Towards a cleaner digital revolution
Published on: Sep 02, 2012
Guidance to help companies reduce carbon emissions from the creation and use of digital media has been produced by the Digital Sustainability Group.
To request a full report of the Digital Sustainability Group's guidance on reducing carbon emissions, email rob.pearson@twotomorrows.com
The Digital Sustainability Group is a working group of companies interested in digital media impacts. It is convened by Two Tomorrows. The group was established to develop guidance for understanding, evaluating and managing the social and environmental impacts of digital media delivery.
The new guidance looks at each phase of the digital media chain providing guidance on possible intervention points and actions that can be taken to reduce emissions.
Rob Pearson of Two Tomorrows says: "We drew together key facts for each phase of digital media delivery to help build a picture of what we know. We considered at each stage what companies can do to influence sustainability impacts. Taking content, for example, you must consider at what stage the decision is made to use a particular form of media - say, text or video. How is content ‘waste’ dealt with? Is content size limited? All of these decisions must be made while at the same time considering user experience.
"For each stage, we provide advice to help companies map their current processes and identify the low-hanging fruit. There are also advanced considerations for companies who've already established basic ways of managing the impacts of digital media."
Key findings in the report include:
- Growth in digital media has the potential to conflict with the wider organisation's commercial and sustainability strategies if emissions from the digital supply chain are allowed to go unchecked.
- The digital value chain is complex. By simplifying it to four stages we made the distinctions as clear as possible (and also applicable to companies outside the media sector). Our four stages are: creation of content, storage, distribution and consumption.
- The proliferation and complexity of electronic devices mean that consumers do not know which choices save them energy. For answers, they will turn to the companies that supply the media.
- Energy saving does not automatically equal lower performance and availability. Those responsible for creating data and looking at the user experience often expect that any efforts to reduce energy use will adversely affect the user experience which can lead to resistance to change.
- Engaging a wide range of stakeholders is vital to gain a full understanding of a company’s impacts. Each company is different, but it will likely involve engaging suppliers. However, in areas such as data distribution, which are two or three strages down the supply chain, organisations will struggle to gather data or have a meaningful impact.
To request a full report of the Digital Sustainability Group's guidance on reducing carbon emissions, email rob.pearson@twotomorrows.com
