2023-05-10 08:00:25
What is an environmental footprint?
The ecological footprint or environmental footprint represents an indicator for evaluating the pressure (or impact) that human beings exert on nature (natural resources, ecological services, etc.). It measures the biologically productive surfaces (land, water) that are necessary to satisfy the consumption needs of an activity, a city, a country, an individual or a given population. This bio-capacity is expressed in global hectares (hag).
The digital environmental footprint
Digital includes all electronic equipment that can handle (display, transport, transform, store, etc.) binary data. Its environmental impact brings together all the effects that information and communication technologies (ICT) have on the environment.
The ICT vector of economic development has become more and more predominant or even essential in our societies. This results in a constant increase in uses (professional, personal), the generalization of equipment as well as an increased solicitation of the networks used by the latter. However, this omnipresence is also accompanied by several negative points at the social and environmental level. This is what is called the digital environmental footprint or “digital pollution”.
The environmental indicators best suited to the environmental impacts of digital technology are as follows: depletion of abiotic resources (in kg antimony equivalent), global warming (in kg CO2 equivalent), water consumption (in liter of blue water), l primary energy (in megajoules).
Some figures on digital pollution
According to the latest studies by GreenIT.fr, the annual environmental impacts of digital technology in France represent 6.3% of primary energy consumption (vs. 4.2% worldwide), 3.3% of gas emissions to Greenhouse Effects (vs 3.8% worldwide), 2.2% of the territory’s water consumption (vs 0.2% worldwide) and an excavation of nearly 4 billion tons of earth.
On an individual scale in France, this represents annually: 3,100 kWh of primary energy, 420 kg of greenhouse gases, 9,700 liters of fresh water, 14 grams of antimony equivalent.
Green IT and digital environmental footprint reduction
Green IT (or sustainable computing, green computing, eco-responsible digital) refers to a set of techniques that aim to reduce the ecological, social and environmental footprint of digital technology.
Several actions are recommended by Green IT actors:
- Reduction in the number of connected objects, and the number of flat screens
- Design of long life equipment
- Eco-design of digital services
- Development of a digital low-tech
- Encouragement of a digital sobriety approach
What the law says about reducing the digital environmental footprint
In addition to the recommendations mentioned above for the reduction of the digital footprint, France promulgated on November 15, 2021, LAW n ° 2021-1485 aimed at reducing digital pollution in France. These include promoting ecologically virtuous uses of digital technology, raising awareness of digital pollution, limiting the renewal of digital devices, promoting a responsible digital strategy, promoting data centers and energy-consuming networks).
webography
Ecological footprint: definition, calculation and reduction (selectra.com)
report-for-a-sustainable-digital-dec2020.pdf
Study report – Environmental footprint of global digital technology (greenit.fr)
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