The impact of a digital world

According to The Shift Project, the total energy powering the internet's data centres, servers, and networks that stream video content generates over 300 million tonnes of CO₂ each year – equivalent to 1% of global emissions and increasing its energy consumption by 9% each year.

Despite digital technology being so intertwined with our lives, we hardly realise its impact on the environment. Luckily, there are companies working on creating a more sustainable relationship between the two; and today, we're talking to the CEO of one of them, Antonio G. Corrado of MainStreaming.

MainStreaming is an Intelligent Media Delivery Company that empowers broadcasters, OTT TVs, media enterprises, and gaming companies, providing revolutionary AI-powered video delivery tech services. Antonio G. Corrado explained to us why measuring carbon footprints is important in the digital sector and what they are doing to reduce emissions.

Why is sustainability important to MainStreaming?

Environmental sustainability aligns with our values in taking care of our life on this planet and in line with the environmental responsibility of our field of expertise – streaming media technology. Sustainability is an objective that is high on our agenda and integral to everything we do. We rely on data and research when offering our Edge Video Delivery Network services.

Research conducted by Omdia, Informa Tech shows that the media and entertainment industry will generate 1 trillion dollars in revenue in 2024, with 70% coming from video. As indicated in the research paper “Streaming Media’s Environmental Impact” published on ResearchGate, the streaming media industry is responsible for 3-4% of the global carbon footprint. At MainStreaming we play our part in prioritising the implementation of environmentally responsible practices throughout our operations.

What steps is MainStreaming taking?

We base our sustainability initiatives on four strategic steps that set up a climate action strategy and set broadcast quality and sustainable streaming standards.

To begin with, we’ve implemented and architected an innovative and energy-efficient Edge Video Delivery Network from scratch with sustainability at its core, unlike traditional CDN architecture. We’ve adopted a new approach by using a single-layer Edge caching architecture with a one-hop network, combined with the adoption of hardware selected for optimal performance, resulting in up to 50% reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional CDN models. Not only does this improve energy efficiency, but by removing system layers, it also improves a viewer’s experience.
We wanted to understand MainStreaming’s impact and started with the calculation of our own emissions. Therefore, we calculated our footprint together with ClimatePartner, learned about our main hotspots, and financed climate projects.
We decided to support two climate projects: a clean drinking water project in Eritrea and a clean wind energy project in Chile to support not only climate goals but also local communities. Our customers can find all relevant information about our footprint and the financed projects on our tracking page.
MainStreaming is a founding member of the Greening of Streaming initiative, which drives real change and supports energy-efficient practices across the industry.
Our headquarters “Building 16” in Bicocca, Milan was recently announced as the most eco-friendly condominium in all of Italy, featuring a record-breaking installation of the largest photovoltaic system.

What are the advantages of MainStreaming’s products?

At MainStreaming we believe in combining sustainability with excellence, ensuring an exceptional streaming experience for all. MainStreaming was founded with a clear vision: to redefine the traditional content delivery network industry with sustainable and new video delivery solutions. We are here to help navigate the complexities of video streaming, making it better, sustainable, and manageable. We are dedicated to transforming how we all experience video streaming, both on-demand and live.

Our story is about more than just technology; it's about bringing joy to viewers and ease to broadcasters and OTT providers. With our comprehensive video delivery solutions, we ensure broadcast-quality standards, minimal latency, high performance, real-time insights, and effortless integration, putting sustainability above all.

What does the partnership with Climate Partner consist of?

To bolster our position as a company that provides video delivery technology designed to be energy-efficient in the media streaming ecosystem we made a strategic decision to collaborate with ClimatePartner, a trusted expert in climate action.

It began with our recognition of the crucial importance of accountability for our carbon emissions. To better understand our company's unabated emissions, their expertise has guided us in calculating our carbon footprint and reducing our emissions. Since then, we have been investing in climate projects that can be tracked via ID tracking.

Want to learn how to get started on your own climate action journey?