SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS:
GO GREEN WITH YOUR DIGITAL CARBON FOOTPRINT Are your digital habits sustainable? As our lives become increasingly dominated by technology, it’s all too easy to think that the invisible data floating in the cloud powering an endless stream of services has little to no impact on the environment. But in fact, the opposite is true. When adding up the impact of the internet, the massive infrastructure used to power it, the devices we use to access it, and the data required to support the services we use, our digital carbon footprint places all too high a toll on the planet’s resources.
DID YOU KNOW: digital CO2 emissions are estimated to be 3.7% of the global emissions total, comparable to the global aviation industry. Around the globe, day to day living is empowered by data. From our business activities to home entertainment and leisure activities they all, somewhat blindly, have an impact on the environment. Data centres across the globe enable our digital activity. Data centres consume vast amounts of electricity to power the thousands of computers they contain and a substantial amount of water in their cooling processes.
DID YOU KNOW: a typical data centre uses 3-5 million gallons of water per day - the same as a city of 30,000-50,000 people.
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The good news is that there are ways to limit the carbon emissions produced by our digital activities. A 2019 study found that 64 billion unnecessary emails are sent every day in the UK. The study found that cutting out just one email per person per day could save 16 tonnes of carbon emissions, saving 2,750 trees processing unnecessary pollution. Finding ways to limit email use can reduce your digital carbon footprint, so by not routinely hitting ‘reply all’ or sending a thank you email you’re not being rude, you’re helping to save the planet!
DID YOU KNOW: every email sent has an estimated carbon footprint of 4g CO2, rising to 50g with large attachments. With some simple tweaks, it’s also possible to reduce your website’s carbon footprint. Many of these, such as ensuring your website is optimised for mobile viewing, are also recommended for improving customer experience, meaning businesses don’t have to choose between success and sustainability.
DID YOU KNOW: just one page view on an average website produces the equivalent of 1.76g of carbon. On a site gaining 10,000 monthly page views, that’s an annual total of 211kg – as much as 10 trees can absorb in one year.
