As major tech companies announce carbon reduction targets, streaming giant Netflix recently announced its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by the end of 2022. Netflix's internal report indicates that most of its carbon footprint last year came from film and television production and corporate operations. 50% of Netflix's carbon footprint comes from film and television production, and 40% comes from corporate operations. According to The Independent, Netflix published its "2020 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report" on the 30th of last month, outlining how it will "reduce, retain, and remove carbon" and invest in nature-related work. Its climate targets include direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions (Scope 2), and other indirect emissions (Scope 3), which are generally sufficient to illustrate a company's impact on society. The report indicates that Netflix's carbon footprint in 2020 was 1.1 million tons, equivalent to a city with approximately 150,000 households, but lower than in 2019, primarily due to the postponement of filming plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Netflix states that 50% of its carbon footprint comes from film and television production, 40% from business operations, and approximately 5% from streaming content through data centers. Netflix generated $6.6 billion in revenue last quarter and has approximately 204 million subscribers worldwide. Compared to other tech companies, Netflix has been slow to set net-zero targets. A year ago, Microsoft announced its plan to achieve negative carbon emissions by 2030. Shortly thereafter, Facebook pledged to achieve net-zero emissions within 10 years, while Apple pledged to achieve 100% carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain and products by 2030. "We're a little late in setting our climate targets, and we're fully aware of that," admits Emma Stewart, Netflix's first permanent Chief Sustainability Officer, who took the helm last October. "However, since joining the company, I've found that once they decide to do something, they do it well and quickly. Netflix has made more progress in my six months here than I've made at any other organization in just a few years." Netflix's emissions reduction strategy: using green electricity, hiring local employees, and providing electric vehicle charging stations. One-fifth of the world's top 2,000 publicly traded companies have committed to net-zero emissions. However, environmentalists are skeptical of targets set decades in the future. Achieving net zero in less than two years sounds risky, but a budget-conscious company like Netflix is unlikely to make a commitment without assurance. The carbon reduction challenges faced by each company are unique, and not all carbon footprints are created equal. For example, Microsoft claims its carbon emissions in 2020 were 16 million tons. Netflix has stated that it will reduce direct and indirect emissions by 45% by 2030 through installing solar panels and switching to renewable energy. Netflix will also impact its long-term office leases, transportation, and building material suppliers. The company leases 95% of its offices and filming space, and intends to encourage landlords to install renewable energy and select green electricity from utilities. Other strategies for reducing emissions include hiring local staff, avoiding travel and lodging, and offering employees alternative commuting options. At content production facilities, the company plans to install clean and quiet mobile battery packs on diesel generators and provide free charging stations and parking for electric vehicles. Creating a "positive chain reaction," Netflix will include other indirect carbon emissions. The company stated that it will account for all relevant other indirect emissions, aiming to create a "positive chain reaction" across the entire industry. This includes carbon emissions from all Netflix content, including Netflix-produced content, third-party content, and licensed content under the Netflix brand. Stewart stated that while greenhouse gas accounting standards attribute these emissions from licensed content (from licensed products) to others, "we are voluntarily taking responsibility." Other indirect emissions will include emissions related to the company and production of purchased goods and services, employee commuting, and business travel. Netflix uses cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Equinix, and their emissions are included in the target. To improve efficiency, Netflix provides free "Open Connect Appliances," similar to large hard drive systems, to ISPs. This means that when users in London want to watch Netflix, the streaming data will come from a location near the UK, rather than from the California headquarters. Source: Environmental Information Center
