The digital age has transformed how we work, communicate and consume information, but its environmental footprint is growing.
Digital sustainability focuses on reducing the ecological and social impact of technology while ensuring long-term benefits for businesses and users alike. It encompasses various aspects of designing, producing, using and disposing of digital technologies and services to ensure they contribute to a more sustainable future.
This could look like developing energy-efficient hardware and software designs, creating a circular economy for electronic products so that they are designed for longevity or optimising cloud infrastructure to reduce energy usage and emissions.
These are just a number of examples of digital sustainability, with tech leaders like Google matching its energy consumption with 100% renewable energy sources and Apple recovering and reusing materials from old iPhones to manufacture new ones. Microsoft is also heavily investing in sustainable data centres and have submerged data centres in the ocean to use cold water for cooling, reducing energy consumption.
Source - https://purplegriffon.com/blog/what-is-digital-sustainability
So, how can you improve your own Digital Carbon Footprint?
Recycle or repair your devices
Whether it’s a mobile phone, tablet, computer or games console, it’s often not long before the latest model gets overtaken by something newer, shinier and faster. It’s exciting and easy to upgrade to new tech, and we don’t always think about what’s going to happen to our old device. Think about whether it could be handed on to somebody you know, or if a charity will take it. It’s far better than simply sending it to landfill.
Unplug it if you’re not using it
A plugged-in device will still use electricity even while on standby. If you’re not using it, unplug it. And when charging devices, keep an eye on them so you can unplug them when they’re fully charged. According to the Energy Saving Trust, you can save money on your bill just by remembering to turn your appliances off standby mode.
Think about your emails
As with most computer-based activities, emails rely on electricity and data – whether it’s sending, receiving or storing them. So, before you type out an email, think about whether you really need to. That’s especially the case if the person you’re emailing is sat in the same office as you! And think about those mailing lists and newsletter subscriptions – how many are you still interested in? By having an audit and unsubscribing from those that you don’t want to receive any more, not only will you be using less energy and data, you’ll also get a bit of your time back.
Stream as a team
To reduce impact of watching streaming services, try to watch things with others, whether it’s your family, friends or housemates. This is much better than you all watching the same thing separately at different times in different rooms.
Play your games and apps offline
Similar to streaming your music, streaming or playing video games online uses more energy than playing them offline. If you’re happy to spend some of your gaming time solo, play offline when it's possible on your console or tablet. It’s still fun, and you can catch up with your teammates next time you’re all online together.
Source - Five ways to help reduce your digital carbon footprint - Ofcom
