• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Microsoft announces plan to make the Xbox carbon neutral

CyberPanda

Banned
An initial pilot program will cover 825,000 consoles.



Microsoft has joined other major tech companies such as Amazon, Google, and Sony in laying out some new commitments to mitigate climate change. One of the more eye-catching measures it detailed was a pilot project to make 825,000 Xbox consoles carbon neutral. It says those will be the first carbon-neutral consoles.
"Microsoft's business operations have operated carbon neutral since 2012," chief environmental officer Lucas Joppa wrote in a blog post. "Today, we are beginning the journey of extending that to our products and devices." The Xbox pilot is the first stage of that project.

Joppa also affirmed Microsoft aims to reduce carbon emissions in its value and supply chain by at least 30 percent by 2030. The latest efforts it announced are part of its drive to be "even more ambitious than the Paris Accord targets, which mapped to a two-degree (Celcius) rise." The Science Based Target Initiative certified Microsoft's renewable energy target as being aligned with a 1.5-degree rise in future temperatures.

Additionally, Microsoft said it's continuing to expand its AI for Earth program. It recently released its first APIs and code under the program, which has more than 430 grantees in 71 countries tapping into the company's resources "to power new AI breakthroughs for the planet." News of Microsoft's latest efforts follows an open letter that employees published last week, demanding more action on climate change. They called on the company to cancel its contracts with fossil fuel businesses, stop making contributions to climate-change-denying politicians and lobbyists and commit to zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Meanwhile, the United Nations reported that 21 games industry companies (including Microsoft) have spelled out climate change commitments as part of the Playing for the Planet Alliance. Collectively, those efforts will lead to a "30 million-tonne reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, will see millions of trees planted, new 'green nudges' in game design and improvements to energy management, packaging, and device recycling." Among the other companies involved are Sony, Google Stadia, Rovio, Supercell, Sybo, Twitch, Ubisoft and WildWorks.

Stadia, for instance, will release a Sustainable Game Development Guide and fund research on how developers can effectively integrate prompts for players to take green action into their games. Clash of Clans developer Supercell will offset its entire carbon footprint, while Rovio "has offset the carbon impact from their players charging their devices."


All that's left is Nintendo?
 

Kagey K

Banned
While it’s great that gaming companies want to have a conscience , every bit they do for good gets offset by something like Khalid meeting Kanye to get yeezeys while both on their private planes.

There is really very little we as small grade consumers can to do to offset what the ultra elite do on a daily basis.
 
Last edited:

Kagey K

Banned
Absolutely no information on how the fuck they are going to do that.

99% certain they just money hat "carbon credits" from a fucking wind farm somewhere, which in reality acchieves nothing.
Isn’t that basically what every countries Carbon Tax equates to? Buying the carbon from countries that produce less of it?

They produce the same a ou t of carbon, but pay money to countries that produce less. Therefore it’s equal and climate change is solved?
 

Geki-D

Banned
Yes. People can also look forward to a carbon neutral Xbox "shipping" around the world by airmail. Nice to see #savingtheplanet is in such honest, decent not-at-all-hypocritical hands.
This is such a dumb argument that a company can't do anything to reduce pollution if they're not literally going for absolute zero carbon emissions on every single aspect of their production/distribution line. This is like seeing a guy give money to a homeless charity and then chastising him for being a hypocrite because he isn't giving up all of his worldly possessions, climbing into the gutter himself and dying destitute.
 

Kagey K

Banned
Because China opens like 4 Coal-fired power stations a week?
Are they MS coal fired stations?

How can MS or Sony stop them from doing their thing while also being price concise and ramping up production values?

They can only control the factories they own.
 
Last edited:
Are they MS coal fired stations?

How can MS or Sony stop them from doing their thing while also being price concise and ramping up production values?

They can only control the factories they own.

