Lg2 has found itself at the forefront of a new trend: green gaming. The Montreal-based agency is one of 10 ad shops (the only Canadian) out of 60 worldwide chosen as finalists for Gaming for Good, an initiative created by former U.S. vice president and Nobel peace laureate Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project.

Participants were tasked with creating gaming concepts to highlight climate change, with the final 10 pitching theirs to Gore and ad guru Alex Bogusky in December. The Lg2 team created Mission Green, a mobile social game allowing players to report companies guilty of eco offences.

For example: players could blow the whistle on a Canadian company that imports bottled water from overseas as opposed to relying on domestic distributors. They could use their phones to photograph the bottle then post it on the gaming platform. The more shares and “dislikes” it achieves, the more points the person accumulates. Once a critical mass is reached, the offending company receives an email reprimand. If the company acts on it, points are awarded to the participant, and to sharers.

The goal, says Stéphane Mailhiot, strategic planner, Lg2, is to alleviate the helplessness that people feel regarding climate change. “You have this impression that climate change is related to big corporations and their activities. We wanted to put power back in [the people’s] hands.” Mailhiot adds that the project also let Lg2 showcase its digital expertise and practice collaboration within the agency.

No single game was selected as the winner, but Gore did post his five favourites on his website. Unfortunately Mission Green was not among them, but Mailhiot says Lg2 still wants to make Mission Green happen one way or another. The first step is investigating its cost and time required and then acquiring partners, be it the Climate Reality Project or others.