The server’s on fire and we’re looking the other way? This misleading phrase caustically reflects the digital and ecological challenges ahead. At present, the environmental impacts of XR are not compatible with the decarbonization objectives and trajectories defined for the coming decades (read our first part on this subject). However, several XR players are not discouraged and are working hard to build an eco-responsible industry. Here’s a look at the stages and challenges involved in this all-important structuring process.
The deliverables presented by CEPIR (French company “Cas d’Étude pour un Immersif Responsable”) include a forward-looking section, in particular a report entitled “Immersive XR to 2030”, in which 5 gradual scenarios are outlined: maximalist; industry; trend; sobriety; renunciation. “These are not the only possible scenarios, but they nevertheless represent sufficiently differentiated futures to enable us to anticipate a wide range of possibilities for the XR sector”, the report states. Only the last two scenarios mentioned – “sobriety” and “renunciation” – seem quantitatively compatible with planetary limits in France in 2030 and beyond. The third scenario, “trend”, requires strong regulation, which raises questions about the priority uses of XR. Be that as it may, in 4 out of 5 scenarios (leaving aside the “renunciation” scenario based on an almost complete disappearance of the XR ecosystem), the central issue is the structuring of an eco-responsible XR industry and adaptation to environmental challenges.
Carbon footprints and trajectories
To do this, one of the first steps is to identify XR’s main carbon footprint. “I advise starting from AR/VR/MR technologies with their manufacturing and distribution chains. Research and development; Training/education; Services (B2B and B2C); Content creation (structured ecosystem to design and develop XR content); Broadcasting, which is intended to disseminate, distribute or operate XR to the general public… This gives a first macro view of the impact of XR.
We can then refine our approach by defining the user sectors, e.g. culture, and for each of these sectors, we list the use cases, e.g. for culture, video games, immersive museum experiences… By allocating the impact of the manufacturing and distribution chain to each use case, we can obtain a micro vision of the impacts of XR“, explains Benoît Ruiz, one of the CEPIR contributors who, in collaboration with the Coopérative Carbone in La Rochelle, has designed a calculator for XR professionals.
Available online as an open source tool, it enables us to estimate 6 categories of direct emissions (“scope 1”: fossil energy consumption for fixed, office and mobile sources, vehicles), indirect emissions linked to energy (“scope 2”), i.e. electricity consumption, and emissions associated with transport, such as business travel, home-to-work travel, visitor travel, incoming and outgoing freight, or user travel to an event (“scope 3”). Finally, this carbon calculator includes indirect emissions associated with the purchase of goods and services or waste management, and emissions associated with the manufacture of terminals (VR headsets, external batteries, computers, backpacks, etc.), the manufacture and use of networks and data centers (“scope 4”).
![](https://xrmust.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XRMust_CST_Diversion02-1024x576.jpg)
The calculator also estimates emissions linked to the use and end-of-life of products and services sold, such as VR headsets, the distribution and use of applications (“scope 5”)… Lastly, it enables us to estimate other indirect emissions that cannot be accounted for in the previous categories (“scope 6”). In 2023, Diversion cinema took part in the carbon audit. Marc Lopato, its co-founder, looks back on this experiment: “It was a process that took several months, with a number of exchanges between our team and the Coopérative Carbone. We realized that the most important part of the carbon footprint was transport, and especially air transport, which accounts for 40% of our impact. Based on this data, we’ll be able to draw up a concrete action plan.” According to Benoît Ruiz, these assessments are all the more essential as they enable us “to gather sufficient data to set thresholds and trajectories to be reached”.
Regulations to be implemented
Other sectors, such as the film industry, may also need to be emulated. In France, since 2023, CNC subsidies have been conditional on the calculation of a production’s upstream and downstream carbon footprint. Two carbon calculators, Carbone Clap and Seco2, have been approved by the CNC. Are regulatory constraints a powerful lever for structuring the industry? According to Charles Gachet-Dieuzeide, co-founder of Flying Secoya (one of the leading players in eco-responsibility in the film industry), which created the Seco2 calculator, the answer is nuanced. “Mandatory carbon audits are a way of raising awareness among producers. It’s a first step that will then enable us to work on carbon trajectories. For the moment, it’s too early: whether a film generates 2 or 2,000 tonnes of CO2, it’s not binding. On the other hand, when the public authorities demand concrete reductions, this will have an effect.” The binding character is therefore a key element.
