Microsoft says Xbox products will be 100 percent recyclable in 38 countries by 2030

Microsoft has provided an update on its Xbox-specific sustainability efforts.

To start, the company says its Xbox products, accessories and packaging will all be 100 percent recyclable by 2030 in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Thirty-eight countries are members of OECD, including Canada and the U.S. The company says Xbox Series X/S consoles were recently deemed to be 97 percent recyclable in OECD nations based on the UL 2789 Environmental Claim Validation (ECV) Procedure, a standardized metric for measuring electronic product recyclability.

With respect to its ongoing cloud gaming efforts, Xbox says it will shift its Azure data centres to 100 percent supply of renewable energy. Xbox Cloud Gaming, the company’s Game Pass feature that lets more than one hundred games be streamed to mobile, PC and consoles, leverages these Azure networks.

Additionally, the company says it’s expanded the functionality of its Energy Saver mode feature, which consumes 20 times less power than Standby mode when the console isn’t in use or receiving updates. Now, system and game updates can be downloaded during Energy Saver mode for a more eco-friendly process.

Other changes include shifting to cardboard for prepaid Xbox gift cards (which it says reduces over 500,000 kg of plastic annually), making the Xbox Series S its first console to use a minimum of 28 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin for mechanical components and showcasing electric vehicles in last year’s Forza Horizon 5.

Source: Xbox