Sharing videos, downloading music, streaming films, are things we all do on a daily basis, but are you aware they all have an environmental impact?
Energy is needed for every single action you perform on the internet and whilst an email or quick google search only requires a small amount, there are now approximately 4.1 billion people using the internet.
If the internet was a country, it would be the third largest consumer of electricity behind China and the US.
So, what can I do to reduce my footprint?
- Using Wi-Fi instead of an internet connection via 4G will help to reduce your output, as 4G has twenty times more impact in terms of energy use. High-speed communication technology via mobile networks places great demands on base stations
- Unsubscribe from newsletters that you don’t find useful. 90% of the emails sent in the world are spam but sending an email emits on average 10g of CO2, equivalent to a light bulb turned on for 1 hour
- By simply stopping unnecessary sign offs such as ‘Thank you’, we could collectively save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year – the equivalent to taking 3,334 diesel cars off the road
- An SMS text message is the most environmentally-friendly way of staying in touch – each text generates just 0.014g of CO2e
- Consider a ‘green’ search engine such as Ecosia, who plant a tree for every 45 searches performed. Whilst carbon offsetting isn’t the best answer, it will certainly make a dent in your overall digital carbon footprint
- Play songs as audio files rather than streaming them online
- Empty your inbox regularly; storing an email emits 10g of CO2 on average per one year’s storage
- Save carbon by disabling some features for social media and other apps. App updates and automatic cloud backups are about 10% of traffic from mobile phones
