Five Easy Ways to Be More Sustainable with Xbox This Holiday Season

Play with the planet during this holiday season. This holiday season, let us share some of our top tips on how to be kind and compassionate to the Earth while still enjoying what you love, which is playing.

Do you want to buy a brand new phone? You can minimize your environmental impact by purchasing refurbished consoles.

Xbox Series X|S (Refurbished) as a lower waste alternative to buying a brand-new console. These refurbished consoles undergo a rigorous certification process, are tested to confirm they’re working properly, and inspected for hardware and cosmetic quality to deliver the high-quality gaming experience our fans love, while improving the circularity of our consoles.

Choose ground shipping when you purchase your Xbox Accessories or console through the Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store allows you to choose free ground shipping (3-5 business days for eligible orders within the US), which reduces carbon emissions compared with standard airfreight express and expedited shipping.

For cash, trade-in your old device

If you’re upgrading your own console, you can trade in eligible devices through the Microsoft Store to give them a new life and get cash back. Teladvance is the company behind Microsoft Store Trade-in Program. They specialize in electronic reuse and recycling. You get cash back and your used device gets a new home — or it’s recycled in a responsible way. Click here to learn more about this program and where it’s available.

S|S to reduce energy consumption

You can reduce your emissions and also lower your electricity bill by playing games. Make sure that you are using the most recent energy-saving features. You’ll use up to 20x less power when your console is turned off using shutdown (energy saving) mode and your system and games will stay updated.

Three easy steps to turn off Shutdown (energy savings)

1. Use the Xbox button to activate your controller.

2. Navigate to Profile & system > Settings > General > Power options.
3. Shutdown is an energy saving option.

Get more information about the environment. Minecraft’s new Frozen Planet II maps.

According to an Xbox survey, more than half of the games that were played in holiday seasons are family friendly such as Minecraft. Five amazing Minecraft maps are inspired by BBC Earth’s new Frozen Planet II television show. Play as eight different animals, learning what it takes to survive and thrive in some of the world’s harshest conditions. Save your cubs polar bears. Hunt as killer whales. Collect nectar in stunning frozen worlds as a bee. The Frozen Planet II maps are available for Minecraft: Education Edition and Bedrock in the Minecraft Marketplace.

Give Microsoft Rewards points to an environment nonprofit

Microsoft Rewards with Xbox lets you earn points, take part in Quests and offer, as well as make certain purchases at the Microsoft Store. The United States players can easily donate points by turning on their console. Next, navigate to the Microsoft Rewards app for Xbox and scroll to Redeem. Finally, click on Donate to save your points. You can also donate online by visiting Microsoft Rewards (bing.com). To donate points, you can choose from one of our partners (including the three environmental causes) You can read more about them here:

World Wildlife Fund ​– As the world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in nearly 100 countries They strive to create a society where everyone lives in harmony with nature. To deliver on this mission, they work to conserve and restore biodiversity, reduce humanity’s environmental footprint, and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources to support current and future generations

Water.org – 1 in 10 people lack access to safe water and 1 in 4 people lack access to a toilet. Water.org is an international nonprofit that works towards changing this. They help people living in poverty get access to safe water and sanitation at home – giving women hope, children health and families a bright future. 

Nature Conservancy – The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. They are committed to conserving the land and water upon which all life is dependent.