Cut your stream time Stream lean
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Your Challenge
Watching TV, films and videos on demand is a quick, easy and popular choice for many of us. But streaming comes with a carbon footprint, so this challenge is about reducing screen time and finding alternative ways to spend your evenings.
You could enjoy a movie night with others, to limit the number of devices. Or you could choose low-carbon activities instead – such as reading or being creative, gardening or caring for houseplants. Alternatively, you could get out in nature for walks, exercise or adventures.
This challenge isn’t about cutting out TV completely. Instead, we can reduce our screen time by a few hours a week and spend more time on other activities.
Why you're doing this
The Carbon Trust estimates that across Europe the average footprint from streaming for an hour is 55g CO2e.1 In the UK, we watch an average of 4 hours 30 minutes a day of content across devices2, including phones, laptops and TVs. This means every one of us has an average streaming footprint of more than 90kg CO2e a year. That’s equivalent to the emissions footprint of flying to Amsterdam. The footprint from streaming is also affected by how and where we watch content, and who we stream from.
For example, binge-watching the latest show on a large TV will use a lot more electricity than on your phone (and therefore increase the carbon footprint). If the electricity used to power that device comes from fossil fuels, this will also increase the footprint, compared to powering devices with renewable energy.
Similarly, if more people watch together on one device (by sitting around one TV for example), their footprint will be lower than multiple people watching the same programme on different devices (Traitors finale watch-party anyone!?).
Who we stream from also makes a difference. Does that provider have an emissions reduction strategy? Do they take accountability for the energy and water needed to power the data servers that are required to provide customers with video on demand? Or are they providing a streaming service without considering sustainability?
How you'll make a difference
Cutting down screen time will not only help lessen our personal carbon footprints, it will also reduce pressure on our planet to provide the resources required for streaming videos to millions of customers around the world. It can also benefit our mental health3 – so it’s a win-win.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
Sources
[1] Carbon Trust (2021) Carbon impact of video streaming https://www.carbontrust.com/sites/default/files/documents/resource/public/Carbon-impact-of-video-streaming.pdf
[2] OFcom, Tuning into YouTube: UK’s media habits revealed,https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-adults/tuning-into-youtube-uks-media-habits-revealed
[3] Pieh et al (2025) ‘Smartphone screen time reduction improves mental health: a randomized controlled trial’ BMC Med, Vol 23 (107) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03944-z