BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. today announced that it has joined the Playing for the Planet Alliance which was launched on the 23rd of September 2019 during the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit and is facilitated by UN Environment. By joining the Alliance, member companies make commitments ranging from integrating green activations in games, to reducing their emissions and waste, and supporting the global environmental agenda.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.’s participation in the Playing for the Planet Alliance encompasses a four prong approach to improving its business practices and in promoting a green mindset through its video game products which the company will review and seek to accelerate each year. These include:
1. A commitment to executing the sustainability policy put forth by its parent company, BANDAI NAMCO Holdings on April 16, 2021. This policy dictates that all BANDAI NAMCO Group companies must reduce carbon emissions by 35% by the year 2030 and be carbon net-zero by 2050.
2. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. participated in the United Nations Environment Program’s Green Game Jam in 2021 with the PAC-MAN mobile app by creating a new in-game event focused on sharing a message about the importance of reforestation. The company has set a goal to engage 1 million players in this event and drive at least 10% of participants to sign an online petition urging world leaders to protect forests as a key line of defense against climate change. For more information about this petition, please visit: www.play4forests.org.
3. Devise plans for the next in-game event focusing on saving and cleaning the oceans in preparation for the company’s participation in the United Nations Environment Program’s Green Game Jam in 2022.
4. Establish BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. as an active advocate and example for our development partners, affiliates, etc. to learn more about the United Nations’ Playing for the Planet Alliance program so they too can implement similar policies and work towards improving the environment within their respective organizations.
“I am very proud of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. in joining the Playing for the Planet Alliance, as one of the first Japanese game publishers/developers,” said Yasuo Miyakawa, Chief Executive Officer of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. “As a company, we are nothing without the support of our customers, as a species, we are nothing without the life sustaining support of our planet. We must act holistically and responsibly in order to improve, protect, and preserve the environment for future generations.”
In addition to its participation in the Playing for the Planet Alliance, the BANDAI NAMCO Group has set an internal sustainability policy for all group companies to adopt in their respective businesses. The Gundam Recycling Project is one of the examples in-line with this policy. Currently available only in Japan, this program encourages builders of Gunpla (plastic model kits from the Gundam series) to drop off runners (unused plastic model frame sections) at approximately 190 amusement facilities operated by BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Inc. The collected runners are recycled along with plastic waste from the Gunpla manufacturing process thereby preventing additional plastic waste from reaching landfills for a more sustainable society.
For more information on BANDAI NAMCO Group’s environmental activities, please visit: https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/en/social/themes/environment.html. For information on products from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Asia please visit: https://bandainamcoent.asia, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bandainamcoent.asia. Join the conversation on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoSEA.
