Back to All News
Our Progress on Sustainability: Two Years In
Emma Stewart, Ph.D.
Netflix Sustainability Officer
Social Impact
27 March 2023
Global
Making Entertainment Sustainable: Decarbonizing the Making of Film & TVAligning a company's operations with climate science is a bit like making a television series. It involves producing many seasons, which require tons of planning and feature plot twists, fun stories and characters!
The Trailer : Climate science tells us this is the critical decade to avoid unmanageable climate change. So, we set two near-term climate targets aligned with consensus climate science measured in years, not decades: 1) to halve our emissions by 20301 and, 2) in support of global net zero goals, starting in 2022, to annually bring our remaining net carbon emissions to zero by restoring nature to capture carbon2.
Season 1 : As we've shared previously, most of our emissions come from producing our films and series. The production industry is over a century old, and like most industries, it is traditionally powered by fossil fuels. Reducing these emissions is paramount and makes good business sense. We approach them using our OED framework: first Optimizing energy use, then Electrifying it, and Decarbonizing the rest. Using this framework, we identified four main strategies: Energy Efficiency, Electrifying Vehicles, Clean Mobile Power (alternatives to diesel generators used universally across the entertainment industry), and Renewable Energy.
Last year, we reported that we reduced our 2021 emissions 10% below what they would have been and we'll report our 2022 emissions in our annual ESG report in June. To supplement this decarbonization work, we delivered on our promise to net all remaining emissions to zero by investing in the power of nature to retain and capture carbon3. This aligns with the latest guidance from nine research, NGO and multilateral government institutions who conclude that in addition to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in company operations and across value chains, to help get the world on track for halving global emissions by 2030, all companies need to invest in protecting, managing and restoring nature, for example by buying high-quality nature-based carbon credits. Relative to our work to decarbonize, these credits come last, but per the science (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Nature), cannot come later.
Season 2 and beyond: All that planning and piloting will pay off as we ramp up our use of low-carbon electricity and fuel and start to spur change across the ecosystem of vendors from whom we rent our stages, offices and production equipment.
This is what industry leadership looks like. Netflix is raising the bar by aligning operations with science, pioneering approaches to protect nature, and sending new demand signals to suppliers that sustainability is a measurable priority. Not only do we see progress against ambitious near-term goals, Netflix is also leveraging their platform for positive change. It's clear that Netflix is taking climate action seriously. - Elizabeth Sturcken, Managing Director, Environmental Defense FundMaking Sustainability Entertaining: Supporting Creators Who Want to Better Represent Sustainability on ScreenThe changing climate all around us and the ingenuity of sustainability solutions cropping up everywhere is one of the most epic stories of our time, and it's one creators are already reflecting on screen at Netflix.
In 2022, 165 million households around the world, more than 70% of our members, chose to watch at least one story on Netflix that helped them better understand climate issues and highlight hopeful solutions around sustainability, or both. So that members can more easily discover these stories, we've curated over 200 of these series, films and specials into a Netflix collection - Sustainability Stories.
Sustainability shows up in many ways - green premise titles like Don't Look Up and The Sea Beast can ignite massive conversation about climate inaction or nature conservation while also being two of the most popular films on Netflix. But as climate impacts and solutions become an everyday part of our lives, they are increasingly represented on screen implicitly through character traits, settings, and subplots. Examples of these green contributions include the hunky organic farmer in Sweet Magnolias, the youth climate activist celebrated on Queer Eye and the preschool heroes throughout The Octonauts: Above and Beyond. And even more titles have green moments of dialogue, backdrop, or action, like Ginny's anxiety that no one cares about the planet in Ginny & Georgia or Phil Rosenthal discovering he likes plant-rich meals in Somebody Feed Phil.
While we've made progress this second year, we still have a long way to go. We'll update you along the way and share what we've learned, so continue watching for more.
1 Third-party validated as a science-based target by non-profit SBTi.org to cut absolute emissions by 46%. 2 There is no universal standard or definition for the term Net Zero at the organizational level. At Netflix, we work to reduce our carbon footprint at the speed climate science prescribes and then compensate for emissions we can't yet reduce by matching them with credits. Since FY20 we have engaged EY, an independent accounting firm, to perform a review of our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, including application of renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon credits. Our ESG reports include a link to EY's assurance letters. 3 While we await harmonized guidance from the organizations bringing greater transparency to the voluntary carbon market, we continue to use our publicly-available 5 Screening Criteria (p.19) and will share the full list of crediting projects in our ESG report, as we did
North America Stories
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 1By SVG Staff
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 6:56 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025...
08/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Bill Rasmussen, the Entrepreneur Who Drea...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Live Production Innovation Workshop Goes Deep on ST 211...
08/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR Announces East, West Leadership Retreats for 2026By Ken Kerschbaumer
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 9:10 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story High...
08/12/2025
MediaKind Acquiring Harmonic's Video Business to Create New Streaming-Video ...
08/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Sony HDR/SDR Camera Shading Techniques for Live Production...
08/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: NESN's Kenny Elcock and Harmonic's Jean Macher Talk Next-G...
08/12/2025
Monsters Funday Football,' ESPN's Latest Live Animation Effort, Advances...
08/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ESPN Director Jeff Nelson on Calling the (Animated) Action on Mon...
08/12/2025
Monsters Funday Football': Louisiana Philharmonic Delivers Again With Orches...
08/12/2025
Nielsen's robust data offering enables marketers to connect with their target audience more effectively and drive better results throughout Amazon's adv...
08/12/2025
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK Paramount has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstandin...
08/12/2025
EMERYVILLE, Calif. Media and entertainment technology and services provider Advanced Systems Group has named Macky Beheshti as director, enterprise storage and ...
08/12/2025
DENVER MediaKind, a global provider of cloud-based video streaming technology announced today that it is acquiring the video business of Harmonic Inc. for appro...
08/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsen has announced that its Audience Segments from Nielsen Marketing Cloud (NMC) are now available across the Amazon Ads marketplace, including the ...
08/12/2025
Marshall Electronics showcases the CV355-27X-ND3 Optical Zoom NDI (NDI HX2, NDI HX3) Camera at ISE 2026 (Booth 4N900). Designed for users seeking high-quality ...
08/12/2025
Cinnafilm today announced the immediate availability of IPx LIVE and Tachyon LIVE, delivering broadcast-grade, real-time IP video transcoding and motion-compens...
08/12/2025
Following a successful 45th anniversary year in 2024, Hiltron reports increasing demand for its wide range of satellite communication equipment manufacturing, p...
08/12/2025
When was the last time you updated your default playlist(s)? A default playlist keeps your station(s) on the air should your team ever miss a step in sending mu...
08/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for November 2025
Product
08 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
This month marks 15 years of the Netfl...
08/12/2025
Back to All News
Another Exciting Chapter in Our Book-to-Screen Journey and What's to Come
Entertainment
08 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboa...
07/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Takes Over the Oslo Skyline With Celebratory Troll 2 L...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public commen...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
Back to All News
