Impact of Digital Activities and Digital Carbon Footprint

Conveniences provided by technology in our life are indisputable. However, the situation has another aspect when we consider the impacts of Internet usage and digitalization, especially on the climate. Digital activities in our daily life such as watching videos, sending emails, spending time on social media - impacts of which we do not pay much attention - are not actually that innocent.

According to the European Climate Pact, digital technologies are responsible for 8-10% of energy consumption and 2-4% of GHG emissions. These percentages may be small, but they correspond to large numbers. It is estimated that data centers which demanded 2.7% of electricity in the EU in 2018 will demand even more with time with an increase to 3.2% by 2030. Therefore, we need to make sure that GHG emissions originating from digital technology use do not increase at the same rate.

In 2019, EU laid down some rules to make computers and equipment used in data centers and companies energy-efficient. The transition to energy-efficient technologies can provide savings equal to the yearly electricity consumption of a country at the scale of Estonia and can reduce emissions by 3 million tons of CO2 per year.

The concept of “digital carbon footprint” becomes important at the point of reducing the impact of digital activities and the Internet on the climate. So, what is digital carbon footprint and how can it be reduced?

What Is Digital Carbon Footprint?

Digital carbon footprint refers to environmental impacts and carbon emissions related to the use of the Internet and digital technologies. For example, even sending an email or watching a video online consumes energy. This consumption includes operation of data centers, energy needs of devices and use of cooling systems. Each digital activity consumes energy and causes carbon emissions. Becoming aware of digital carbon footprint is the first step towards reducing its impact on the environment.

According to a study published in 2024 in Nature Communications analyzing all infrastructure and electricity lifecycles required to support an average Internet user’s online activity, an average Internet user spends 3230 hours per year consuming digital content. 730 hours of this time are spent browsing the web, 894 hours in social media, 833 hours with video streaming, 566 with music streaming and 207 hours with video conferencing via smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. The same study indicates that digital consumption of an average Internet user causes 229 kg carbon dioxide emissions per year. This corresponds to approximately 3-4% of the average greenhouse emissions per person.

Environmental Impacts of the Internet

Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence: Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers significant advancements in several industries, its environmental impacts are usually ignored. Enormous data requirement of AI applications, from natural language models to complex visual identification systems, results in serious amounts of energy consumption. Data centers hosting AI services not only operate with powerful servers, but they also increase energy requirement even more by using intense cooling systems. As AI systems develop and need more data, the carbon footprint of these technologies also grows. Each model update or training cycle increases energy consumption and creates a digital footprint that can compete with the conventional energy-intense industries. Investing in energy-efficient systems and developing sustainable applications in order to reduce AI’s environmental impacts are critical in reducing the damage of advancement of this technology on the environment.

Environmental Impacts of Data Centers: One of the significant culprits of digital carbon footprints is data centers. Each operation conducted on the Internet such as watching video, sending email, and downloading files requires data to be processed, stored and transferred. These operations are conducted at data centers. However, substantial amount of energy is required to operate these data centers. Energy consumption goes even higher when we include cooling systems. The total energy consumption of data centers across the world is almost equal to annual energy consumption of some small countries.

Today, data centers work 24/7. Although many data centers get their energy from fossil fuels, efforts to use renewable energy sources are also increasing. Data centers across the world are, therefore, responsible for 2.5% to 3.7% of global GHG emissions due to their energy consumption.

Cloud Technology and Carbon Footprint: Cloud technology refers to storing and sharing data over the Internet. Thanks to cloud technologies, users are able to share files and access applications from everywhere. However, cloud services also consume enormous amounts of energy. Considering that these systems are stored and operated in data centers, the energy consumption is quite high. According to a study, cloud technologies are responsible for an estimated 1.8% of the USA’s electricity consumption and most of the emissions of many tech companies. Cloud technology now has a bigger carbon footprint than the airline industry. A single data center can consume the amount of electricity equal to 50,000 homes on average. Therefore, sustainable solutions must be developed to reduce the environmental impacts of cloud technology.

Smart Devices and Digital Consumption: Smart phones, tablets, computers, and other digital devices also create environmental impacts. Considerable amounts of energy are spent during the production processes of these devices. Rare metals and chemical materials used in production damage the environment. Moreover, constant recharging and energy consumption of these devices increase their carbon footprints. Although digital devices are indispensable in modern life, they should be used carefully in order to minimize their adverse impact on the environment.

