MainStreaming has completed its climate contribution for the year, covering the company's full corporate carbon footprint for last year: 363,330 kg of CO₂, funded through verified climate projects and tracked publicly through Climate Partner.
That is not just a figure. The more interesting story is what sits behind it, and where the contribution actually went.
The smallest footprint we can, before anything else
Funding climate projects is the last step in our process, not the first. Everything ahead of it is about reducing the emissions as much as possible.
Streaming accounts for an estimated 3–4% of global carbon emissions, and much of that comes from delivery architectures designed for reach rather than efficiency. Our Intelligent Media Delivery Platform® takes a different route. A single-layer edge caching model and a one-hop network design mean data travels shorter distances through fewer processing layers. Video workloads run on Intel Xeon SP processors selected specifically for this kind of work, and our software manages power dynamically across the stack, going beyond ACPI standards to keep consumption low at peak load and at idle alike.
The result is up to 50% less energy than legacy multi-layer delivery models, with Quality of Experience that improves rather than suffers. That is why our annual footprint is as small as it is. The contribution covers what efficiency alone cannot remove.
Where this year's contribution went
The 2026 contribution was made in two tranches, in June and September, and split across two programmes.
Reforestation in Veneto, and cleaner cooking in Kenya — 65,100 kg CO₂
In October 2018, Storm Vaia caused severe damage across northern Italy, with winds above 200 km/h uprooting trees across roughly 42,000 hectares of forest in Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige and the Dolomites. Alongside the loss of woodland and biodiversity, the damage left slopes exposed to landslides and avalanches.
This project supports the replanting of those areas with native, climate-resilient mixed species, with regular inspection, maintenance and monitoring so that a stable, species-rich forest can establish over decades rather than seasons. It is a combined project: every tonne contributed to the certified climate project also directs funding to reforestation, and the certified element currently supports improved cookstoves in Kenya, which reduce smoke and protect the health of women and children.
Renewable energy across Asia — 298,230 kg CO₂
The larger share went to a renewable energy portfolio spanning wind, solar, hydropower, biogas and biomass projects across China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey. Every project in the portfolio is certified to the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard, validated and verified by accredited independent bodies.
966 tonnes, and counting
With this year's contribution, MainStreaming has now funded verified climate projects covering 966 tonnes of CO₂ since 2022.
The approach was also recognised in June with the SCTE Sustainability Award 2026. We also continue to work through the Greening of Streaming initiative, of which we are a founding member, to raise efficiency standards across the industry rather than only inside our own network.
The direction of travel
Streaming volumes rise every year, and audience expectations rise with them. Neither is going to reverse, which means efficiency has to improve faster than demand grows.
That is the engineering problem we set out to solve, and the reason our platform is built the way it is. The contribution we make each year is the honest accounting of what is left.
