Green games

The example of the hummingbird

It is the story of an elephant and a hummingbird that partly inspired Peggy Bouyon, digital analyst based at Capgemini’s Nantes office, in France, to create a new card game to help colleagues understand how technology impacts the environment – and what steps they can take as individuals to alleviate that. 

Game on!

The card game is designed to be played in meetings at the start of projects. As well as breaking the ice, it frames any new project in the context of how technology impacts the environment, while assigning certain responsibilities. 

Each pack contains several different cards: Actor (like a project manager or developer), Impact (how technology impacts the environment, for instance e-waste), Objective (a shared goal by the whole team), and Action (a specific goal assigned to an individual).

A hidden issue?

According to Peggy, many people don’t realize the impact of IT on the environment. “The components of the computers we use every day are often extracted in ways that are harmful to the environment in developing countries,” she says.

In 2019, the world generated a staggering 53.6 million tonnes of electronic waste. Meanwhile, figures had suggested that IT power consumption could reach 20% of global electricity demand by 2030.

“We included this information on the Impact cards, and during the game, people are assigned Action cards, giving everyone a concrete objective to help tackle the problem. This helps break down a daunting issue into specific, manageable actions,” says Peggy.

Harnessing gamification

In Peggy’s view, approaching this issue through the form of a game makes sense on several levels. Her experience designing workshops taught her that using physical cards with an element of play helps people learn faster – and builds stronger memories than a PowerPoint deck or presentation. 

A grassroots initiative

The card game idea came out of discussions with her manager. “While Capgemini has a corporate ambition to achieve a net zero transition, we started to consider what we could contribute as a team,” says Peggy. 

Peggy has received some great initial feedback on the game, and wants to keep improving it. “We’ve approached the project with a crowdsourcing mentality, encouraging anyone with a good idea for a card to get in touch.” 

In a separate initiative, Peggy’s team gave prizes to people for reducing their email inboxes. “Not many people know that emails, particularly those with large attachments, take up storage space in data centers, which are very energy intensive,” she says 

Through such fun and engaging formats, Peggy and her team have demonstrated how we can reduce technology’s environmental impact through individual actions – to build a future that works for everyone.