![](https://xrmust.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XRMust_CST_Diversion01.jpg)
This is already the case for another financing method currently very much in the spotlight in France. The France 2030 investment program for the future is conditional on compliance with the RGEC (General Block Exemption Regulation) framed by the European Commission. “All France 2030 calls for projects are based on a low-carbon strategy and the mitigation of environmental damage. This means that subsidies can only be directed towards capital expenditure that corresponds to the defined environmental objectives, in particular carbon neutrality. Projects that fail to provide sufficient guarantees will have to repay the amounts received. This raises legal issues and transition plans that are relatively complex, but effective in terms of reducing environmental impacts,” analyzes Benoît Ruiz, who adds, “France 2030 is a great opportunity to structure and accelerate eco-responsibility in the XR sector.“
Structuring the equipment sector
However, these regulations are probably not yet sufficient. For example, there are as yet no international or European regulations requiring helmet manufacturers to publish Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), some of whose results are discussed in a first article published on XRMust. What would these LCAs enable? Firstly, to inform consumers. “At present, several initiatives are trying to move things forward. In particular, there’s the Product Category Repository (RCP), which provides the method for calculating the environmental display indicators for a category of digital products and services. For example, for Data Center Hosting Services and Cloud Services. It’s a bit like energy classes in the real estate sector. It’s an impact score that’s highly identifiable by consumers. The problem is that there are also pressure groups, which delay their mandatory application,” analyzes Benoît Ruiz.
![](https://xrmust.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRMust_NoRealityNow04-1024x576.jpg)
There are currently 50,000 lobbyists working in Brussels on behalf of major companies, interest groups and professional bodies. This figure illustrates the scale of a phenomenon in the decision-making process within European institutions. The Conseil National de la XR (National XR Council) was created in 2022, with one of its aims to “support legislators in understanding immersive technologies and drafting legislation.” (source). If its Manifesto is anything to go by, “sustainable development” should be a development priority. To be observed. The equipment issue also lies in the fact that there are as yet no recycling channels dedicated to XR equipment, let alone a circular economy approach. The 3R logic (reduce, recycle, reuse) is still not very tangible for XR players. “Some XR players are trying to repair and maintain their used helmet fleets using parts salvaged from other helmets, but there’s no way of getting spare parts. It doesn’t go very far, because there’s no structure,” says Marc Lopato.
In France, the structuring of the waste and recycling sector has been supported by the public authorities. And major waste managers such as Véolia and Suez, as well as small social economy structures, have invested in the sector not out of altruism, but because of market opportunities where raw materials are recovered or reused. In other words, in this case, one of the levers for action would be to support a sector in which used components and rare earths would be recovered, and other materials recycled.
Optimizing production-distribution
Economic profit is a reality that cannot be overlooked, even in smaller companies. “Every day, we have objectives to maintain the economy of our structure. At the same time, we have to free up time to make progress on all these environmental commitments. It’s not always easy to reconcile the two,” notes Marc Lopato. For this reason, CEPIR has published a guide to best practices, comprising 26 sheets outlining the efforts required for implementation, the financial implications, and the economic and environmental benefits. Inspired by the Guide de l’animation écoresponsable proposed by Ecoprod and La Cartouch’Verte, these sheets have been written around 3 axes: the design part, the optimization of graphic renderings and the post-delivery of an XR project.
![](https://xrmust.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XRMust_StudioLemercier_01-1024x576.jpg)
“A project that is better designed, for example by optimizing the code and the graphic and sound assets, will have less impact during broadcasting, particularly in terms of energy consumption. Eco-design upstream will therefore reduce the downstream impact of a work’s production,” explains Benoît Ruiz. Eco-broadcasting is another area of focus. Brussels-based Studio Lemercier has been testing several solutions for several years. Juliette Bibasse, the studio’s Artistic Director, explains: “We rarely travel to broadcast venues. This avoids the need for transport, especially air travel. Our works are always on tour, but we make assembly kits so that a venue can be self-sufficient. If necessary, we hire a local artist to provide technical and artistic quality control. It’s a model to be developed with networking.“
Networking, training and communication
As a result, if professionals are innovating through original initiatives, sharing these practices is essential. “In my organization, I sometimes feel a bit isolated. When I exchange ideas with other colleagues, I feel more motivated to move things forward. Sharing practices at meetings is very important to me,” says Marc Lopato. Case in point: in September 2023, the Scopitone festival organized several meetings between creative professionals to discuss eco-production and eco-distribution practices. Jean-François Jégo, artist and lecturer in the Arts & Technologies de l’Image department and in the INREV research team (Université Paris 8), was invited. This artist-researcher, who explores the notion of ecosophy, is also one of the leaders of the HACNUM network’s “ecoresponsibility” group. Major events such as Immersity, organized every year in Angoulême, bring together a wider range of XR professionals – distributors, broadcasters, creators – and will certainly address these environmental issues and act as a catalyst. In the medium term, there are also vocational training issues at stake, with a number of questions still unanswered: What are the skills and professions of the future? How can we build reference systems? How can we involve skills operators? Finally, communication and mediation of all these environmental issues is also a key to structuring the sector: and this applies equally to professionals in the sector and to users of XR experiences.
![](https://xrmust.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/XRMust_ShiftProject_Banner-1024x576.jpg)
In an article published by Usbek & Rica, author and director Samuel Valensi, co-author of The Shift Project‘s “Decarbonizing Culture!” report, calls on all cultural players to question each and every one of their choices. Whether in terms of storytelling, production or distribution models, the ecological transition must now be at the heart of XR. As mentioned in the final report, which summarizes CEPIR’s work and makes recommendations for public authorities and companies, “every choice is a political choice. Deciding not to ask these questions is one too.“
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.