10 methods companies can cut back their digital carbon footprint
In the past year, many companies have seen their digital emissions rise – in some cases dramatically. Oliver Forster, Director of Corporate Partnerships at ClimateCare, explains how companies can minimize or even reduce emissions from their information technology.
The internet uses a huge amount of energy due to two key factors; firstly the production and shipping of hardware and digital infrastructure and secondly the power supply and cooling of servers that draw energy from the local grid. Storing data on these servers is one of the worst culprits in digital energy use.
Far from being invisible, “the cloud” (and the technology that powers it) accounts for about one percent of global electricity demand, and by 2030 this will increase to 15-30% of electricity demand in some countries.
All of this energy consumption causes CO2 emissions. The carbon footprint of our devices, the internet and the systems that support them account for a staggering 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. What’s worse is that these emissions are expected to double by 2025. With around 1.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, this is more than the carbon footprint of all cars that drive in the UK and US each year.
Companies of all sizes must take responsibility for their entire carbon footprint to achieve net zero. This also includes measuring and reducing everything from emissions in the supply chain to emissions caused by product use to their digital footprint.
Basically, achieving Net Zero requires all of us to take three main measures: Measure, reduce and offset emissions.
Measure: Companies need to measure their emissions to understand their impact and environmental footprint. This also includes taking into account the footprint of their employees who work from home, as well as the digital footprint of their company.
To reduce: Once they understand what that footprint looks like, they need to reduce their carbon footprint every year, in line with what science tells us, in order to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees.
Compensate: On their way to Net Zero, companies should offset all unavoidable emissions through high-quality projects to reduce CO2.
10 steps any business can do
Since reduction is critical in this process, here are ten things any company (and its employees too) can do today to reduce their digital footprint:
- Turn off autoplay when using social media and avoid using video when all you need is audio.
- Close tabs you are not using to avoid videos playing in the background.
- Limit how often you use reply to emails.
- Unsubscribe from newsletters that you do not need;
- Shut down your computer if you will not be using it for more than two hours;
- Consider storing your data with a green cloud provider.
- Dim your monitor. By dimming from 100% to 70%, up to 20% of the energy used by the monitor can be saved;
- Remember that a computer continues to use energy even when it is in sleep mode.
- Instead of buying a new one, keep IT equipment for as long as possible and have it repaired.
- Be selective about the technology providers you work with and take the time to review their environmental policies. Most importantly, however, you consider the actions they are currently taking to become more sustainable.
Ultimately, the energy used for our digital consumption emits the same amount of CO2 as the entire aviation industry; a fact that remained under the radar until recently. Businesses need to address this overlooked emissions area in order to have a chance to achieve net zero and meet their commitments.
