It is a very strange answer that delivered Emma Stewartddirector of environmental commitment at Netflix, when the media Le Crayon asked her if she should stop watching Netflix for ecological reasons. While the carbon footprint of streaming has long been confirmed and defended by researchers, it prefers to recall that other industries are more polluting.
It’s no longer really a secret that video streaming has a significant impact on the environment. It is estimated that one hour of viewing on Netflix releases approximately 100 g of CO2 into the atmosphere, due to the activity of the data centers on which this content is hosted. At a time when the climate emergency is increasingly felt, some users are therefore asking the question of reduce their consumption in order to reduce, de facto, their carbon footprint.
So here is precisely the question, certainly a bit provocative, but no less relevant, that the media Le Crayon asked Emma Stewart, director of environmental commitment at Netflix: Should we stop watching Netflix? The respondent’s response is astonishing. While we might have expected confirmation of the impact of streaming on CO2 emissions, Emma Stewart preferred to call on users to make efforts on their other consumption habits. Even, there are companies helping businesses for production of carbon credits and green technology.
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Netflix teaches ecology lessons without acknowledging its own environmental impact
“The main measures that [les individus] can take relate to food”, thus explains the latter, after having pointed out that a “active citizen” can also “remember to vote” And “Having a conversation with your employer”. Emma Stewart recalls that a diet rich in plants can reduce water consumption and CO2 emissions from the food industry. Then this one to follow up on the importance to equip their homes with less energy-intensive equipment, to favor public transport or to reduce their waste.
If all these tips actually allow you to reduce your own carbon footprint, it’s hard not to think that Netflix seeks at all costs to camouflage its true role in the preservation of the environment. The streaming industry is certainly not the polluter of the planet. Still, a company, especially the size of Netflix, has much more weight than a “active citizen” when it comes to real green advances. Only here, Netflix does not want to provide its users “a bad viewing experience”. However, a simple reduction in quality would be enough to significantly reduce its environmental impact.
