Climate Action: ARTE’s carbon footprint assessment
Environmental protection is one of the major challenges of our time. As a public service broadcaster, ARTE has placed the reduction of its carbon footprint at the heart of its values. In line with this commitment, the ARTE Group, with its sites in Strasbourg, Baden-Baden and Issy-les-Moulineaux, has drawn up a comprehensive carbon footprint assessment. This also fulfils a legal obligation: French regulations require companies with more than 500 employees to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by their activities. A “Scope 3” carbon footprint assessment has been mandatory since 2023. It takes into account direct and indirect CO2 emissions across the entire lifecycle of its operations, from content production right through to viewing by you, our audience.
What are the main emission sources?
Our 2023 assessment reveals that 79.7% (176,000 tCO2e) of our carbon emissions are attributable to the way ARTE programming is accessed, specifically, the devices audiences use to watch our programmes, either live or via streaming. While ARTE is unable to intervene directly in this area, we are actively working to raise audience awareness around responsible viewing habits and to optimise our technical infrastructure to reduce the environmental impact of our broadcasting activity.
The remaining emissions breakdown is as follows:
9% (20,000 tCO2e) is attributable to carbon emissions resulting from our programme broadcasting activity (linear and streaming)
8.5% (18,800 tCO2) to the production of all ARTE programmes (including filming and post-production)
2.8% (6,300 tCO2e) to the operation of our three sites (including energy, heating and mobility).
Steps we are taking to lower our carbon footprint
In light of these figures, ARTE is working to reduce its own emissions and produce content in a more sustainable way. The Group’s action plan includes the following measures:
- Eco-production: achieving the target of 70% eco-produced programmes by 2028
- Energy efficiency and sustainable development in our premises: sourcing green electricity supplies, reducing office temperatures to 19°C (in accordance with French legislation), optimising the technical infrastructure at the Strasbourg headquarters, offering more vegetarian dishes in the staff canteen, and encouraging soft mobility for business travel and commuting
- Responsible procurement across all ARTE sites: We include environmental and social criteria in all our tenders and purchases.
- Video Platform Optimisation: we are constantly working to optimise the technical aspects of our video platform to make it as resource-efficient as possible. This includes efficient video encoding and adopting sustainable hosting solutions for our content.
Find out more → Responsible streaming at ARTE
How can you help?
Given that a large proportion of CO2 emissions is generated by the use of our content, you too can make a difference:
- Extend the life of your devices and opt for refurbished equipment rather than new. When buying new equipment, choose energy-efficient devices. Adjust your settings: in the settings for the arte.tv platform and the ARTE app, a green icon guides you towards the most energy-efficient settings. Enable energy-saving mode directly on your device to reduce energy consumption.
- Stream responsibly: opt for Wi-Fi over mobile data to minimise your carbon footprint.