Sustainability and IT: Why go digital sustainably?
Climate change is a fact, and IT is now indispensable in organizations. However, we can still take steps towards a greener future, even digitally. Global warming is caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions. Did you know that ICT has a larger carbon footprint than the aviation industry? Making our Information Technology more sustainable is therefore an important step toward a sustainable world.
4.2% of CO2 emissions in Europe are caused by IT. IT electricity consumption is 9.3% of total consumption in Europe.
The public wants digital and sustainable
Sustainability is important, not only for our own future but also for your audience. Current and future cultural audiences place great importance on access to digital cultural offerings and sustainability. These target groups expect organizations to strive to be as sustainable as possible. On the other hand, they are becoming increasingly digital and accustomed to online offerings and interaction. How do you handle this?
The green and digital transitions together form the 'twin' transition. They can strengthen each other but are not automatically aligned.
Be aware of your digital impact
The invisibility of 'the cloud' is a problem in raising awareness of environmental impact. Many people are still unaware of the footprint their online activities have. That servers run day and night, with their emails, photo archive storage, and social media. Make sustainability a project to put it on the map within your organization.
"Clean up emails, minimize your cloud, turn off your camera, switch to a lower resolution, and share only what is important with those for whom it is important."
10 actions for more sustainable IT
Below are 10 tips to make your organization more sustainable. 5 for yourself and 5 for your entire organization.
You can start with these five steps today!
Check if your organization's website is hosted green
Enter the link in a CO2 calculator and see how sustainable your website is compared to other sites. Not sustainable? Make a project of the greening effort.
Clean up your mailbox
Emails stored unused on a server consume energy. Short on time? Sort your emails by size and delete the largest emails with attachments. Use the tool How sustainable is your digital lifestyle for more insight into your footprint.
Reduce visuals
If possible, turn off your camera during video calls or online meetings: you save up to 94% of your emissions. Streaming videos in standard resolution instead of HD can save up to 86% in power consumption.
Recycle equipment or pass it on
E-waste is one of the heaviest burdens on the environment: 54% of IT's environmental impact is caused by the production phase of equipment. In the Netherlands, 43 million devices such as laptops and mobile phones are purchased annually (business and private). So think carefully about whether a new device is really needed and how you handle recycling or passing on your old products. 84% of old laptops can be recycled.
Use a green search engine
Choose a sustainable search engine, for example, one that supports projects such as tree planting or plastic waste collection. Examples include Ecosia (opens in new tab), Ocean Hero (opens in new tab), or Zoekgroen (opens in new tab).
The following actions are for you and your organization
Green IT is not something you do alone. Involve your colleagues, bring up the topic, and dive into sustainable projects together.
Form a green (e-)team
Bring your colleagues together and ensure that sustainability becomes a core value in new projects. Set the rules and, for example, plan a joint digital cleanup day (opens in new tab) in your organization.
Check if your organization has an e-waste policy
What happens to decommissioned equipment? Are there options to extend the lifespan of devices in your organization? Has thought been given to recycling and refurbishing laptops and smartphones? Need inspiration? Check out the SURF policy or collaborate with a local recycling organization.
Deduplicate or reduce the digital archive
How many copies of digital files are archived within your organization and at what resolution? Can it be lighter? Is deduplication of files legally possible? Can the archive or digital collection be smaller? Can part of the archive be stored locally so that continuous server activity is not required? Get inspired by the Digital Heritage Storage & Usage Infographic (opens in new tab).
No digital archive yet? Read why a digital archive is important and how digital archiving helps with process innovation.
Think about data budgets
Suppose data budgets are ever set that employees cannot exceed. What could you cut back on? What would your first action be to stay within your budget?
Check the IT chain
To effectively make IT more sustainable, the entire ICT chain must cooperate. Contact the developers of the digital services in your organization. Are they already working green? Are the digital applications hosted green or gray? Is the software developer familiar with 'green coding'? Engage your partners to increase sustainable impact, learn from each other, and work together.
Benefits of Green IT
- Cost savings through efficient use of energy and equipment
- Good SEO makes your website more findable and therefore reduces emissions
- Lighter and smaller images speed up the website. This is more environmentally friendly and user-friendly
- You are prepared for sustainability requirements that will be imposed on cultural organizations
- Sustainability aligns with the expectations of future cultural audiences
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