If digital technology allows us to reduce our travel and mail, that does not mean that there is no environmental impact. But what consumes the most? What can we do to reduce our digital carbon footprint? Response with Nancy shifters.
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Today, the digital sector is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And if we continue our momentum, it will double within four years! Ademe figures (Energy Transition Agency) could not be clearer. And that’s what worries Nancy’s shifters. This group of committed citizens recently organized a conference on the subject in order to raise public awareness of this issue. They regularly organize workshops around climate frescoes, a sort of big quiz on global warming.
My smartphone has circled the earth 20 times
“When we talk about digital tools, we often only think of our iPhone or our computer. However, these digital tools are only the visible part of the Iceberg! What consumes the most resources and energy is the equipment that allows our terminals to operate explains Viviane Vaillard, teacher at the University of Lorraine and member of the shifters, relay antennas, servers, boxes … and this will not get better with the arrival of 5G and the installation of new equipment“.
Watch videos in low resolution when possible. MaximeLocks, shifter.
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© Valérie ODILE for FTV
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Our digital tools are not left out. The production of complex components requires a lot of energy, chemical treatments and rare metals such as Indium for LCD screens and tantalum for mobile phones. According to figures from theADEME, it is necessary to mobilize 500 kg of materials for a laptop, and 600 kg for an internet box. In addition, no less than 70 materials are needed, including 50 rare metals, to make a smartphone. We can easily imagine the damage to the environment to extract all these materials. Another telling fact, according to Viviane Vaillard, “before reaching our hands, our smartphones have already circled the planet 20 times!“And we still haven’t talked about the manufacturing mostly in China or Korea which increases the carbon footprint.
Solutions to be more sober
Obviously, no one wants to participate in the destruction of the planet, but on the other hand, our digital tools have today become totally essential to our studies, our work and our social life, they are almost an extension of our arms, our eyes and our ears. So what can we do to reduce our impact?
L’association des shifters de Nancy provides answers here that can be easily applied by everyone and are a real lever for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from digital technology. Starting with a very simple habit: do not change equipment regularly and keep it as long as possible. According to Ademe, going from two to four years of use can reduce its environmental footprint by 50%. We can also bet on reconditioned… this is the choice of Sophie Baudoin, member of the shifters, who no longer plans to buy new since she is aware of the environmental damage. We can also focus on repair, barter, it seems obvious, yet 41% of French people who have a computer failure have replaced it instead of always repairing it according to Ademe.
To reduce your carbon footprint, it is better to buy “refurbished” than new. Sophie Baudouin, Nancy shifter.
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© Valérie ODILE for FTv
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The other way to reduce your digital carbon footprint is to reduce the energy consumed. For this, it is important to think before sending too large videos or PDFs, and ask yourself if this is useful. For Maxime Locks, member of the Nancy shifters, and who works in an architectural firm, he is “better to send a link to a drive or dropbox folder, rather than the file itself, so as not to pollute dozens of servers on which the document will be downloaded sometimes unnecessarily He also watches his videos of conferences in low resolution to reduce his energy consumption and consequently greenhouse gas emissions.
“The exchange and consumption of videos are the biggest consumers of electricity, explains Viviane Vaillard, and the worst is to look at them in 4 G, the Wifi being a little less greedy “.
For Paul Mougel, who leads the shifters’ working groups, you can already cut your video during zoom meetings, and the sound when you do not intervene, which, according to him, already greatly limits the consumption of bandwidth and therefore energy unnecessarily.
Small actions, big consequences
And of course, to reduce your electricity consumption, it is useful not to leave your chargers plugged in empty, or your devices on standby. Did you know that a TV / Internet box consumes as much as your refrigerator? Or from 200 to 300 KW / H per year. However, when we know that the new technology sector alone represents up to 10% of world electricity consumption, and that this is growing every year, there is cause for alarm.
Among the little tips to know and practice on a daily basis, you can think of closing your unnecessary tabs and windows, deactivating 4G and wifi when you do not need them, eliminate your emails as you go to reduce their place on the servers… You can find all these tips on the Ademe website, or participate more actively by joining the group of Nancy shifters.
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