Growth in IT emissions outpacing aviation CO2, warns tech expert

Technology devices and IT energy use are among the biggest contributors to the carbon footprint of many companies but are seldom considered despite being the world’s fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.

That is according to Anthony Levy, founder and chairman of sustainable IT group Circularity First. He noted technology is often “seen as the answer” on sustainability but told the Abta Sustainable Travel Conference: “IT could be 40% of your footprint.”

He pointed out IT already produces 4% of global CO2 emissions, more than aviation, and its share is forecast to rise to 14% by 2040.”

Levy pointed out data centres demand huge amounts of energy, noting that only the US and China consume more electricity than the world’s data centres and that “one quarter of all the energy in Ireland is used in data centres”.

He said the 500 data centres in the UK use “a big chunk of energy”, explaining: “Videos, photos, emails all create data which is stored, but 90% is never retrieved. Consumers never retrieve their data.”

Levy added: “Networks use at least as much energy as data centres.”

PCs, laptops and mobile devices are also a “huge problem”, he said, noting: “A laptop has 250 kgs of carbon embedded in it before it’s even switched on.”

He described the extraction of minerals as “brutal”, and the refining, manufacture and shipping of devices as “using lots of energy” and noted: “IT also consumes huge quantities of water.”

Levy added: “We create huge problems with waste from devices. The UK creates 60 million tonnes of electronic waste a year and it’s hard to recycle. We recycle at best about 17%.”

He suggested “we’ve been hands off with IT” and told the conference: “If your organisation is using software, IT will be 18% to 40% of your carbon footprint.

“You should be asking your IT suppliers about their [emissions] reduction plans, particularly cloud providers. Ask how they are going to help you measure the footprint of your business and help you reduce it.”

Levy argued: “We’re not reducing carbon emissions globally, and IT is the worst example of that. We’re seeing big tech companies roll back on their sustainability pledges because they know they won’t hit them.”