Digital Decarb is all about the responsible use of knowledge and data to minimise carbon emissions from digital practices.

Working closely with various large organizations across different sectors, we started to notice something that alarmed us – many organisations hadn’t considered the environmental implications of their digital activities.

Through extensive research, we discovered that digital activities have a significant environmental cost, showing up in various ways:

• Firstly, many organisations already hoard massive amounts of unused or obsolete data, which consumes a lot of energy without providing any value.
• Secondly, the sheer volume of data generated, often surpasses our ability to process it efficiently, leading to a lot of wasted data. Just think about the huge rise of sensors through the Internet of Things.
• Thirdly, we’re relying more and more on energy-hungry systems such as AI technology.

That’s why we’ve developed Digital Decarb. We’re aiming to serve two main purposes – raising awareness about the environmental impact of digital practices; and guiding stakeholders to adopt more sustainable approaches, which can also be financially beneficial for them.

WHY IT MATTERS

We are set to miss global 2050 Net Zero targets if we don’t decarbonise our digital infrastructure and our behaviours.

By promoting digital decarbonisation, organisations can reduce the carbon footprint associated with data management and create a more eco-friendly digital ecosystem.

Identified as the pioneers of digital decarbonisation by the World Economic Forum in 2022, we want to help governments, businesses and organisations to minimise carbon emissions by adopting best practices in optimizing how data is generated, processed, and stored.

Going forward, we need to look at a number of factors and we all need to play a part in this:

On a geopolitical level, we need to work together to ensure that digital infrastructure works for all. For example, we need to assess whether new types of digital divide are created from where the energy-hungry infrastructure is located.

On an industry level, there need to be agreed standards for the measurement of data-related CO2 so that we can help organisations to transform their own digital carbon footprints.

On a technological level, future-proofing technology now for a sustainable tomorrow will be dependent on projecting future cost, not just in financial terms but also in the energy demand requirements as technological innovation scales up.

DIGITAL DECARBONIZATION STRATEGIC BLOCKS

In short, Digital Decarb is about the responsible use of knowledge and data to minimize carbon emissions from digital practices. 8 core strategic blocks underpin Digital Decarb’s research agenda and collectively serve to benefit people, profit, and planet.

Reducing our ‘Digital Carbon Footprint. Together’ is a complex ambition and for organizations to realize this, multiple objectives must be met simultaneously. Digital Decarb recognizes that sustainability must be championed alongside financial objectives (e.g. reducing the bottom-line, wealth creation, etc.), whilst also empowering employees to flourish in the workplace (e.g. improving employee wellbeing, reducing stress, etc.). By progressing research and building empirical evidence across 8 strategic blocks, Digital Decarb delivers gains across the board for people, profit, and planet by:

ENGAGEMENT

We’re delighted to be part of a wider community of practice who are supporting or promoting the environmental role of digital decarbonisation.