In 2021, it’s estimated that over 300 billion emails were sent worldwide every day. This number is expected to rise by 17% by 2025. As we move towards digitalization, we often do so with the intention of being more sustainable. But is digitalization truly sustainable as we’re currently implementing it? Is the Internet an immaterial space with no impact?

Sending just one email generates between 1 and 50 grams of CO₂ equivalent, according to some experts. Measuring the digital carbon footprint helps us understand the amount of greenhouse gases produced by using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). And in turn, it helps us reduce and offset it when necessary.

What does our digital carbon footprint entail?

Experts estimate that the digital carbon footprint accounts for between 1.8% and 2.8% of total CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere. As business and city digitalization grows, so do these numbers. Of course, digitalization can be an ally for sustainability and well-being. That’s why it’s a priority in European funds (Next Generation) and why Spain offers grants like the digital kit. However, we must understand the sustainability impacts of digitalization.

Our digital activity produces invisible or silent pollution — we think the virtual world has no physical implications, but it does. Every online action consumes energy and emits CO₂. Data servers, and devices for sending and receiving information — how sustainable are they? All of this forms the physical infrastructure of digitalization, and it has real impacts.

The Internet: a country that consumes 7% of global energy

Just like in our daily lives, every online action also has an ecological footprint. And according to a report by Greenpeace, our daily internet usage could consume up to 7% of global energy production.

Digital energy consumption mainly comes from data centers that house all the internet’s information. The data stored “in the cloud” isn’t intangible — it consumes energy and water. According to data presented by the Joint Research Centre, in 2020, data centers accounted for approximately 4% of Europe’s electricity demand and 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, a figure comparable to the aviation industry. Following current digitalization trends, this could increase by 60% over the next 10 years.

For example, a report by China’s State Grid Energy Research Institute indicated that by 2030, the electricity consumption of data centers in China will exceed 400 billion kWh, representing 3.7% of the country’s total electricity consumption. In China’s case, 73% of this energy still comes from coal.

The Water Footprint of Data Centers

In addition to energy, data centers are also heavy consumers of natural resources like water.

To function properly, data centers must maintain temperatures between 18°C and 27°C, with relative humidity between 20% and 80%. Keeping these conditions results in a significant water footprint.

According to Data centre water consumption, data centers in the U.S. alone consume 1.7 billion liters of water per day, 57% of which is potable water. Moreover, around 20% of U.S. data centers already rely on watersheds under stress due to drought and other factors, according to the IEEE.

What can we do to reduce our Digital Carbon Footprint?

The digital carbon footprint of companies and organizations is the most significant. Even so, as citizens, we also play an important role in digital sustainability.

An article published in Climática suggests 10 tips for individuals to reduce their digital carbon footprint:

  • If you’re playing a video but only want the audio, use audio-only apps instead of audio and video apps.
  • Save frequently visited pages as bookmarks instead of searching for them every time. Each search loads thousands of results, consuming more energy.
  • Connect to the internet via cable at home or in the office — it uses less energy than Wi-Fi.
  • When outside, using Wi-Fi instead of mobile data (3G, 4G, 5G) consumes up to 15 times less energy.
  • Download content instead of streaming it.
  • Turn off the camera during video calls — this can reduce the impact by 60%.
  • Clean out your email inbox — deleting 30 messages can save 222W, almost the equivalent of a low-energy bulb left on for a day.
  • Unsubscribe from newsletters you no longer read.
  • Disable autoplay for videos in your browser or social media settings.
  • Turn off your router at night or during extended absences.

If you’re a company concerned about contributing to more sustainable digitalization, you can check out our sustainable brand and web design services. We’ve also talked about Monnou’s website: A case of sustainable web design.

We can also, as businesses and citizens, choose to offset our digital carbon footprint. Methods like those offered by CO2mpensamos allow for real-time carbon offsetting, supporting countries already most affected by climate change. In this way, they contribute not only to reducing the carbon footprint but also to climate justice.

Image by Mo Eid.