SAN FRANCISCO — From partnering with the City Bike Share program to hosting guided tours to using renewable energy, this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), an Informa trade show held in San Francisco March 18-22 at the Moscone Center, focused on sustainability. Its efforts have had a positive social and environmental impact on the gaming industry, the city of San Francisco, and the global community at large.
Nearly 30,000 registered participants were present as well as 1,000 speakers spread across 730 sessions, workshops and roundtables. More than 300 companies from the video game sector were present.
The GDC is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the event and drawing attention to climate change issues to produce a more sustainable event.
Participants were encouraged to do their part by contributing to a carbon offset linked to their trip.
GDC has also worked with venues and general service providers to compile data on waste generated by events and the amount of electricity used. Studying this data will help GDC improve year on year.
Related. Sustainability is the theme of this year’s World Exhibition Day
Signage was printed on recyclable materials where possible. Additionally, multi-purpose carpets were used and aisle carpets were eliminated. While the majority of aisle carpets are returned to inventory for reuse, it is inevitable that some will end up in landfill. Additionally, carpets returned to inventory are professionally cleaned, typically with petroleum-based solutions, and emissions are removed from the trucks that transport the carpets to and from the warehouse to the show site. As part of GDC’s commitment to achieving a net-zero carbon emissions event, eliminating aisle carpets is a step in that direction.
Energy Star certified projectors, monitors and speakers were used, as well as LED lighting. Attendees’ bags were replaced with paperless digital tote bags to reduce waste.
Partners who take sustainability seriously have been selected and include the Moscone Center and Freeman.
A free valet service, operated by the San Francisco Bike Coalition, was available to encourage attendees to bike to and from events. GDC also partnered with the City Bike Share program to offer each attendee a $5 credit toward regular and e-bike rentals during GDC week.
The Moscone Center has a dedicated bike path at the entrance. Additionally, a map of bike paths connecting the area hotels to the center was available. Several area hotels also had bikes available for guests to use.
The GDC Travel Together program helped participants form networked walking groups.
An on-site sustainability lounge was where attendees could learn more about the GDC’s sustainability efforts and meet its first-ever sustainability partners: WeMade, Gala Games and Freeman.
GDC 2024 also included a variety of discussions on climate issues and sustainability, including Concrete Climate Action in the Games Industry: What Should Your Studio Be Doing Today?, the Creation of a Climate-Resilient Games Industry Roundtable, and the Educator Summit: Prototyping Afrofuturism, Abolitionism, and Climate Justice through Games Education.
A one-day climate crisis workshop, Climate Crisis Workshop: Use Your Game Developer Superpowers to Fight The Climate Crisis, was held for all participants. This is the third time this interactive workshop has been held and aims to teach teams and individuals how to integrate climate change and climate resilience messaging into their games.
At the end of the event, participants were invited to drop off their badges at registration, as GDC ensures the recycling of the complete badge and lanyard. There were also bins reserved for them.
GDC will return to Moscone Center next year, March 17-21.
“GDC is all about providing developers with a space to meet, network, and learn. The need for this connection has never been more urgent. We were thrilled to witness first-hand how aspiring developers and seasoned game creators came together to share their knowledge and ambitions to create the incredible games we’ll enjoy for years to come,” said Stephenie Hawkins, GDC’s Director of Events.
Contact Stephenie Hawkins at stephenie.hawkins@informa.com