Tech Giants Measure Their Environmental Impact: A Challenge Towards Sustainability
They seek to be sustainable by using the least amount of energy and limited resources in carrying out their processes. The number of technological devices that are manufactured and sold increases every year, and most of them will be connected to the internet. This requires large data centers, where there are more and more servers consuming large amounts of energy. A large part of this energy comes from fossil fuels, which have a high environmental impact and are finite.
The Paris Agreement of 2015 established a global framework on climate change. Therefore, either by personal conviction or obligation, companies began to transform themselves in order to have a cleaner business chain. Although the manufacturing and use of technology generates environmental impact, technology itself can help mitigate it. It has a double role: reducing its carbon footprint by using renewable energy and materials, and on the other hand, helping companies and users do the same.
This is what sustainable technology is about. Newer products are increasingly smarter and more optimized in terms of energy consumption, and are built with less plastic, or with recovered or renewable plastics such as bamboo. However, their useful life is becoming shorter and shorter; they are replaced on average every 2 years. It is estimated that there are currently more than 5 million smartphones in the world.
It is estimated that communications consume approximately 2% of global energy. And considering that the amount of energy doubles every 2 years, demand will always grow. While communications require more and more energy, technologies such as 5G consume less than previous ones. Data centers represent 1% of global demand, and it is estimated that this will increase between 3% and 8% over the next decade.
Most technology providers set sustainability goals for 2030. There is still a lot of work to be done to mitigate the carbon footprint, and it is a joint effort between technology providers and users. There are many options and alternatives; it is only necessary to find the one that best adapts to each company.
