Why PlayStation?
PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.
PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.
The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.
Role Overview
Recognised as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment* (SIE) is responsible for the PlayStation®’s brand and family of products and services. PlayStation has delivered innovation to the market since the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. As the company grows and evolves, we seek to create impact beyond gaming, inspire social change, and help preserve the planet for generations to come. SIE is now developing an exciting new multi-disciplinary Environment, Social and Governance team to help the company address its broader environmental and CSR impacts. Our purpose is to:
- Forge a path ahead on ESG, and not just follow the crowd.
- To turn our intentions into action.
- Do the right things, and do them well.
The PDS researcher will lead our efforts to assess and address the lifecycle impacts of our products and services globally. The successful candidate will contribute to our efforts to achieve net-zero climate impacts, spearhead state of the art academic research, and contribute to important voluntary environmental commitments. Based in SIE’s London office, they will be in the ideal position to engage and nurture partnerships with our internal and external stakeholders.
The research will focus on developing and applying life cycle assessment tools assess and manage the environmental impacts of gaming products and services. This project will build on SIE’s existing carbon footprint research to evaluate wider environmental impact factors. At a minimum, the research will identify the hotspots of different environmental impact factors for PlayStation products and services, and better understand the drivers of change.
The carbon footprint of gaming products and services is rapidly changing as technology becomes more energy efficient and as gaming habits change. For example, the energy intensity to transmit data through the Internet transmission network is estimated to have halved every two years from 2000, while the energy use of PlayStation 4 was reduced by over 40% from launch to date. In addition, the way people are gaming is changing; it is estimated that downloaded game sales overtook physical disc sales in 2020 for the first time; while cloud gaming is an emergent technology that could see substantial growth in the future. A new generation of consoles was launched at the end of 2020, including the PlayStation 5, which have different typical electricity consumption profiles compared to the previous generation. In addition, as the limit of Moore’s law approaches, there are questions as to how much energy efficiency of devices can be improved further. There is little knowledge of how other environmental impact factors for gaming products and services are affected and may change in the future.
Overall, current estimates for the carbon footprint of our products and services will become rapidly outdated. There is new legislation emerging on substantiating green claims and increasing pressure is on companies to mitigate and offset the carbon emissions of products and digital services. In addition, future EU legislation may require the use of Product Environmental Footprint method. Greater understanding is important for the gaming industry to make informed decisions on future strategy, to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change, environmental impact, and related regulations.
Deliverables
• Use LCA methods to assess wide range of environmental impact factors of PlayStation products/services
• Evaluate the pros and cons of PEF method vs other life cycle approaches
• Identify impact hotspots for different environmental impact factors
• Evaluate strategies for reducing environmental impact of the
Methodologies:
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Product environmental footprint (PEF)
Organisation environmental footprint (OEF)
gaming industry in the future and the impact of related government policy.
What we’re looking for:
- English proficiency
- Masters degree in maths, physical sciences, and/or engineering
- Ability to work independently
- Strong writing skills
- Proficiency in MS Excel
- Strong communication skills are necessary and evidence of stakeholder engagement at all levels is required
- The candidate must be able to display a capacity for independent thought, as well as a pragmatic attitude to working within industry
- A passion for the environment and inquisitive nature
Equal Opportunity Statement:
Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.
We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.
PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.
