Digital emissions: which are the activities that have the most impact on the company
Digital emissions: what is meant?
La carbon footprint di un’azienda si calcola mettendo insieme tutte le emissioni di gas serra prodotte, direttamente e indirettamente. Queste comprendono anche le attività digitali, che hanno un impatto sull’ambiente e generano quella che viene definita digital carbon footprint. Questo però non vuol dire che tu debba rinunciare alle riunioni online o ad inviare una mail ai tuoi clienti.
La digital carbon neutrality si può raggiungere attraverso piccole azioni quotidiane di riduzione delle emissioni, compensando le proprie emissioni digitali con progetti certificati, e grazie anche a scelte aziendali (tra cui la formazione dei dipendenti sul tema). Così facendo si può iniziare un percorso che porta a una riduzione del proprio impatto ambientale.
Continua a leggere e scopri i 10 consigli per iniziare subito a ridurre le tue emissioni digitali.
Ma non è tutto, il team di Up2You Insight ha realizzato un'infografica con dati e informazioni dettagliate per capire quanto impattano le tue attività digitali in base al tipo della tua azienda. Clicca il link qui sotto e scaricala gratis!
Scarica l'infografica gratuita
What are the most greenhouse gas-emitting digital activities?
When it comes to emissions from digital, the biggest slice is powering data centers, which require large amounts of energy to be cooled and be able to transfer data. Device manufacturing and disposal also play their part.
Think of all the devices you have at home. Then all the ones you use in the office. Each one consumes energy and is responsible in part for the digital emissions of both your business and your home environment. Should we go back to the Stone Age? Of course not. Current technologies have enabled us to make great strides in so many areas and will continue to do so. What we can do, however, is to use them more consciously.
One source of digital pollution that we don't usually think about is called "dormant pollution." This is theenergy consumed to store the immense amount of data on our devices and on the Internet. For example, you know the hundreds of emails unnecessarily stored in your inbox? Here, to keep the data of each of those emails there are servers running continuously. According to this study by "Il Sole 24 Ore," digital emissions account for 4 percent of the total and are set to increase.
10 remedies to reduce digital emissions
With small steps you can get anywhere, including reducing carbon emissions that we are often unaware of, such as digital emissions. Here are a series of tips you can put into practice right away, both at work and in your personal life.
- Reduce the "weight" of the messages you send by compressing email attachments.
- Include a link to the email if you can substitute it for the attached document.
- Reduce your digital signature as much as possible, especially if it contains images.
- Unsubscribe from newsletters you routinely trash.
- Avoid chain letters and unnecessary mailings.
- Empty the trash in your mailbox on a regular basis.
- If your recipient is nearby, take the stairs and give them the communication by voice-you will also help make your office more sustainable.
- Collect the sites you visit most often as favorites on the search engine, instead of searching for them every time.
- Optimize your online searches: if you use longer keywords, the search engine will find what you need more easily.
- Make your smartphone more efficient by closing background applications.
How much impact do digital issues have for different types of companies?
Clearly, not all firms produce the same amounts of digital emissions: a manufacturing firm, for example, will never have the same emissions as a consulting firm, nor a full remote firm (in terms of digital activities, at least).
Thedigital carbon footprint is proportional to the digital activities that take place within a company: in a full remote company, for example, staff will use web calls much more than in a manufacturing company, so the digital emissions related to this activity will be greater.
Interested in knowing the data and percentages of digital emissions based on the type of your company? Great, because we have produced a clear and comprehensive infographic just to address this interest of yours. Fill out the form below and download it for free!
