In September, Netflix launched a series called Together For Our Planet: A New Collection of Sustainability Stories on Netflix, which features documentaries, films and reality shows dedicated to climate change and the environment. There is no doubt it is a good idea and helps generate awareness about the climate crisis, but is the growing popularity of streaming services such as Netflix part of the problem?

In January 2020, a website called Big Think claimed that watching Netflix for thirty minutes is the same as “driving for four miles.” That claim got coverage globally, yet it was quickly debunked, with the International Energy Agency estimating that one hour of streaming video results in 36gCO2 of emissions (equivalent to driving a car 100 metres).

Yet, with data centres – according to one prediction – set to consume more than 4 per cent of global electricity demand by 2030 (that figure rises to an astonishing 70 per cent in Ireland), and with the new generation of 4k screens using more than 30 per cent energy than HD screens (according to this report), it is clear that a conversation about streaming, and digital tech in general, is needed.

So, what damage is streaming – and digital content generally – doing to the environment?

Firstly, not everything you do online generates the same amount of emissions. Watching an episode of Seinfeld on Netflix is not the same as your computer searching through a lot of information in a data centre. Companies such as Netflix, Hulu and HBO physically store films and TV shows in Content Delivery Networks (CDN), which are located around the world. Accessing these is far less computationally complex than searching for something online, and so results in far less emissions.

How you watch that TV show also makes a difference. A television is more energy intensive than a laptop, tablet or smartphone. According to an article by an International Energy Agency analyst, “a 50-inch LED television consumes much more electricity than a smartphone (100 times) or laptop (five times), while streaming through 4G mobile networks consumes about four times as much electricity than through WiFi.” And according to Netflix (in 2018 at least), 70 per cent of its customers watch on TV.

Research has also shown that the electricity demands of transmitting information across the internet have halved every two years since 2000. So, despite the fact that video traffic on mobile networks is growing by 55 per cent a year, and there is more than a billion hours of YouTube streamed every day, in theory, the demands this places on the electricity grid should go down. This is reflected in the furore around data centres. While it’s clear that they will use more energy in the future, as more and more are built, it’s also clear that increased IT efficiency and a shift to hyperscale data centres (a more efficient data centre owned and operated by the company it supports), will play a major role in alleviating that.

Yet, the internet does not exist in a vacuum and is supported and hosted on a range of devices from desktop PCs to smart watches to mobile phones.

So, how can streaming services become more climate friendly? Earlier this year, researchers from Bristol University launched DIMPACT, a tool that allows digital media content companies measure their emissions and – hopefully – work to reduce them. Of course, a company knowing what its emissions are is one thing, actively reducing them is another.

“The tool helps companies identify the emissions hotspots within the delivery chain,” says DIMPACT’s Project Manager, William Pickett. “This helps organisations understand where they can start exploring how they can reduce emissions. Many of the known hotspots tend to be outside of DIMPACT participants’ organisational control, so this requires further engagement with these third parties to understand the role they can play in reducing these emissions. We hope to be able to facilitate these conversations as part of the DIMPACT initiative.”

So far, 16 companies – from the BBC and Sky to Netflix and Channel 4 – have joined DIMPACT, with more soon to follow. “The DIMPACT model requires input data from the company to understand the usage and components of the service,” says Pickett. “Other parameters and proxies have been developed by the DIMPACT team and sourced from academic research – for example the energy required to transmit data streams via the internet. The results of the assessments allow companies to see a breakdown of their emissions to identify hotspots in their value chain, as well as the overall footprint.”

Other digital companies have made promises about going carbon neutral. Apple says it plans to reach that target by 2030, the same date Microsoft says it will become “carbon negative.” Google says it aims to be the “first major company to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. Netflix has yet to announce any targets, despite admitting it wants to reduce its environmental impact.

In many ways, this is a race between the growing number of people using the internet and streaming and the growing energy efficiency of the technology that supports it. And if you want to help, here are three ways you can lessen your digital footprint, so you really can Netflix and chill:

Upgrade Less Often
Repair that mobile phone rather than buy a new one, and think twice before buying that new laptop. The longer you hold onto your devices, the better.

Spend Less Time Online
This is not just better for the environment, but better for your mental health. Win-win!

Avoid the Smart TV
If you do watch your favourite show, watch it on a laptop rather than on a smart TV, as a 100-inch smart TV consumes on average, five times more electricity than a laptop.

Think about Music
It’s not just TV shows and films that are an issue; music too plays a part. One report estimated that “streaming an album over the internet more than 27 times will likely use more energy than it takes to produce and manufacture a CD.”