Curwin, said of the issue on responsibility at the Parliamentary event: “I think that is a valid and interesting challenge. Personal change is part of the solution, but on a per individual basis streaming does not consume a large amount of energy - it is the almost unbelievable scale at which it operates that gives it such a large footprint. That puts the onus on us as an industry to indeed work out what are we going to do about it?”

He added on what Greening of Streaming will aim for next: “Greening of Streaming’s message today is to work with us to raise awareness about this issue and to highlight how meaningful solutions are achievable with the right level of support.

“We have the engineering representatives of the sector present here today and they are ready and willing to work together to improve sustainability within their own businesses and the broader sector. To achieve this though, they need policymakers and influencers to communicate with senior executives of the streaming industry to create more urgency for immediate action. This is where the other attendees in the room can help.

“For the MPs, that means raising awareness about the fact that people’s regular streaming habit is not without its environmental impact and communicating these concerns in Parliament and with your constituents.

“For the industry representatives, that means working within your own businesses and ensuring that improving overall energy efficiency is a business priority, not a greenwashing tactic.”