Data is a huge part of modern businesses across all industries. According to recent a government survey, 81% of all businesses – ranging from sole traders to large businesses – handle digitalised data. But it’s not sustainable.

Most of us think of data as an essential tool that improves efficiency.  We rarely think about the environmental impacts of data, or the ways we can change our behaviour and use data in a more sustainable manner.

The Truth About Data

Quick Facts

• Digitalisation is responsible for 4% of global emissions – with data centres (where data is stored) accounting for 2.5% of global GHG emissions and 3% of global electricity usage.
• Data storage accounts for more emissions than the commercial airline industry.
• The average data centre uses enough energy to power 50,000 homes.
• Emails accounted for 0.3% of GHG emissions in 2019.

So, if you care about the environment, are worried about your energy costs, want to run your business more efficiently, etc,  you should care about data sustainability.

Why Don’t We Use Data More Sustainably?

Data chaos is the norm; it’s the situation where data becomes complex and unmanageable. We’ve all been in the position where we’re worried about losing the edits we’ve made to an important piece of work, so we save it as a new document every time we edit it, or we email it to ourselves so we don’t lose it. After all that effort we then can’t remember which one is the latest version! All this data chaos means our behaviour is worsening the already poor environmental impact of data by unnecessarily duplicating it, and we’re inconveniencing ourselves.

Lack of knowledge is a huge reason for data chaos and thus the unsustainable use of data. Data’s impact on the environment isn’t fully appreciated. It’s difficult to know where to start to avoid data chaos and thus reduce the environmental impact of data where we can. If there is no overarching corporate policy on data – a data architecture – people file and process data how they want, creating more chaos and emissions.

Businesses need to create a culture of data organisation in general, and data sustainability in particular. This will ensure there is buy-in across the board; it’s all very well and good having strategies in place but staff at every level need to be engaged. Simple ways of boosting engagement include reminders in team meetings. For example, at IEC we have a sustainability moment in our weekly team meeting where we discuss something we’ve done differently, a topic we’re aware of etc, and we always encourage our clients to do the same.

Once businesses have created this culture, they should invest in the right technology. This involves researching which solution fits the needs of your company best e.g., storage in a cloud or in a data centre.  

How to Initiate Change:

1. CFO/IT managers (those in decision-making roles) – think about the supply chain and choose green suppliers and platforms where you can.
2. Those not in a decision-making role – provide the decision-makers with the relevant facts and contribute to creating a culture of change. Leverage your existing tools, like the cloud, and be thoughtful with your day-to-day activities.

Top Tips:

• Instead of attaching documents, link to where that document is stored, for example in your cloud. Adding a small attachment increases the carbon footprint of emails to roughly 19gm CO2e. An email with large or multiple attachments, such as images, can have a carbon footprint of up to 50gm CO2e.

• Be selective about what you subscribe to and therefore what emails you’re receiving.  Likewise, write concisely and only send emails to those who need it. Instead of writing a quick note to your colleague, pop into their office and have a conversation.

• Think about your storage needs – do you want a cloud or a data centre? Using the cloud can reduce carbon intensity by 84% compared to a data centre, but it’s true, the cloud is less secure.

• Only buy the amount of storage you actually need – energy consumption of procured storage remains the same regardless of how much of it is used. Equally don’t store data for the sake of it – between 70-90% of data captured is dark data.

• Think about how your storage is powered – renewable energy or not. For example, Carbon Z is working to become the UK’s first carbon neutral data centre, and in the US, Constellation is working with Microsoft to make it 100% renewable energy powered – from locally sourced renewable energy 24/7.

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