Digital pollution: what is the carbon footprint of digital?

Computer, tablet, connected watch, voice assistant; whether at home or at work, all these electronic devices seem indispensable. At first sight, they seem to be quite harmless, but in reality they produce a significant digital pollution , either because of their manufacturing or their use. Today, many companies are addressing the issue of the carbon footprint of digital technology to reduce its ecological and economic costs.

But what exactly is digital pollution? What are the figures of this pollution? Are there any actions we can take to reduce the carbon footprint of digital business?

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What is digital pollution?

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We hear more and more about digital pollution, especially with all the new digital tools that are constantly coming on the market. Even if we don't see it, this virtual pollution is real.

To define digital pollution, we can say that it is all forms of pollution emitted by new technologies and their impact on the environment. It concerns :

• soil erosion and loss of biodiversity
• chemical pollution
• the production of electronic waste because of the difficulty to recycle these objects.
• greenhouse gas emissions
  

The negative effects are mainly induced by the manufacturing of digital devices. In itself, we can use them (almost) as we wish, but if we change the digital fleet of our company every year, the environmental impact will be enormous.

This digital pollution concerns the entire sector, from servers to network infrastructures. The entire chain is involved in the digital carbon footprint.

Digital pollution comes from 7 main sources:

• digital equipment
• data storage centers
• e-mails
• social networks
• streaming
• printing of digital documents
• search engines

The issue of digital pollution is not to be neglected when you are a company that wants to reduce its carbon footprint and engage in a CSR approach.

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What is the carbon footprint of digital technology?

Once we are aware of all the links in the digital chain, what is the carbon footprint of the sector? Here are some figures on this digital pollution, whether it is for the manufacturing or the use of these daily tools.

The think-tank The Shift Project details in its July 2019 report that digital pollution accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gases. To give an order of magnitude, if the Internet were a country, it would be the world's 3rd largest consumer of electricity, behind China and the United States.

There is a real energy excess where greenhouse gas emissions are concentrated especially during the first stages of a device's life. For a smartphone, this can represent up to 90% of emissions!

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The manufacture of digital cameras

Why do digital devices pollute so much during their manufacture? The problem lies in the extraction of the raw materials needed to build them. The more complex these new technologies are, the more they need rare materials.

Congolese tantalum, Australian gold, Bolivian lithium, all of these are found in our daily digital tools. Their extraction, in addition to depleting these natural resources, requires a lot of energy, often fossil, water and a significant workforce.

In addition to the highly polluting extraction and manufacturing processes, the finished product must be imported. All this invisible pollution is called imported pollution.

For example, the manufacture of a computer requires on average :

• 240kg of fossil fuels
• 22 kg of chemicals
• 1.5 tons of water.
  

It is all the more alarming that this sector is growing rapidly. Green IT's June 2020 report points out that there could be a 9% increase in energy consumed per year by the digital sector, for production and use.

In France, it is estimated that 60 million people use the 631 million digital devices present on the territory. That's an average of 11 devices per person! Worldwide, this figure is around 8 and includes :

• computers
• telephones
• connected watches
• televisions
• voice assistants
• Bluetooth speakers.

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The environmental impact of the Internet

In 2020, 59% of the world's population was going online according to We Are Social's Digital 2020 report. That may sound reasonable enough, but it's a steadily growing number! In 2018, 1 million new users joined the internet, every day!

30% of the energy used in the digital sector is for the daily use of our devices, 20% is used for social networks, and 15% of energy consumption runs data centers.

Surfing on the internet, even if it seems without consequences, is a source of pollution. For example, 2 searches on Google generate about 15 grams of CO2, which is equivalent to the consumption of 113 liters of tap water.

However, the Internet is nowadays indispensable in both professional and personal domains. But simple gestures exist to reduce the carbon footprint of digital technology.

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Greenhouse gases from e-mails

If there is one thing that proves that digital pollution is not only virtual, it is the awareness that there has been in recent years around e-mails that can quickly have a significant impact.

Sending an e-mail with a 1 MB attachment is equivalent to 1 light bulb left on for 1 hour, or 19 grams of CO2. And the heavier the e-mail attachment, the larger the carbon footprint.

A company with a hundred employees, which sends an average of 332 e-mails daily, will have a carbon footprint on this item equivalent to 13 return flights from Paris to New York.

What about 5G?

We often hear that 5G would be more ecological because it would use less energy than 4G for the same amount of data. This is not false in itself, but the switch to 5G involves many changes, which are very polluting.

