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Together, we can make the digital space greener by recognising digital sustainability as a key part of our business operations and, therefore, creating a better web for everyone.

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The good news is that technology (and ICT sectors) have always been the driver of innovation, so now is the time for collaboration to build a credible and standardised approach to gathering and calculating our impacts. This number is expected to increase significantly in the forthcoming years as more and more people have access to the internet, the average number of internet-connected devices per person continues to rise, and the popularity of streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify continues to grow. To put that into perspective, that’s more than the global aviation industry. While one person’s digital carbon footprint may be quite small, the collective amount of the world’s digital usage is monstrous – and increasingly worrying.Ĭollectively, the digital world accounts for approximately 3% of the global greenhouse emissions. But with the colossal number of data centres and the ever-increasing number of internet-connected devices, the digital world is now beginning to be harmful to the planet. When we think of the destructive causes that contribute to climate change, sitting behind a desk sending emails all day probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. (Source: Connected: The Hidden Science of Everything, Cloud episode on Netflix) That’s enough cables to go to the Moon and back 3 times! The problem is that the more greenhouse gas emissions we add to the atmosphere, the warmer and more chaotic the ocean will get, which on top of all the other impacts may put the undersea cables and the cloud in danger. There are over 2 million cables in the ocean, connecting data centres on one continent to the other. Sadly, the majority of them are still powered by burning fossil fuels and thus contributing to the climate emergency. These data centres need electricity 24/7 to power the servers and prevent them from overheating. But all our data is collected, processed, exchanged and stored in enormous data centres all around the world. We have learned to use terms like ‘wireless’ and ‘the cloud’ to make everyday technology seem like it is a weightless formation storing our data. But every time we visit a website, send an email, or use social media, a small amount of carbon dioxide is being emitted. Without a doubt, being able to communicate digitally saves a lot of paper and unnecessary journeys.

We tend to think of the online world as “invisible” and green by default.

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