The US has the largest media and entertainment industry in the world, which is expected to be worth $808 billion by 2028.

This industry represents a diverse number of different sectors, defined by Stein and Evans (2009) as media, music, video games, publishing, film, sports, travel and tourism, casinos and gambling, theater, museums, theme parks, shopping, and special events.

It is almost impossible to live in our world without immersing ourselves in the plethora of entertainment services available. However, such a large industry, with such global reach, needs to be environmentally aware to remain sustainable in the contemporary world. 

TV and Film

One of the chief environmental concerns in the TV and film industry is the huge carbon footprints involved with producing and streaming media. However, technological advancements are working towards significantly reducing this sector’s carbon footprint.

Reducing Travel

One of the biggest causes of environmental concern in the past was the travel required to create a film or TV show. Entire crews would often have to be transported across the world to multiple countries with all their equipment. Out of the 2840 tonnes of CO2 released by a single blockbuster production, 51% is related to travel.

However, bolstered by the pandemic, virtual production technologies are acting to remove the need for media crews to travel. This is done through virtual production studios and sound stages which can create a realistic impression of any global location on set. 

The Production Guild of America

Here in the US the Production Guild of America actively works to protect the environment while contributing to the entertainment industry. In 2010 they created the Green Production Guide alongside the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance. This acts as a toolkit to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

In more recent years, the guild has successfully eliminated all physical screeners during reward season, and they continuously work with producers to encourage the industry to be more environmentally conscious.

Sustainable changes

Another positive seen in the film and TV industry comes from the studios themselves. In 2014, the blockbuster ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was released. The production of the film reportedly saved $400,000 by taking sustainable steps.

For example, the costume department sourced a lot of its materials from farmers’ markets, and most of the film’s materials and props were either donated or reused after filming ended.  

Casinos and Gambling 

With brick-and-mortar casinos often being open 24/7, the biggest environmental concern this industry poses is energy consumption. Most of these casinos do not have windows and so rely on excessive electrical lighting. Additionally, huge casino hotspots such as LA see streets lit up in hundreds of LED lights. Not to mention the countless machines these buildings have running.

Online Casinos and iGaming

However, there is an alternative to visiting the casino that allows users to be much more environmentally conscious. The rise in popularity of online casino gaming is having a significant impact on reducing the carbon footprint of the casino industry.

Many people are finding themselves drawn to online casino gaming for several reasons. Firstly, these casinos often come with countless incentives that cannot be replicated in their traditional counterparts. Registration bonuses and crypto-acceptance are just some of the advantages that surround online casino gaming. Allan Paul has highlighted the best crypto casinos in terms of security, safety, and bonuses offered. These casinos accept a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Additionally, the accessibility of these casinos also actively reduces the carbon footprint of the industry by removing the need for punters to travel to immerse themselves in the world of casino gaming.

Energy Efficient Buildings

One step towards making the casino industry more environmentally friendly comes from a move to build casinos to be more sustainable. This initiative has seen casino buildings using solar panels to power their machines and lights alongside energy-efficient lighting and recycle points within the casinos themselves.

Publishing 

The publishing industry has been a notorious factor for global environmental damage. The very nature of publishing not only involves the destruction of millions of trees to create paper but also contributes to massive CO2 emissions from the mass distribution of the books. The industry does, however, have several alternatives that are much more environmentally sound. 

Digital Alternatives

The rise of digital alternatives to traditional paper books is having a greatly beneficial effect on the environment. Allowing voracious readers to download books through platforms such as Kindle, or listen to them on sites such as BookBeat helps reduce the demand for paper books. 

Recycled Paper

Many smaller publishers are pushing for recycled paper to become the norm in publishing. This would eradicate the need to chop down trees to produce books and would greatly reduce the overall environmental damage caused by the publishing industry.

Flipbooks

Many environmentally conscious companies are encouraging other companies to create flip books for their employees or service users as opposed to having books and leaflets published. These flipbooks are online materials that allow companies to upload information in PDF form and turn them into tailored and creative online flipbooks. 

These come with many benefits, including the ability for companies to update the information on these books without needing to print them again.

Music

Although moving away from tangible music products, such as CDs and cassettes has led to a decrease in plastic waste, the rise of streaming services has been a major cause of CO2 emissions. Compared to CDs producing 157,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2000, online music in 2016 saw CO2 emissions rise to 350,000 tonnes.

Green Streaming

In response to this, many streaming services have partnered up with environmental companies in an attempt to make their platforms more ecologically friendly. They do this by aiding reforestation projects and investing in renewable energy.

Although not enough companies have yet taken this initiative, those who have been contributing to a hopeful snowball effect will see other and bigger companies also doing their part to become greener.

Recycled Materials

Although streaming services have decreased the demand for tangible forms of music, it hasn’t eradicated it altogether. For example, vinyl sales were up by 6.2% in 2024. 

These forms of music are still widely popular, which is why they must become more sustainable. Many vinyls in particular are being produced with the planet in mind, and modern production has seen them made from recyclable materials and containing less of the harmful chemical polyvinyl chloride.