Digital Pollution: Definition, Impact, Challenges

In the era of digital transformation of companies, digitization of processes, digitalization of services, development of artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud technologies, digital technology has become a vector of solutions to combat climate change, but its carbon footprint is increasingly heavy worldwide.

Definition of Digital Pollution 

According to Greenpeace, digital pollution encompasses all pollution caused by the digital sector during the phases of production, distribution, use, and end of life. This pollution is of various types: greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources, disastrous conditions for raw material extraction, destruction of biodiversity, production of electronic waste.

The Environmental Impact of Digital Technology

The global digital ecosystem is responsible for nearly 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. In France, it represents more than 16 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year, accounting for 2.5% of total emissions in 2020. Digital pollution mainly comes from equipment (almost 80%), data centers (15%), and data and telecom networks (5%).

IT Equipment

The ADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition) and Arcep (telecoms regulator) specify in their report on the environmental assessment of digital equipment and infrastructures in France that the digital pollution of companies is largely linked to the production of IT equipment such as desktop (fixed) and laptop computers, computer monitors, printers, and rack servers. This production is responsible for:

• 29% of energy consumption;
• 54% of greenhouse gas emissions;
• 61% of water usage;
• 97% depletion of natural resources.

Thus, to manufacture a computer, 800 kg of raw materials are needed, and this phase results in the production of 124 kg of CO2 out of the 169 kg emitted throughout its life cycle. A smartphone requires 54 raw materials for its production.

Distribution of Environmental Impacts in the Company by Activity Area

Unsurprisingly, the most harmful activity within the company is the user environment (which includes the production of IT terminals, software licenses, electricity consumption…), followed by data centers, IT services, and networks. Except for the user part, the ranking regarding digital pollution of other implicated areas varies depending on the type of impact considered, energy consumption, GHG emissions, water consumption...

The Challenges of More Responsible Digital Technology

Digital transformation is a considerable progress for companies. It contributes to their efficiency, performance, and agility. However, it involves increased use of hardware and software that have a significant impact on the environment. In this context, responsible digital technology aims to transform practices and uses towards more frugality.

According to the We Green IT study by WWF and the Green IT Club, the success of this undertaking relies on:

• Reducing the environmental and social footprint within companies through the implementation of a green IT approach.
• Using digital resources to serve the environment, with an IT for green approach.
• Responsible design of digital goods and services.

Among the various measures to take, extending the lifespan of equipment and software licenses is certainly one of the most effective levers to combat digital pollution. Reuse and the circular economy could save 810,000 tons of GHG and 6 billion liters of water.

To act on the user environment, it is important to implement a Software Asset Management strategy and integrate the Softcorner marketplace, a leader in the second-hand software license market. Auditing your software inventory and analyzing your users' needs will allow you to identify used software licenses, establish a requirements document for your needs and the functional scope to cover according to services and projects. By proceeding in this way, you can decommission unused licenses, free up digital resources, and target your needs for purchasing second-hand software licenses on premise (compliance of your inventory, client workstation equipment…). This strategy will impact the extension of the lifespan of software licenses and consequently the hardware configurations used.