Microsoft Releases “Sustainable City” Minecraft Map
Microsoft recently released its sustainability report along with an interactive component. Mojang Studios, the creator of the video game Minecraft, released a free Sustainability City map that invites players to explore Microsoft’s sustainability goals and themes. The map is available as a free download in the Minecraft Marketplace “Education Collection.”
Players can download six new lessons designed to educate on topics like responsible forestry, waste management, alternative electricity, and more. Here is a brief description of the six topics, courtesy of the Microsoft article.
- Sustainable Food Production: Explore sustainable practices for every step of food production by visiting a farm, grocery store, waste facility, and recycling plant.
- Outflow Order: Learn about water outflow and treatment to understand how biosolids contribute to fertilizer and how treated water returns to their homes.
- Wasted to Wanted: Check out a landfill, and learn which materials are recyclable and what happens to materials that aren’t reused.
- Dependable Forests: Better understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of responsible forestry
- Sustainable Home: Visit a home built with sustainable materials to learn how to live more energy-efficiently.
- Alternative Energy: Make a trip to a hydropower plant to learn about power lines and wind power through turbines.
Personally, I think the Sustainability City map is a great way to educate others about our environment. It is not easy to catch people’s attention and encourage them to educate themselves on environmentalism and sustainability. More than 100 million people play Minecraft every month and more than 35 million students and educators in 115 countries are licensed to use Minecraft: Education Edition in the classroom. By introducing these important discussion topics on a platform that already reaches a large audience, Microsoft and Minecraft are able to provide a positive impact. I hope to see more businesses and organizations take a similar approach to support global environmental initiatives within their niche.
Written by Emily Su, Class of 2022
Photo Credits: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/01/28/minecraft-releases-free-sustainability-city-map/