Factors that Increase Digital Carbon Footprint

One of the critical triggers of digital carbon footprint is video streaming services. Watching high-resolution videos on platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, TikTok etc. causes extreme amounts of energy to be consumed. Watching videos at 4K or HD resolution means using more data. This means higher energy consumption and carbon emissions. Steps can be taken to minimize the impacts of video streaming services on the environment such as choosing lower resolutions or watching offline.

Although sending or receiving an email looks like a simple operation, even this operation requires energy consumption. Especially unnecessary emails, spam messages and emails including large attachments harm the environment even more. Millions of people across the world send hundreds of thousands of emails every day, and this leads to energy waste. At this point, it becomes important to be sensitive to environment in email usage, deleting unnecessary messages and using spam filters.

Social media platforms also play a role in increasing digital carbon footprint. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter include contents stored in big data centers. Each photo, video, and post causes energy consumption. Avoiding unnecessary content consumption while using social media and limiting the time spent on these platforms can contribute to minimizing carbon footprint.

Individual Measures to Take to Reduce Digital Carbon Footprint

• Preferring Energy-efficient Devices: The first step to reducing digital carbon footprint is to use energy-efficient devices. Using devices for longer times, not replacing them frequently and using energy-saving modes would decrease energy consumption. Preferring specifications such as energy-efficient screens, batteries and power-saving modes would help with decreasing carbon footprint. The impact of digital devices on the environment can be minimized with conscious consumption.

• Methods to Reduce Data Usage: Another way to reduce digital carbon footprint is to reduce data usage. Video and sound streams consume significant amounts of energy. In fact, video streaming is responsible for 75% of global data traffic. For example, preferring low resolution rather than high resolution when watching videos would reduce energy consumption. Also, deleting unnecessary files and applications and reducing Internet usage would also reduce digital carbon footprint. Limiting the time spent on the Internet would provide energy saving as well as minimizing negative impact on the environment. Carbon emissions can be reduced by downloading the content instead of watching the stream more than once and by closing automatic play on YouTube and other video streaming services.

• Adjusting Email and Storage Habits: Adjusting email and cloud storage habits would also be effective in reducing carbon footprint. Deleting unnecessary emails and effectively using spam filters are also beneficial for the environment. Moreover, it is also important to regularly clean storage spaces and to avoid unnecessary data consumption. Returning to physical storage or using cloud space carefully come to the fore as environmentally-sensitive approaches.

Companies and Digital Carbon Footprint: Eco-friendly Solutions

Sustainable Data Center Management: Companies invest in sustainable data centers in order to reduce digital carbon footprint. Companies which reduce their energy consumption by using renewable energy resources minimize their impacts on the environment. Carbon-neutral data centers and energy-efficient cooling systems play a vital role in reducing data centers’ damage to the environment. Moreover, low-energy consuming equipment is preferred to minimize carbon emissions.

Raising Digital Awareness Among Employees: Reducing digital carbon footprint is not feasible with only infrastructural changes. It is also important for companies to train their employees about digital carbon footprint.

Sending an email with a big attachment can create the same carbon footprint as driving a car for one kilometer! Cloud-based solutions can be used to reduce the size of emails. Simple measures can be taken to reduce energy consumption such as providing links for online files instead of attaching documents, optimizing file sharing, reducing unnecessary email sending habits, and canceling unwanted or unnecessary news subscriptions. Habits such as efficient usage of online meetings and avoiding unnecessary data sharing can reduce environmental impact.
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Eco-friendly Innovation in Digital Product and Services: Companies develop and use software and applications that reduce energy consumption to reduce digital carbon footprint. Eco-friendly digital products and services minimize energy consumption, thus reducing the impact of users on the environment.

Individual and Corporate Responsibilities to Reduce Digital Carbon Footprint

Digital carbon footprint is one of the opportunity costs of digitalization on the environment. It is possible, however, to reduce this impact through simple measures to be taken in both individual and corporate terms. Using energy-efficient devices, adopting eco-friendly digital habits, companies investing in green energy and raising awareness among employees would contribute to reducing negative impacts on the environment. For a sustainable digital world, it is critical to manage our dependency on technology in a balanced manner and to reduce our digital carbon footprint.