GREEN IS THE NEW GAME

gamescom goes green: Taking responsibility for climate action together

Environmental protection and climate protection play an important role for the games industry. Whether game developers or publishers, (esports) organizers, educational institutions, or service providers from the games sector: they have all long recognized the urgency of the issue. For this reason, 76 percent of German games companies are already involved in corresponding projects to operate more sustainably and to raise awareness of these issues. This commitment is clearly demonstrated, for example, by the "Playing for the Planet" alliance, an initiative of the global games industry and the United Nations (UN).

The organizers of gamescom, the game – The German Games Industry Association and Koelnmesse, are also aware of their responsibility in climate protection. The clear goal is for gamescom, as the largest games event in the world, to also lead the way in terms of climate protection. The reputation of gamescom is to be used to win over even more people, companies, trade fair and event organizers for concrete measures and climate protection concepts.

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Boxes for plastic bottles

New at this year's gamescom are collection boxes for the deposit for plastic bottles on the grounds. The revenues from the deposits will benefit the gamescom forest, which has already grown to an area of more than 24,000 m² with the support of the community near Bayreuth.

The core event

The core event, with all areas for which Koelnmesse and the game association are responsible, will be climate-friendly via offsetting in cooperation with ClimatePartner . This means that all emissions from these areas have been calculated on the basis of the internationally recognized "Greenhouse Gas Protocol" standard and fully offset by supporting certified carbon offset projects. For example, the following areas are included in the calculation: exhibition center infrastructure, material consumption for event-internal setups, themed areas, own side events, devcom, personnel, mobility, catering, vehicle fleet, websites, etc.

Visitors

Visitors can make a voluntary contribution to climate protection. A green ticket can be purchased in the ticket store or a donation can be made online. These proceeds will benefit the gamescom forest, which was already launched in 2020 and has already grown to almost 24,000m2 near Bayreuth.

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Exhibitors

Exhibitors can also make a voluntary climate contribution to offset their CO2 consumption at gamescom (stand construction, travel, accommodation, etc.). In cooperation with ClimatePartner , they are given the opportunity to make a recommended climate contribution, depending on the size of their stand, which supports the certified carbon offset projects selected by gamescom and ClimatePartner .

Book voluntary contribution here

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Together we are shaping the future. Digital and analog.
With your donation you can support our sustainability project and our local forest and make gamescom another level greener.

Planting trees for the climate: Contribute to the gamescom forest

Let the gamescom forest grow: To keep our forest growing we need the active support of the entire gaming community! Support the preservation of our native forests and thus climate protection with your donation. With just a few clicks you can join us, every contribution counts!

What is the gamescom forest?

The gamescom forest, the sustainability project of gamescom: Together with its project partner Treemer , it is rebuilding a climate-resilient mixed forest near Bayreuth . Treemer is known as an expert in reforestation and sustainable forestry. So far, we have already been able to reforest 24,000 m² of forest thanks to the great commitment of the community.

With your commitment you can make your personal contribution to the protection of species, nature and climate and let the gamescom forest continue to grow!

Donate with just one click!

How can you help with this?

Via Germany's largest donation platform betterplace.org you can easily donate starting from an amount of 1 Euro. Every contribution makes a difference!

Our goal is to reforest as much forest area as possible together with you. To achieve this, we have already made our own contribution in the past year and together with your donations have reforested a total of 24,000 m² of climate-stable mixed forest.

The game - The German Games Industry Association is particularly concerned about environmental and climate protection

The association has screened and optimized all of its work processes, so that work in the office has already been climate-friendly since 2019.

Through ClimatePartner , the game association supports climate protection projects such as "Clean Cooking Stoves" in Nyungwe, Rwanda and the "Hydropower" project in Virunga, D.R. Congo. With these two projects, the association offsets its CO2 emissions, which are caused by business operations, employee commutes and business travel, among other things. Other central institutions of the games industry such as the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK), the Digital Games Culture Foundation, the esports player foundation and devcom are also already climate-friendly.

Since 2021, the game association has also been part of the "Playing for the Planet Alliance", a cooperation between the United Nations and the games industry.

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Climate neutral by 2035: Koelnmesse has set the first key points of its sustainability strategy

Nature, events and community – these are the three main fields of action for Koelnmesse’s sustainability activities, which it will realise holistically. All measures and ideas have the aim of becoming a marketplace that makes maximum resource conservation possible during trade fair operations.

“It is a challenge. However, we are approaching this situation with vigour and have a clear goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2035”, says Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer. “To do this, we must reduce CO2 emissions, save resources and convert to renewable energies”, adds Böse, specifying the key objectives at hand. The United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDG) serve as a framework for these and numerous other activities at Koelnmesse and are the basis for Koelnmesse’s future sustainability strategy.

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