What is the WaterBear Network? | Environmental impact of streaming

What is the WaterBear Network? Aiming to create a sustainability revolution out of the environmental impacts of streaming, WaterBear is dedicated to supporting the sustainability goals set by the UN

The water bear – or ‘tardigrade’ for you biology geeks – is famous for being one of the most indestructible creatures on Earth. Water bears can survive radiation and the vacuum of space, temperatures near absolute zero or hot as an oven, and they can go without food or water for decades. They live in every biome on the planet, and they’re also kinda cute – depending on who you ask.

So what better mascot could there be for a streaming network that’s taking on the crisis that is pushing the natural world to the brink?

What is the WaterBear Network?

The WaterBear Network is a new free subscription streaming service that is dedicated to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals set down by the UN. Aiming to expose and lower the environmental impacts of streaming, WaterBear provides inspirational content that is designed to facilitate action through its content partners, primarily NGOs working to achieve sustainability and global justice. Partners include GreenPeace, Lonely Whale, Sea Shepherd, Amazon Watch, Circle Economy, Jane Goodall Institute and African Parks and each partner NGO showcases its messaging on its own channel within the WaterBear platform.

Victor Edward Eckard, managing director of WaterBear, had a long career as a broadcast television executive in Africa before launching the South African SVOD service Showmax. When the Showmax team moved to the Netherlands at the behest of parent company Naspers, he met WaterBear CEO-to-be Ellen Windemuth, who told him all about her vision for a VOD service devoted to sustainability.

Windemuth had been working as a long-term producer of feature nature documentaries for major broadcasters, as well as founding her own factual content company, Off The Fence.

“Ellen had this idea: what if, while you watch content, you could ‘watch yourself green’,” recalls Eckard. “What would that look like? She had been thinking a lot about it and at that time the technology was not yet available. The concept of OTT services was just starting.”

‘Audacious dream’

As a natural history producer, Windemuth was seeing amazing stories that never made the final cut. She wondered if there could be a platform telling these stories outside of the constraints of traditional broadcast formats, which would focus on the environmental impact of streaming, as well as sustainability.

“It was an audacious dream, but super-doable,” says Eckard. “We went on a journey of building a business case. We settled on the idea of a free service, with a revenue model based on integrated sponsorships with brands who pursue this transformation journey and want to tell stories about more sustainable supply chains and products.”

It’s about creating and sharing stories of hope and inspiration and allowing people, when they’re inspired, to make a difference