Microsoft has announced it is joining a new United Nations initiative dubbed “Playing for the Planet Alliance” and plans to make 825,000 new Xbox consoles carbon neutral. Other partners in the initiative include 13 other companies, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Twitch, Google Stadia, Rovio, Ubisoft, and others.

“Some of the biggest names in the video games industry, with a combined audience of 970 million players, have today formally committed to harness the power of their platforms to take action in response to the climate crisis,” the UN stated. “Combined, these commitments from 21 companies will result in 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.”

Microsoft’s new Xbox units will be the first carbon neutral consoles ever, according to a statement from the company. Similarly, PlayStation is working with the UN initiative to incorporate design features in the PlayStation 5 that will allow owners to suspend gameplay with much lower power consumption, potentially saving a small town’s worth of electricity over a period of time. Microsoft did not state if these carbon neutral consoles would specifically be Xbox One, Xbox One X, or Xbox Scarlett versions.

Check out these screenshots of the Xbox Scarlet E3 2019 presentation:

Xbox Project Scarlett E3 Trailer Screenshots 16 IMAGES

“Climate change is impacting each industry and every sector, and we believe technology can play a critical role in enabling and empowering the response to this challenge,” said Phil Spencer, executive vice president of gaming at Microsoft. “Initiatives like our Minecraft Build a Better World Campaign and CarbonNeutral Xbox pilot provide a great opportunity to tap into Microsoft’s technology sustainability and gaming community to make a difference in this key area of our business.”

The video game industry is a considerable contributor to carbon emissions. A recent report found that video game consoles emit the equivalent of 2.3 million cars worth of carbon into the air every year, for a total of 12 million tonnes of carbon. A 2009 report from the New York Times found that the computer industry emitted 2 percent of all carbon on Earth, and it’s only rising.

Microsoft’s other commitments to carbon emission reduction includes a plan to reduce its supply chain emission by 30% by 2030. Microsoft also touted its Minecraft “Build a Better World” initiative, which challenges players to build environmentally friendly structures in-game.

Check out what our hopes are for the Xbox Scarlet:

Loading

Microsoft has previously made strides towards becoming carbon neutral since making a commitment in 2012. According to a webpage on Microsoft’s corporate site, Microsoft’s Washington campus has reduced its carbon emissions by more than 20 percent.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN. Reduce your footprint with him on Twitter.