Eight ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint

Individually these aren’t large numbers, but when considered in a global text, it’s easy to see how things add up. Some 333 billion emails are sent every day, for example, while Facebook has 1.98 billion active daily users, according to Statista. It’s the same with streaming. Watching a 30-minute show on Netflix releases around 18g of CO2e, says the Carbon Brief. This is about the same as driving around 100 metres in a conventional car. But as of Q3 2021, Netflix had roughly 214 million global paid memberships. If every one of these watches just one 30-minute show, that’s carbon emissions the equivalent of driving 21.4 million kilometres of driving.

And then we get into the far more intensive stuff, such as Bitcoin and crypto-mining. While these practices aren’t yet mainstream, their impact is colossal. According to Cambridge University, cryptocurrency uses more electricity than the entire annual energy consumption of the Netherlands.

Reducing your digital impact

Since our individual digital carbon footprint is relatively small, it’s clear that the big issue here arises from volume – from the number of people using digital platforms and services. Therefore, the bulk of the responsibility in addressing these emissions must come from companies and providers (see box). Innovative energy management technology and above all, renewable energy, needs to be at the top of their agenda, especially since our lives are now so intertwined with digital technology it’s unfeasible to expect people to simply give up email or social media in the name of the planet.

So what can we do to make sure we’re using the internet as efficiently as possible in energy terms? 

1. Switch to a renewable energy provider

First of all, make sure all of your web-connected gadgets are being powered by clean energy. There are quick and easy energy comparison services available in every country, such as Uswitch in the UK, PowerSwitch in the US, and Energy Made Easy in Australia. All you need is your address to get started searching for a green power supplier.

2. Rethink your email habits

How often have you dashed off an email that simply says ‘Thanks’, or added a load of unnecessarily large attachments? Ask yourself if you really need to reply to an email, or consider putting a small disclaimer in your email signature noting your intention to only send emails if necessary. When it comes to attachments, make sure the file size is appropriate. If you’re asking a colleague to look over a design idea, for example, you don’t need to send over the 25MB design file when a much smaller PDF will do the job.

3. Unsubscribe

How many email newsletters do you get that go straight in the bin? Unsubscribe from the ones you don’t read (there are lots of free online tools available to help you do this in bulk) and think twice before signing up to new ones.

4. Clear out your cloud services

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, come 2025 some one hundred zettabytes of data (that’s a ‘1’ followed by 23 zeros) will be housed in sprawling server farms. Undoubtedly a lot of this will be old photos, documents, emails and so on that you no longer need – and may have even forgot existed. Give your cloud services a spring clean and ditch the stuff you no longer need.

5. Download instead of streaming

Some streaming platforms such as Netflix and Spotify will let you download content to watch/play offline. Do this where possible (especially with music as you’re likely to listen to that repeatedly) so you only pull the data from the platform’s servers once.

6. Stream in SD

Choosing standard definition (SD) instead of high definition (HD) or ultra-high definition (often known as 4K) streaming will make a big difference to your digital carbon footprint. According to the Royal Society, streaming a video in 4K for an hour on a smartphone generates around eight times more emissions than doing so in SD.

7. Edit autoplay

If you’re one of the many that use Netflix or other streaming services for background noise when you’re falling asleep, make sure you have your autoplay settings configured so that media doesn’t keep playing throughout the night. And while you’re in the settings menu, disable the ‘auto preview’ feature that automatically plays trailers as you search the content library. This is just needless data consumption – not to mention annoying!

8. Switch your search engine

‘Offset’ some of your digital carbon footprint by switching your search engine to Ecosia. A certified B Corp, Ecosia uses the profits it makes from searches to plant trees where they’re needed most. Since 2009, the company has planted more than 165 million trees at over 13,000 planting sites around the world.