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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
Back to All News