Its how China gets the energy needed to power the energy Grid. its factories and mass production.
China is no doubt cheaper because it doesn't give its workforce the basic workers rights most of us take for granted, never mind look to clean energy to power its grid.
If the Xbox II was made in the likes of EU, expect it to cost a fortune due to EU carbon emissions
 
Last edited:

ruvikx

Banned
This is such a dumb argument that a company can't do anything to reduce pollution if they're not literally going for absolute zero carbon emissions on every single aspect of their production/distribution line. This is like seeing a guy give money to a homeless charity and then chastising him for being a hypocrite because he isn't giving up all of his worldly possessions, climbing into the gutter himself and dying destitute.

Please. I wasn't born yesterday. It's a virtue signal business centric statement by Microsoft who're tapping into the "save ze planet" mania which has been manufactured, distributed & sold en masse by the media & elites over the past decade. It's like handing out rainbow flags in Gears saying "we support ze LGBT!". As I said, it's a virtue signal.

And no, considering Microsoft directly promotes globalism & expansion of markets (including China's) in order to increase marketshare & the consumer base (i.e. more people = more potential customers as per globalist thinking), they have zero right to pretend they're helping save the planet. Fuck that hypocrisy.
 
Last edited:

Kagey K

Banned
Please. I wasn't born yesterday. It's a virtue signal business centric statement by Microsoft who're tapping into the "save ze planet" mania which has been manufactured, distributed & sold en masse by the media & elites over the past decade. It's like handing out rainbow flags in Gears saying "we support ze LGBT!". As I said, it's a virtue signal.

And no, considering Microsoft directly promotes globalism & expansion of markets (including China's) in order to increase marketshare & the consumer base (i.e. more people = more potential customers as per globalist thinking), they have zero right to pretend they're helping save the planet. Fuck that hypocrisy.
Care to prove that? Or it is their word against yours?

Because I think I know who I’m going to believe in that case.
 

Geki-D

Banned
Please. I wasn't born yesterday. It's a virtue signal business centric statement by Microsoft who're tapping into the "save ze planet" mania which has been manufactured, distributed & sold en masse by the media & elites over the past decade. It's like handing out rainbow flags in Gears saying "we support ze LGBT!". As I said, it's a virtue signal.
Considering that the effects of increasing carbon emissions is a scientific fact at this point, please stop pretending that all of your anti climate change rhetoric and aversion of companies and nations doing anything to actually reduce CO2 is anything more than a faith based political conspiracy theory you hold because political pundits and reactionaries told you so. Get your politics out of science. I'd also like to see your evidence on who "zee elites" are.

And no, considering Microsoft directly promotes globalism & expansion of markets (including China's) in order to increase marketshare & the consumer base (i.e. more people = more potential customers as per globalist thinking), they have zero right to pretend they're helping save the planet. Fuck that hypocrisy.
So you're not only anti science but full on anti capitalist? Damn. I wonder what other political groups throughout history have also accused "zee elites" of running the world whilst also thinking that free market capitalism damages nations because of those "((globalist elites))" in charge...
 

ruvikx

Banned
Care to prove that? Or it is their word against yours?

Because I think I know who I’m going to believe in that case.

Microsoft has been in China since the 1990's. They've been enjoying the Chinese boom since. They have vested in interests in the globalist agenda (& never shy away from that). They manufacture in China. That should be proof enough for anyone with their head screwed on correctly. But the whereabouts of their production plants isn't even the point of contention here, i.e. the issue is any company which directly promotes & benefits from China & third world "emerging markets" (with massive impact on the environment by those polluters) cannot claim to be helping save the planet with a "carbon neutral" toy box.

It's obvious.
 

ruvikx

Banned
Considering that the effects of increasing carbon emissions is a scientific fact at this point, please stop pretending that all of your anti climate change rhetoric and aversion of companies and nations doing anything to actually reduce CO2 is anything more than a faith based political conspiracy theory you hold because political pundits and reactionaries told you so. Get your politics out of science. I'd also like to see your evidence on who "zee elites" are.


So you're not only anti science but full on anti capitalist? Damn. I wonder what other political groups throughout history have also accused "zee elites" of running the world whilst also thinking that free market capitalism damages nations because of those "((globalist elites))" in charge...

