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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Esports Events Environmental Sustainability: Carbon Footprint Estimation of the 2022 Gamers Assembly

Résumé

Theoretical Background and Literature Review Although esports has existed for at least two decades, its sustainability is still vulnerable, as we are reminded by the different crises it is going through, especially economic ones (Besombes & Jenny, 2022). If the esports industry has been growing for more than ten years now, it remains a volatile and unstable sector. It is impossible today to ignore the major ecological crisis that the entire world population is facing. If academic works have already seriously underlined the negative impact of digital infrastructures and video games (Morley, Widdicks & Hazas, 2018), little is known about the impact of the esports sector on the environment (Nyström et al., 2021). Esports stakeholders will not be able to ignore this challenge indefinitely and the question of the infinite growth of the sector thus becomes a questionable issue (Scholz, 2019). Research Questions and Objectives To lay the first foundations of a more sustainable esports, aware of its impact on the environment, the association France Esports has chosen to conduct a first exploratory study to estimate the carbon footprint of the largest French LAN: the Gamers Assembly in Poitiers (1349 registered players, 442 volunteers, 14260 visitors and 153 partners in 2022). The objectives are both to raise awareness among the esports communities through communication on the subject during the event, but above all to enable the launch of initial reflections and action plans on the subject. Given the novelty of the experiment and the limited time available for its implementation, it was decided to limit the scope of the analysis to players, staff and volunteers (i.e., a population of 1,944 people), and to estimate the carbon footprint of the event on the theme of mobility only (i.e., travels and transportation). Method To collect the data, a 18 question survey was distributed to the target population through three channels: (i) QR Code posted on Twitter a few days before the event and then a reminder 3 days later; (ii) QR Code display in the event venue during the 3 days of the LAN; (iii) URL link of the survey sent 10 days after the event within the association's newsletter. The different questions concerned the transportation used to come to the event, the distance between the accommodation and the venue, the mode of transportation used to travel during the 3 days, the number of people involved in the travel mode and the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Findings 328 questionnaires were collected. It represents 920 people (of 1944). The rate of engagement was over 47%. The estimated total carbon footprint of the event is 72 tons: 66 tons of CO2 equivalent from the participants' travel to and from the event ("long distance travel"), and 6 tons of CO2 equivalent from "local mobility", i.e., travel to and from their accommodation to the venue during their stay. Based on the analysis of the sample data available, we can estimate that more than 55% of the participants traveled more than 500 km round trip, generating 85% of the carbon emitted during the travel to and from the Gamers Assembly. According to the sample, the car is the most widely used mode of transportation. The average number of people per vehicle is 2.5, or a "fill rate" of 50%, if we consider that each car can carry a maximum of 4 passengers and 1 driver. This rate might seem low, yet the LAN participants needed to bring their own gaming equipment (PCs, screens, peripherals, cables, etc.). 75% of the participants came by individual mode of mobility, making 74% of the total distance traveled and generating 85% of the emissions. 87% of respondents stayed several days in Poitiers and its surroundings. The average stay was 3.5 days. 90% of these people who stayed several days used carbon-emitting modes of mobility (more than 65% had an accommodation solution within a radius of 8 km, or 10 minutes travel time). Almost 80% of CO2 emissions are related to travel within this 8 km radius. Only 6% of those who used carbon emitting mobility used a public transportation. Practical Implications From these initial results, several recommendations can be proposed: give preference to public transport (train for long distance travel and carpooling for short distance travel), propose on-site solutions for renting computer equipment, propose public transport adapted to the specific needs of competitors and staff during the event (bus and shuttle), and encourage soft mobility (bicycle and scooter) with a low carbon footprint. To capitalize on this first exploratory work accomplished, we recommended to carry out this exercise recurrently to (i) raise the awareness of esports stakeholders and communities who are not expecting to be exposed to the subject of eco-responsibility, (ii) increase the level of confidence in the estimates, (iii) broaden the scope of the study, (iv) monitor the impact of implemented action plans. A specific reflection should be undertaken to define how to integrate the impact of "outsourced IT equipment" (e.g., networks, servers, etc.), the catering offered by the event organizer (i.e., food trucks and restoration), the energy (i.e., water and electricity), into the scope of the study, the challenge being to define the processes for collecting and/or estimating of data. Overall, this first study demonstrates the need to raise awareness and "educate" the target population to obtain higher engagement rates. This could be achieved through 3 levers of communication: pedagogy, recurrence, and reward systems.
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hal-03981628 , version 1 (15-03-2023)

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  • HAL Id : hal-03981628 , version 1

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Nicolas Besombes. Esports Events Environmental Sustainability: Carbon Footprint Estimation of the 2022 Gamers Assembly. Esports Research Network Conference (ERNC), Esports Research Network, Nov 2022, Jönköping, Sweden. ⟨hal-03981628⟩
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