Greening of Streaming

𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡: 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 The streaming industry knows it has an environmental impact. So why isn’t change happening faster? My latest piece in The Flint asks if 𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦—the psychological tension between what we know and how we act—could help explain some of our challenges as we try to make streaming greener. Just as ex-smokers once justified their habits despite clear health risks, the streaming ecosystem might rationalise inefficiencies, delay action, and deflect responsibility. Drawing lessons from smoking cessation, behavioural science, and industry data, I break down how: ✅ We can reframe sustainability as an opportunity, not a burden ✅ Greening of Streaming challenges outdated justifications with evidence-based counterpoints The challenge isn’t just about awareness—it’s about turning discomfort into progress. Are we ready to confront the contradictions and take meaningful action? Link to full article in comments. #Sustainability #Streaming #CognitiveDissonance #GreeningOfStreaming #EnergyEfficiency

As we start a new year, there are also updates coming within the Greening of Streaming (GoS). In a recent session on the future of the GoS initiative, I joined Dom Robinson and Benjamin Schwarz to reflect on its evolution and discuss priorities moving forward. GoS, founded on a vision of #sustainability in #media #streaming, is entering a new phase of leadership while sharpening its focus on measurable, impactful outcomes.   Dom Robinson shared how GoS began as a conference dialogue on sustainability in content delivery networks and streaming infrastructure. It quickly evolved into a thriving community of like-minded organizations. At a time when sustainability was a niche concern just a few years ago, Dom’s efforts brought #energyefficiency into the spotlight, prompting engineers and executives to embrace it as a design principle.   As Dom transitions to a strategic advisory role, Ben Schwarz brings his expertise and passion for environmentalism to the #leadership position. Ben’s vision includes carrying forward GoS’s foundational values while integrating principles of #circularity and regeneration into its framework, ensuring continuity and innovation.   GoS has already made a significant impact, including correcting the misconception of a linear relationship between data volume and energy use, a critical breakthrough for sustainability discussions. Additionally, the Lifecycle Consequential Assessment (CLCA) white paper has laid the groundwork for action-driven strategies, marking GoS’s shift from conceptual ideas to tangible results.   Looking Ahead The focus now is on initiatives with measurable outcomes, such as the Remote Energy Measurement Platform (REM) and the proposed “e-ping” system, which aim to enhance energy accountability. Expanding engagement with policymakers is another priority, with clear demands and practical solutions to influence regulatory frameworks.   Member engagement remains central to GoS’s strategy. I am keen to emphasize the importance of active participation, noting that GoS thrives when members lead discussions and working groups. A vibrant, collaborative community is essential to achieving our goals.   As GoS transitions into its next phase, I’m inspired by its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and collaboration. Under Ben’s leadership and with Dom’s continued strategic insights, together the organization is poised to drive meaningful change in the streaming industry. Learn more and join this dynamic group to make a difference 👇

Representing the Asia-Pacific region, AIBD also became a member of the Greening of Streaming organisation. AIBD will continue its pioneering and leading work in APAC to engineer, inspire and educate broadcast and media to minimise carbon footprint and augment the “greening” of technologies for streaming. #AIBD #GoS #IET Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Greening of Streaming #IEEE #IEEE-BTS IEEE Broadcast Technology Society

Greening of Streaming's Working Group 1 ('WG1') is a very informal group that is at the heart of GoS's thinking: It looks at the language we use as we try to develop sustainability thinking within the streaming industry. The recent project (has taken about a year) looked at the key concepts of #Attributional and #Consequential #lifecycleassesments. As engineers we have been drawn to the Consequential LCA models - empirical and based on real data. As we explored the models we found that nearly all "measurement" you see in #sustainability media uses estimation based on Attributional LCA models. Thats great for motivating peopple, but it doesn't necessarily bear out in the real world. The work to dig deep into consequential effects of media service scaling through empirical measurement has next to zero resource in the sector. That NEEDS to change. And it should be simple - if we can measure latency everywhere then we *should* be able to measure the energy required to deliver the stream... no? The story here is that ALCA models are useful to guide our research, but CLCA models need to be established to check the ALCA veracity - otherwise all the sustainbility effort might be solving the wrong problems... This paper was a result of many conversations between the authors: Alireza Soltani nezhad - TNO Barbara Lange - Kibo 121 Benjamin Schwarz - Greening of Streaming Christoph Neumann - Broadpeak Dom Robinson - id3as Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen (he/him) - id3as Nash Kleppan - Intel Philippe T. - Mainstreaming Tushar Gohad - Intel And we received some amazing guidance from David Ekchajzer The master publication is available for download from https://lnkd.in/e5p-EA9C #dosustainability #streaming #broadcast #ott #media #cdn

SCTE AUTUMN LECTURE: "Focus on Sustainability" featuring the inimitable Dom Robinson of the Greening of Streaming.... Awesome line up, excellent networking, not to be missed! Register today: https://lnkd.in/eysPE_Wb #Sustainability #Streaming #Emissions #Climatechange #netzero