Deep Dive: Going Green with Digital Sustainability

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Today’s Deep Dive: 🌲Going Green with Digital Sustainability👩‍💻

Going Green with Digital Sustainability

Awareness of climate change and how it is affecting Earth and every living being in it has turned sustainable technology into a familiar term. Whether as an individual or business owner, there’s no doubt that people are exploring ways to achieve sustainability.

It has long been believed that to go green, we need to switch from physical means, such as using paper which requires cutting down trees, to digital means, where everything you have you can access with a simple tap on your laptop or phone.

By this logic, not carrying printed books everywhere and having thousands available on your Kindle helps you contribute to green action. This is true, but only to an extent. The world has gone almost too digital, and its impact can be imperceptible to some.

Debunking Digital Myths

Switching to digital means fewer physical resources are used, but what does that entail? Advances in digital technology have driven everyone around the world to consume data, and data’s “invisible” form makes it difficult for users to grasp its impact on the physical world.

Every media we consume, be it e-books, music, images, films, videos, or software, ends up as data, which, when no longer used, are collected and stored. They become digital waste and take up an insane amount of energy. Take mobile applications, for example. Downloading apps takes a lot of energy, but according to mobile intelligence firm Quettra, 77% of users delete free apps within the first three days after the download. Energy is constantly used but quickly becomes waste in the same manner.

The over-consumption of data leads to something that many are aware occurs in the world but do not realize that it also applies to the digital world, and that is carbon footprint.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint is defined as the amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, that are generated by our actions, negatively impacting the environment. The known major contributors to carbon footprints are transportation and household energy. Little do individuals know that digital action counts, too.

After over-consuming data for decades, digital may have turned physical and stopped being green. Every email we send and receive, every tweet tweeted, and every Google search contributes to global warming. The computers and TVs we use are constantly hungry for energy.

According to environmental author Gerry McGovern, the pollution caused by email spam would require 1.6 billion trees to be planted to undo and 16 million trees must be planted to offset the pollution caused by 1.9 trillion yearly searches on Google.

Those planting numbers might seem like an impossible task, but is it, and are there alternative solutions?

Carbon Neutrality

Digital problems mean digital solutions exist, too. Reducing carbon footprints can be achieved in multiple ways, and though they might not be so simple, they are far from impossible.

Companies can try to make the switch to carbon-neutral tech use, which is already becoming a more common goal in many countries and companies. Carbon-neutral tech still releases carbon dioxide but balances the harm by removing an equivalent amount.

Some companies are already taking action. Overstory, a 5-year-old company founded in Portugal, utilizes AI and carbon-neutral technology to analyze all vegetation on Earth to prevent wildfires and power outages.

Kuva Systems, a Massachusetts-based industrial IoT* platform, continuously monitors the intensity of methane and VOC* emissions to assist oil and gas companies in improving their operations and achieving their ESG* goals.

*IoT: Internet of Things, the concept of connecting any device with an on-and-off switch to the internet, from mobile devices and headphones to washing machines or coffee makers.

*VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds, emitted gases from certain solids or liquids, including a variety of chemicals which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.

*ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance, a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments

Less Data Cooling and Cautious Cloud Migration

Achieving full carbon neutrality is an arduous goal. Companies that want a less time-consuming method to achieve digital sustainability can consider data cooling and intelligent cloud migration.

Data centers are, without a doubt, the backbone of many companies, especially companies that are data-heavy. Data cooling quite literally means the cooling of data centers to prevent overheating. This process requires a lot of energy, which may be deemed wasteful.

A feasible solution to reduce energy is to harness natural cooling, cooling only to the minimum temperature. Consolidating servers and removing zombie servers* altogether may also be a practical fix. Tool consolidation* may also be essential to prevent your resources from being wasted.

One other solution that has become quite common is reducing power through cloud migration. Moving data from one server to another may lift a weight off your shoulders, but it is crucial to be wary of where your data really goes and what that does. All computing runs off a data center, so migrating your data might mean you are just shifting your carbon footprint to another organization.

*Zombie servers: dormant or “comatose” servers in a data center that consume physical space and power without running any compute load.

*Tool Consolidation: the process of strategically combining relevant data, often from disparate sources, into one centralized repository.

Environment and Consumer Care

Apart from contributing to green action, applying the aforementioned digital solutions may also be advantageous to your business. It is always paramount to keep loyal customers and gain new ones.

According to a study from NielsenIQ, products that are (or claim) to be environmentally and socially responsible have seen sales growth over the years, and 78% of US consumers find the sustainable lifestyle important to them.

Consumers are increasingly looking for socially and environmentally conscious brands, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if consumer sentiments stayed steady over the years to come. By being a conscious company, not only will you contribute to the environment, but you will also be winning a favorable reputation.

More Action

Of course, aside from digital sustainable action, it is still vital to take other, more physical, steps. Implement recycling programs, use energy-efficient transportation or light bulbs in your office, and cut back on single-use items.

Making technology itself more sustainable and using technology to become more sustainable is the great utopian goal, but there are various other ways to save the planet. Whether big or small, as long as you try, you’ll do good.

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