Net-zero in a digital world

As more and more people turn to digital options, do we fully understand the carbon footprint of doing so? In 2021, digital emissions accounted for 3.8%[1] (this was higher than aviation emissions in the same year) of total greenhouse gas emissions. By 2040, they are predicted to be 14%, so how do we act at a local level to stop them from rising exponentially as we move to an increasingly digital world?

• Switching your phone to dark mode can reduce your mobile emissions by 63%
• Buy refurbished tech rather than brand-new
• Minimise background apps (this includes all of us with 3 million tabs open on Chrome), data usage and cloud storage
• Use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data where possible- it has a lower impact
• Encourage your organisation to switch to renewable energy sources
• Check your organisation's website to see what its carbon footprint is and see how you can improve it: Website Carbon Calculator (don’t tell anyone, but we did ours, and we definitely need to make some changes)

If we all make little changes, we can have a big impact; let's make these easy changes today.

[1] https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions