Today, more and more things are being dematerialized. Our photos, our films and music, as well as all our paper documents. But if dematerialization allows for the elimination of the physical object or support, the thing that has been dematerialized still has an impact on the environment. Because if no plastic, metal, or paper is used for storage, the file still must be stored somewhere. And if it’s not stored on our personal electronic device (computer, tablet, or phone), the file is stored in the ‘cloud.’ The ‘cloud’ refers to file storage spaces that we can access via the internet (drive, email inbox, photos and videos posted on social networks). If for us, this storage space is entirely invisible, it still exists somewhere in reality. In fact, all our files stored in the ‘cloud’ (photos, videos, audios, messages, documents, etc.) are actually stored on servers around the world, which truly exist. These servers are large buildings (data centers) containing rooms filled with server PCs, being constantly powered on. It is on these ‘supercomputers’ that all internet files are stored. But these servers require a tremendous amount of energy to operate continuously: electricity for their operation and especially very powerful cooling systems, and thus very energy-intensive, because their electrical circuits generate a lot of heat. All of this means that every file we store in the cloud actually consumes energy so that we can access it at any time from anywhere. Among all the files we store, some are surely useless to us (such as old emails already read) and are therefore stored for nothing, representing a waste of energy. This is what we call digital waste.

More and more of us are choosing digital means to store our information and data. However, the burden of storing this data is very significant and represents a considerable source of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why, in order to combat climate change, the Digital Cleanup Day was launched in 2019. This initiative aims to promote a more environmentally friendly use of the internet and to raise public awareness about digital waste. To achieve this, the Digital Cleanup Day has been established every year on March 16th. This annual event was conceived by Kévin Guérin and a collective of associations, including the “Institut du Numérique Responsable”, which is a French corporate foundation aiming to promote a more ethical use of digital technology. Also involved is the Let’s Do It World association, accredited by the United Nations Program, which works for environmental preservation. In addition to awareness-raising activities and various events organized around the world, this day encourages everyone to clean up their personal storage spaces and then visit the website to register and specify how many bytes of data they have managed to delete. At the end of the day, a tally will determine how much data has been erased worldwide thanks to this initiative.

To well understand the impact of digital wastes and the use of internet on global warming and environment, here are some figures: 

• Every year, the Internet and its associated systems produce more than 900 million tonnes of CO2.
• According to some calculations, Internet use accounts for 3.7% of global emissions, equivalent to all the world’s air traffic. And this figure is set to double by 2025.
• Streaming (video and audio) accounts for 60% of data flows on the Internet. And 1 hour of video streaming represents the consumption of a refrigerator for 1 year.
• In 2022, an average of 306 billion emails will be sent around the world every day. And sending 20 emails emits as much CO2 as driving a car 100 km.
• One email stored means 10 grams of CO2 generated per year.
• One gigabyte of stored data produces 0.24 grams of CO2 per day. 
• Data centers are responsible for 2% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• One hour every day spent on social networks generates 1,250 kg of CO2 per year.
• Between 2013 and 2017, energy consumption in the digital sector rose by 50%.

As we have seen, the impact of the use of the internet on our planet is serious. To reduce our personal impact, we already can adopt some reflexes: 

• Delete unnecessary emails that have already been read.
• Activate automatic spam deletion. 
• As far as possible, use the memory of your electronic devices rather than online storage.
• Deactivate automatic video playback on social network feeds.
• Regularly clean out online storage spaces and delete any unnecessary files.
• Paper versions of documents are often less polluting than digital versions (provided they are recycled).

So if you would like to play your part in the fight against global warming, I invite you to clean up your storage spaces and then register on the “Digital Cleanup Day” website (“digitalcleanupday.org”) to find out how much data you have managed to delete!

Augustin Magaud