Unmasking Digital Pollution

In the current context of growing environmental awareness, the role of digital in promoting sustainability is increasingly crucial. As a Digital Marketing agency, we explore in this article how the digital sector can contribute to reducing the carbon footprint, also known as "Digital Carbon Footprint".

What is the Digital Carbon Footprint?

The Digital Carbon Footprint refers to the set of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use of digital technologies, such as electronic devices, network infrastructures and data centers. According to a study by The Shift Project, the digital sector is responsible for 4% of global CO2 emissions, with a trend of increasing by 6% per year. Below are 3 of the most used tools.

Environmental impact of Advertising Platforms

Digital advertising contributes significantly to overall carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide.

Taking Advertising platforms as an example, to serve a single impression of an ad, a publisher can generate thousands of requests to adtech companies, which translates into thousands of servers consuming electricity. Companies can respond to this by engaging in carbon reduction: directly reducing carbon dioxide emissions by making daily processes more efficient and consuming fewer resources.

Environmental impact of Emails

One of the other digital areas in which it is possible to achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions is electronic communication, in particular email and instant messaging.

While it may seem negligible, sending emails has a significant environmental impact. A study by Berkeley University estimates that each email generates on average 4 grams of CO2. Considering that approximately 306 billion emails are exchanged globally every day, this translates into over 1.2 million tons of CO2 emitted just for email transmission.

Some examples of the impact:
An email message with a size of 1 MB generates approximately 19 grams of CO2
A 5 MB attachment adds another 100 grams of CO2
An email with 10 recipients multiplies the impact by 10

Therefore, reducing the number of emails sent, limiting the size of attachments and optimizing distribution lists can lead to significant emissions reductions.

Environmental impact of Instant Messaging

The widespread use of instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and iMessage also has a non-negligible environmental impact. According to a study by The Shift Project, every billion messages exchanged generates approximately 63 tons of CO2.

Some estimates:
Each text message generates approximately 1.6 grams of CO2
A 1MB photo adds another 10 grams of CO2
A 5 MB video adds up to 50 grams of CO2

Therefore, encouraging the use of lighter sharing formats, such as plain text rather than images or videos, can help reduce the carbon footprint of messaging.

Sustainable Digital Solutions and Platforms

Some digital platforms and solutions are already standing out for their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint:

• Cloud providers such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure that offer energy-efficient infrastructure;
• Video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams that reduce travel;
• Email marketing services like Mailchimp and HubSpot that offer carbon offsetting options;
• Search engines like Ecosia, which uses profits to plant trees;
• Adform, the digital advertising platform we currently use, reduces carbon dioxide emissions and alleviates the effect of advertising on climate change. For example, 98% of the electricity used by Adform data centers in 2023 came from renewable sources. Additionally, Adform optimizes electricity use through direct trading between DSP and SSP, improving the quality of ad impressions with frequency caps and purchasing algorithms, and reducing carbon footprint through integration with Scope3.

Pros and Cons of Digital Sustainability

Advantages:

• Reduction of CO2 emissions and overall environmental impact
• Improvement of corporate reputation and image
• Alignment with global sustainability goals
• Potential long-term energy cost savings

Challenges:

• Initial investment costs for more sustainable solutions
• Need for organizational changes and employee behavior
• Difficulty in precisely measuring the digital carbon footprint

The digital carbon footprint is a challenge that companies can no longer ignore. By adopting more sustainable digital solutions and promoting eco-friendly practices, the Digital Marketing sector can play a fundamental role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

E-Business Consulting, agenzia di digital marketing attiva dal 2003, si occupa di marketing e comunicazione; può fornire un supporto a 360° per capire quale è la soluzione più adatta alle vostre esigenze. Contattaci per costruire un progetto su misura per te!