You're a robot preaching to the choir (i.e. zealots like yourself). I never even mentioned climate change or anything "capitalist" (or anti), yet here you are ranting like a little droid parroting stereotypical talking points handed to you from above. Is this some sort of auto defense mechanism?

I merely pointed out Microsoft's hypocrisy (i.e. using globalism & China to make money whilst claiming to be helping save the planet). You on the other hand have gone of a strange unrelated tangent.
 

Kagey K

Banned
Microsoft has been in China since the 1990's. They've been enjoying the Chinese boom since. They have vested in interests in the globalist agenda (& never shy away from that). They manufacture in China. That should be proof enough for anyone with their head screwed on correctly. But the whereabouts of their production plants isn't even the point of contention here, i.e. the issue is any company which directly promotes & benefits from China & third world "emerging markets" (with massive impact on the environment by those polluters) cannot claim to be helping save the planet with a "carbon neutral" toy box.

It's obvious.
I think you don’t understand how carbon laws or or you disagree with them. In the end it doesn’t matter as it is an internationally accepted way of looking at it.

They are coming up carbon plus, and carbon neutral while you support companies that are intentionally burning extra greenhouse causing gasses.
 

ruvikx

Banned
I think you don’t understand how carbon laws or or you disagree with them. In the end it doesn’t matter as it is an internationally accepted way of looking at it.

They are coming up carbon plus, and carbon neutral while you support companies that are intentionally burning extra greenhouse causing gasses.

Are people here incapable of actually having a conversation in English? Do you even read posts properly? It's like that scene in Total Recall when Schwarzenegger uses the disguise when arriving on Mars, i.e. programmed to repeat the same point again & again irrespective of the responses.

I'll say again: I do not support companies nor have a bias, I do not even use outsourcing as key point in this conversation (or capitalism, or climate science or any other tralalala associated with climate & globalist conversations), I merely state the fact China is a massive polluter ergo any company which enjoys benefits from moving factories over there & selling products over there cannot in all honesty with a straight-face also virtue signal their green "planet saving" credentials.

Read that as many times as you wish, but understanding what I mean shouldn't be too difficult.
 
Last edited:

Geki-D

Banned
You're a robot preaching to the choir (i.e. zealots like yourself). I never even mentioned climate change or anything "capitalist" (or anti), yet here you are ranting like a little droid parroting stereotypical talking points handed to you from above. Is this some sort of auto defense mechanism?

I merely pointed out Microsoft's hypocrisy (i.e. using globalism & China to make money whilst claiming to be helping save the planet). You on the other hand have gone of a strange unrelated tangent.

You're a robot preaching to the choir (i.e. zealots like yourself). I never even mentioned climate change or anything "capitalist" (or anti), yet here you are ranting like a little droid parroting stereotypical talking points handed to you from above. Is this some sort of auto defense mechanism?

I merely pointed out Microsoft's hypocrisy (i.e. using globalism & China to make money whilst claiming to be helping save the planet). You on the other hand have gone of a strange unrelated tangent.
Says Mister "Globalist Agenda":messenger_tears_of_joy:

So you must be one of those who denies China is a massive net polluter of the earth? I'm scratching my head here wondering what your angle is. It's weird.
Nope. But I recognise that a company can make efforts in one aspect whilst still having to deal with other more negative ones to remain competitive because that's what the market dictates. You literally came into this thread complaining that MS shouldn't do anything to reduce carbon emissions if they're still going to ship consoles by air. Your position is that MS should just not give a fuck about carbon emissions in any aspect or not sell worldwide (and pretty much go out of business).
 
Last edited:

Kagey K

Banned
Are people here incapable of actually having a conversation in English? Do you even read posts properly? It's like that scene in Total Recall when Schwarzenegger uses the disguise when arriving on Mars, i.e. programmed to repeat the same point again & again irrespective of the responses.

I'll say again: I do not support companies nor have a bias, I do not even use outsourcing as key point in this conversation (or capitalism, or climate science or any other tralalala associated with climate & globalist conversations), I merely state the fact China is a massive polluter ergo any company which enjoys benefits from moving factories over there & selling products over there cannot in all honesty with a straight-face also virtue signal their green "planet saving" credentials.

Read that as many times as you wish, but understanding what I mean shouldn't be too difficult.
And I will reiterate that carbon polices in most modern countries give them the right to roll carbon into countries that aren’t producing it.

Do you not understand global law? Or do you blame China for everything?

I have given you multiple chances to to educate yourself or understand what world carbon actually means, but you keep coming back to this nonexistent point.
 

xool

Member
Isn’t that basically what every countries Carbon Tax equates to? Buying the carbon from countries that produce less of it?

They produce the same a ou t of carbon, but pay money to countries that produce less. Therefore it’s equal and climate change is solved?

Probably .. except the bit about "climate change is solved" - cos if you're still burning oil coal etc all that money isn't going to make the world cooler in reality ..

..also I would really (not) like to see the carbon numbers on console production - I'm guessing it's many tons of CO2 to make a console - large fabs are around 100MW .. just for electricity, but that doesn't factor in the cost of materials - producing silicon etc is energy intensive.

..that said you'll pry my 500W XboxScarlet/PS5 out of my cold dead hands etc
 

ruvikx

Banned
And I will reiterate that carbon polices in most modern countries give them the right to roll carbon into countries that aren’t producing it.

Do you not understand global law? Or do you blame China for everything?

I have given you multiple chances to to educate yourself or understand what world carbon actually means, but you keep coming back to this nonexistent point.

Sorry, I'd rather drink acid after chewing razor blades before I accept being "educated" by corporate lackeys excusing the most inane public relations buzzwords (i.e. in reality companies extol of the virtue of their "carbon" credentials because it's part of their marketing in 2019, nothing more, aka it's a selling point). No offense, but the hilariously aggressive defense-force I seem to have triggered here when simply stating certain facts (yes, China is a polluted hellhole - or do you deny that?) is just a symbol of the highly weaponized political discourse times we live in, where people adopt a position handed to them by others & aggressively enforce it when sniffing out potential wrong thinkers.

I'm apparently guilty of that wrong-think because I refuse to swallow Microsoft's virtue signalling hook, line & sinker. Carry on.
 

Kagey K

Banned
Sorry, I'd rather drink acid after chewing razor blades before I accept being "educated" by corporate lackeys excusing the most inane public relations buzzwords (i.e. in reality companies extol of the virtue of their "carbon" credentials because it's part of their marketing in 2019, nothing more, aka it's a selling point). No offense, but the hilariously aggressive defense-force I seem to have triggered here when simply stating certain facts (yes, China is a polluted hellhole - or do you deny that?) is just a symbol of the highly weaponized political discourse times we live in, where people adopt a position handed to them by others & aggressively enforce it when sniffing out potential wrong thinkers.

I'm apparently guilty of that wrong-think because I refuse to swallow Microsoft's virtue signalling hook, line & sinker. Carry on.
Lol.

You got it dude.
 

xool

Member
Because China opens like 4 Coal-fired power stations a week?
Its how China gets the energy needed to power the energy Grid. its factories and mass production
So you must be one of those who denies China is a massive net polluter of the earth?

China's energy mix uses about 60-70% fossil fuels, of which the majority is coal. USA uses around 75% fossil fuels of which around a third each are petroleum/gas, the remainder coal. EU is somewhere in between.

In terms of CO2 pollution finger pointing is pointless here - China isn't the unique bad guy


If you want to make it personal (per capita) try some graphs :


xRpA3or.png

(image via wikipedia, data from the World Bank)

..and it doesn't end there - because remember -much of China's energy consumption goes to produce products for the western world - so it's basically offshored pollution, just like those jobs got offshored too .. worth thinking about
 
Last edited:

Woodchipper

Member
While it’s great that gaming companies want to have a conscience , every bit they do for good gets offset by something like Khalid meeting Kanye to get yeezeys while both on their private planes.