The volumes of data transferred will be much higher, which will increase the consumption of electricity and energy: this is the famous rebound effect. Also, in order to use these new 5G compatible devices, it is necessary to change all the equipment of the 4G network infrastructure, and the devices of the individuals.

According to a study by the High Council for Climate, the implementation of 5G will lead to an 18-45% increase in the carbon footprint of digital in France by 2030. This takes into account the explosion of new connected terminals and infrastructure.

What can you do to reduce digital pollution in your company?

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1. Be careful with the use of your mailbox

Simple actions can already have a significant effect on the digital impact within a company:

• avoid sending attachments that are too large. For example, FileVert allows you to transfer files in a virtuous and eco-responsible way.
• reduce the number of mailings by unchecking the automatic "reply to all" option
• Sort out regularly and delete your trash and spam
• unsubscribe from newsletters that you no longer read
• avoid signatures and images if not relevant.
  

Combined with a carbon offsetting search engine like Ecosia, these actions can actually have a significant impact on reducing a company's digital pollution.

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2. Make your devices last longer

We all know what programmed obsolescence is. But how can you succeed in extending the life of your devices in your company? In addition to trying to repair a device if it is broken, here are some tips that can help extend the life of digital equipment:

• follow the loading guidelines
• use the economy mode
• avoid opening too many tabs and programs at the same time
• regular maintenance of your IT fleet by a professional and protection against viruses

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3. Manage your data

Few companies take the time to really sort through the data they store. The best thing to do is to find out the legal retention period for each type of evidence in order to sort it out and keep only what is necessary.

This also allows for better organization and protection of personal data.

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4. Think about renting equipment

It is not always necessary to buy new terminals to renew your IT fleet. In addition to reducing the ecological impact of the company, renting IT equipment greatly reduces the costs of the digital budget.

The rental of computer equipment is part of a real circular economy approach where the advantages are numerous:

• support and maintenance service: rzilient guarantees an effective after-sales service within 48 hours
• flexible management with no obligation rentals and the possibility of purchasing the equipment at the end of the contract
• avoid programmed obsolescence
• no need for a large cash flow to unlock the purchase of the IT fleet

5. Give preference to reconditioned products

The UN, in a 2013 report, states that 75% of electronic waste does not go through recycling channels. They are illegally exported to countries like India or China and pile up in huge landfills.

And then, it is very difficult to recycle all the small components and valuable materials of our phones, computers, and globally of our digital devices, because their design makes the separation of materials difficult.

Is it a need, or is it the desire to have the latest fashionable device? Sometimes tempting promotions can make you want to renew your entire fleet of digital devices.

Buying refurbished equipment gives you the assurance that it has been reset, cleaned and inspected before sale. It is less expensive than a new device for the same functions and features.

Today the legal minimum warranty for a reconditioned digital device is 6 months, and will be increased to 12 months from January 1st 2022. At rzilient, this one-year warranty, with the possibility of extension, is already in effect. We will do everything we can to help you make the transition from refurbishment to digital sobriety by purchasing or renting refurbished devices.

Digital sobriety: the best solution to reduce digital pollution in companies

All these small gestures put together tend towards what is called digital sobriety.

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What is digital sobriety?

The term "digital sobriety" created in 2008 by the association Green IT, is an approach that aims to review its digital services to make them more sober, and to moderate its daily digital uses.

Digital technologies could become as polluting in 5 years as the automotive sector is today.

The few steps to adopt for a greener digital daily life at work are easy to apply by employees. But digital sobriety can go further, with a real reflection upstream.

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How to reach it?

Being aware of the environmental impact of digital technology is already a step in the right direction! Wanting to deploy a digital sobriety in the company allows to make choices according to the environmental challenges to be met.

It is a question of thinking about the company's equipment, the deployment of infrastructures, if they are necessary, and how. This questioning leads to the question of the uses of each person. The key is to seek to have a system that meets real needs, and to identify the conditions that make digital technology relevant to the company. Before implementing a "smart" innovation, it is advisable to base oneself on environmental forecasts to see if they are really "smart".

The first step towards digital sobriety is to think about refurbished equipment. Reconditioned equipment is more and more popular in companies! The environmental impact is lower because the technological tools are not new. Their uses and capacities remain the same as for new devices, but the environmental impact is much more advantageous, as are the economic costs! The environmental impact is lower because the technological tools are not new. Their uses and capacities remain the same as for new devices, but the environmental impact is much more advantageous, as are the economic costs!

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