Our mission as Team Xbox is to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet, but it’s critical we do so while taking care of the planet. We are working to reduce our environmental impact and creating opportunities for gamers to make decisions that can reduce their environmental impact while gaming.
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Our Mission
Reducing Carbon Footprint
Reducing Waste
Collective Action
“Sustainability at Xbox is more than a single destination. It’s a long-term responsibility that requires commitment, innovation and accountability.”
- Phil Spencer, CEO Microsoft Gaming
Building a sustainable future of gaming
At Microsoft – and by extension, at Xbox – we’ve set ambitious goals to meaningfully reduce the company’s environmental impact and be carbon negative, water positive and zero waste by 2030.
To help Microsoft be carbon negative by 2030, Xbox is working to reduce its carbon footprint through research, innovation, strategic investment and accountability.
To help us reach Microsoft’s goal of being zero waste by 2030, we’re rethinking the materials we use to design, build, package, and distribute our products.
“It will not be a straight path to success, but we’re committed to improving our environmental impact in all areas of our business.”
- Dave McCarthy, Corporate Vice President Xbox Operations
Reducing our carbon footprint
We are rethinking how each stage of the product lifecycle contributes to our carbon footprint and we are innovating to reduce our impact while continuing to produce the quality products our fans love.
The Xbox Series X|S
Use the power-saving setting, shutdown (energy saving), on Xbox Series X|S to significantly reduce energy consumption. New updates to shutdown (energy saving) enable system and game updates to be downloaded while the console isn’t in use. This means 20 times less power is used than the other power-saving setting, sleep.
For lower carbon emissions compared to our standard air-freight expedited and express shipping, Microsoft Store now offers the option of free ground shipping (3-7 business days) on eligible orders in the contiguous
US.
To increase transparency for customers and stakeholders, we publish Life Cycle Assessment results for our Xbox console, which can be found in our Xbox console EcoProfiles.
To help us reach Microsoft’s goal of being zero waste by 2030, we’re rethinking the materials we use to design, build, and package our products.
Xbox Wireless Controller
Xbox started to incorporate post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins into our controllers while maintaining durability and performance quality. This began with Daystrike Camo and Electric Volt, which incorporated 30% PCR resins
into the external housing and 50% PCR resins on the internal components for the first time in any Xbox hardware.
The re-launch of our Xbox Design Labs has pushed the boundaries even further with the addition of 15 new colors for our custom designed controllers that contain postconsumer recycled plastic, and more colors are coming
in the future.
The Xbox Series S is the first ever console to incorporate PCR resins into the manufacturing of the body and various internal components, and both the Xbox Series X|S have achieved 97% recyclability by material type per
UL methodology ECV 2789 in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
By 2030, our goal is that all Microsoft product packaging will be 100% recyclable. On our way to achieving that target, we’ll eliminate single-use plastics in our product packaging by 2025. We have already converted
our Xbox gift card from plastic to paperboard, reducing over 500,000 kg of plastic annually.
We are continually looking for new ways to improve our devices’ recyclability and encourage responsible end of life practices. Download the flyer at the link below to learn about the different options for responsibly
disposing of a device at the end of its life in eligible countries.
“We know ambitious visions are never achieved alone, so Xbox is leading cross-industry partnerships to achieve a sustainable future for all of gaming.”
- Trista Patterson, Director of Gaming Sustainability
Mojang Studios and Minecraft Sustainability Maps
Mojang is creating opportunities for students to play games and learn about the importance of sustainability.
Frozen Planet II for Minecraft
Discover cold habitats with new content from Minecraft Education and BBC Earth. Explore five free worlds to experience life through the eyes of the astounding creatures that call the frozen parts of our planet home.
Students around the world learn about biodiversity, renewable energy, and climate change in Minecraft: Education Edition. Through programs like the UNESCO Global Build Challenge, young people have designed thousands of
solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Minecraft.
“Xbox believes in leveraging the power of gaming to enact real world, positive change and partnering directly with players to support vital, global causes.”
- Jenn Panattoni, Head of Xbox Social Impact
Playing for the Planet
Xbox, along with others in the industry have committed to harness the power of their gaming platforms to take action to address the climate crisis. Together with the United Nations (UN), in 2019, we launched the Playing for the
Planet Alliance.