There is really very little we as small grade consumers can to do to offset what the ultra elite do on a daily basis.
Yes and no. There are plenty of things we can do, like stop getting a new phone every goddam year, getting eco friendly food instead of going to fast food chains, walking or riding a bike to work instead of driving a SUV. The list is long. However, you’re right in the sense that even if we do all this, the richest 10% can ruin it by not giving up their lifestyle.

What’s sad is that the people who will suffer the most, are the ones that who’ve done the least amount of damage. Like, people in third world countries and so on.
 

Geki-D

Banned
Yes and no. There are plenty of things we can do, like stop getting a new phone every goddam year, getting eco friendly food instead of going to fast food chains, walking or riding a bike to work instead of driving a SUV. The list is long. However, you’re right in the sense that even if we do all this, the richest 10% can ruin it by not giving up their lifestyle.
You really can't expect individuals to change anything. They'll always take planes, buy fast food, drive massive cars... That's why the companies who make this stuff need to do what they can to reduce CO2 emissions and gouvernements have to regulate. Make planes at use less CO2, use more eco-friendly materials in your fast food containers, give incentives to get people to buy cars that pollute less and promote said cars. ...And make consoles with smaller CO2 footprints.

For every eco-friendly person, there are 200 who don't give a shit. You need to go over their heads. That's why stuff like this is positive.

(Also site went down just before)
 
Last edited:

Mendax89

Member
Carbon increased the vegattion of the planet. Man made Glomar Warming is myth, the climate is always changing, mostly because of the distance from eath to the sun. More virtue signaling. This means the next Xbox will be weak and the games will be boring and awful.
 
Last edited:

Ma-Yuan

Member
So its the Xbox Nothing? An empty Box filled with just O² all driven by your imagination and maybe some LSD.

Other then that this is PR Bullshit. On all sides. The most eco friendly systems come from Nintendo. Wii U only used around 30 Watts and the switch uses like 5 Watts handheld and 15 Watts docked. They don't need this PR Bullshit for a reason . . .
 

Woodchipper

Member
You really can't expect individuals to change anything. They'll always take planes, buy fast food, drive massive cars... That's why the companies who make this stuff need to do what they can to reduce CO2 emissions and gouvernements have to regulate. Make planes at use less CO2, use more eco-friendly materials in your fast food containers, give incentives to get people to buy cars that pollute less and promote said cars. ...And make consoles with smaller CO2 footprints.

For every eco-friendly person, there are 200 who don't give a shit. You need to go over their heads. That's why stuff like this is positive.

(Also site went down just before)
You are so full of shit, man. Make planes that use less CO2? Yeah, as if that’s gonna help.

Yes, sure, it’s positive in a way, but they’re talking out of their asses, and so are Sony, and so are you, and so am I, because I know I won’t be able to live the way I should in order to slow climate change, but I know my facts, and the fact is that it’s already too late, unless capitalism comes to a halt right the fuck NOW.

Deny it all you want, but that’s a fact.

 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
bullshit.

these mega corporations don't give a damn shit about anything other than $ and appearing to be the good guys.

if it doesn't make them look good or make them a profit then they don't give a shit. they will happily watch the earth burn as long as they make money.
 

nush

Member
bullshit.

these mega corporations don't give a damn shit about anything other than $ and appearing to be the good guys.

if it doesn't make them look good or make them a profit then they don't give a shit. they will happily watch the earth burn as long as they make money.

True, they only do it if it's cheaper and/or more profitable. For example, the supermarkets not giving away plastic bags and upsell you a "Bag for life" and if you don't want that they charge you for the plastic bag they gave away before for free.
 

nikolino840

Member
Carbon increased the vegattion of the planet. Man made Glomar Warming is myth, the climate is always changing, mostly because of the distance from eath to the sun. More virtue signaling. This means the next Xbox will be weak and the games will be boring and awful.
 

