The SGA Standard is open-access and available for use by the entire games industry.
When viewing it, however, please remember that it is a living standard and involves significant iteration and improvement as best practices evolve and consensus between SGA members is achieved.
The SGA Standard is also very much a work in progress (as of mid-2024). It is still an early draft, with its principal focus on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, as these are some of the most straightforward GHG emissions to measure and reduce, and with the widest agreement around methodology.
As work on the Standard progresses, the focus of development will shift to the more complex and contested aspects of game emissions measurement that fall within Scope 3 GHG emissions.
The current SGA Standard also focuses on the Environmental impact component of ESG disclosures, as we believe these to be the most complex, however in time the Standard will also include Social and Governance elements that are required under the ESRS.
The live version of the Standard is accessible as a Google doc, however, for those who wish to avoid or are unable to access Google services, with each major member-approved update to the Standard we will publish a downloadable PDF version with the latest member-approved additions to the Standard.
How we are approaching Scope 3 – the SGA issues briefing paper
Research has shown that the bulk of corporate greenhouse gas emissions occur across the wider value chain of a business, beyond the direct combustion of fossil fuels and the use of electricity (Scope 1 & Scope 2). These value chain emissions, or Scope 3 emissions, are part of everything that goes into making games – from data centre usage, to new IT purchases, business travel, and the ultimate end consumer who plays games. These emissions are by their nature a shared concern, with multiple organisations or businesses having varying degrees of control over the many levers that affect the final GHG intensity of a given product.
We have produced a Scope 3 issues paper to provide a high-level summary of the challenges and opportunities that come from measuring Scope 3 emissions. To ensure that the standard meets the multiple needs of the games industry and its stakeholders, we will need to ensure we achieve consensus on best practices for each aspect of Scope 3 emissions, determine methodologies that are fair and accurate, and which deliver clear and actionable guidance on where game developers can take action to reduce them. We hope the Scope 3 briefing paper helps with each of those goals.
We invite comments, feedback and suggestions on the paper from all levels of expertise and knowledge from across the full games industry value chain. Comments can be left on the live Google document version, with feedback and suggestions integrated as they come in, making this a collaborative effort. For those unable to access Google services, a PDF version of the paper can also be downloaded, though without the latest comments.
Additional tools and assistance
Alongside the Standard document itself, the SGA is producing a series of tools such as spreadsheets, validated common emissions factors specifically applicable to the games industry, and ESG strategy guidance such as workshops for the games industry.
To help game studios apply the SGA Standard and meet their EU CSRD/ESRS reporting obligations, we are developing a data input spreadsheet to substantially simplify the process of adhering to the standard. The current version of this sheet is to be considered a demonstration of the functionality and possible workflows involved and is also very much a work in progress.
As work progresses on the standard the data input sheet will also be updated to reflect the best approaches identified and outlined in the standard by SGA members. To test the worksheet and its functionality, select “File>Make a copy” to create an editable version to input your own organisational figures and data in, or test to see what