Shifty

Member
Y'all chumps are spending the thread having a shitfight over the politics, meanwhile I'm over here wondering what the hell 'green nudges' in game design are.

That, and noticing how incredibly out of touch Stadia is with this idea of teaching game devs how to preach to their users about being green. Leave the content the fuck alone please.
 

Geki-D

Banned
You are so full of shit, man. Make planes that use less CO2? Yeah, as if that’s gonna help.

Yes, sure, it’s positive in a way, but they’re talking out of their asses, and so are Sony, and so are you, and so am I, because I know I won’t be able to live the way I should in order to slow climate change, but I know my facts, and the fact is that it’s already too late, unless capitalism comes to a halt right the fuck NOW.

Deny it all you want, but that’s a fact.

We're already fucked in many ways but it's still worth curbing what we can. Things are bad and are going to get worst but they could be even more worse if we all just give up. Although you're right that this stuff should have started about 30 years ago. The world is going to see some serious change within the next 30 years and the climate change deniers are going to be scratching their heads wondering what the fuck happened (no doubt they'll just blame the immigrants, though).

As to stopping capitalism, that was never going to happen. Though regulating it might have helped. With China and the current politics governing the US, all we can hope for is that companies themselves self regulate and make gestures like Sony & MS are with these moves. We can't count on these 2 super powers to do anything at this point.
 

Shagger

Banned
This is the same thing that Sony (and Google) signed up to. I'm all for efforts to limit the humans race's effect on climate change and create more efficient everyday technology, but my complaint here, as in the Sony thread, is that the effectiveness of the plans isn't certain and it feels like an attempt to grab good publicity as much as anything else. Video game consoles (and gaming PC's) are a luxury, not a necessity. Because of that, a plausible case can be made to call every watt of electricity such items use as waste, so they'll never be green.
 
Last edited:

Gargus

Banned
I'll announce my intent to not increase the next xbox's carbon footprint by not buying one because Microsoft doesn't have shit for games.
 

Kenpachii

Member
If they cared they would make a 3rd party client on PC and not sell us shit boxes that people have to go out and buy because reasons.

All of this is PR bullshit.
 
Last edited:

DanielsM

Banned
"Carbon" :pie_eyeroll:

PR nonsense, might as well say they are doing what they can to increase wild unicorn populations. This is what the big tech companies do, build out solar farms than get huge tax credit, than they are still hooked up to the grid for backup, so.... the poor man is paying not only Microsoft's (or other large tech company) portion of the taxes but it pushes up the poor man's electricity bill as Microsoft is no longer paying their portion of the grid to keep it up.

They are involved in the carbon nonsense, because they want to profit off the scam... during the whole time Microsoft continues to increase their plane fleets. :messenger_tears_of_joy: They have fleets of these.

and these
 
Last edited:

xool

Member
Carbon increased the vegattion of the planet. Man made Glomar Warming is myth, the climate is always changing, mostly because of the distance from eath to the sun. More virtue signaling. This means the next Xbox will be weak and the games will be boring and awful.

Did you just link the performance of next gen Xbox and distance between Earth and Sun

Thread won and closed. No more replies please
 
Last edited:

xool

Member
Y'all chumps are spending the thread having a shitfight over the politics, meanwhile I'm over here wondering what the hell 'green nudges' in game design are.

That, and noticing how incredibly out of touch Stadia is with this idea of teaching game devs how to preach to their users about being green. Leave the content the fuck alone please.


Collectively, those efforts will lead to a "30 million-tonne reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, will see millions of trees planted, new 'green nudges' in game design and improvements to energy management, packaging and device recycling."

Google Stadia, which is set to launch later in the year, will produce a new Sustainable Game Development Guide as well as funding research into how “green nudges” can be effectively incorporated into game play.

The biggest independent gaming platform in China, iDreamSky has committed to putting green nudges into its games.

new 'green nudges' in game design

new 'green nudges' in game design

The planet is fucked
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom