By 2025, it is estimated that the global data will surpass 180 zettabytes
The amount of digital data is doubling every two years
A typical data-driven business employing 100 full-time employees will generate approximately 2,203 tons of CO2 emissions annually due to new data
The inclusion of the data CO2 footprint is a crucial factor missing from global decarbonisation policies
Data centres are responsible for 2.5% to 3.7% of all human-induced carbon dioxide. More than the aviation industry (2.1%)
A unique carbon footprint tool has been created that will allow businesses to measure the CO2 output of their stored data.
Source: Loughborough University
Each day, the average person creates 10 DVDs-worth of data via their phones, fitness trackers, emails – anything which uses ones and zeros to process information.
All these bytes are collected by companies and stored at various data centres around the globe. By 2025, there will be an estimated 180 zettabytes of stored data – the equivalent of 6.8 billion years of continuous Netflix streaming.
By using the tool, believed to be the first of its kind, companies can make data-driven decisions that benefit the environment and save money by reducing the need for carbon offsetting.
Its creators say it is the first publicly available tool to calculate the data CO2 footprint across the data journey, from the origin of a dataset through to its end use – for example, AI analytics.
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Professor Tom Jackson, of Loughborough Business School, said: “The ladder is unique because it allows you to measure impact at every stage on the data journey. Not just at the end.
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waHis colleague Professor Ian Hodgkinson said: “In the push towards net zero, digital technologies have played, and continue to play, a critical role, but we must also be cognisant of the hidden data CO2 cost attached to the way society and organisations use digital technologies.
“Identifying and measuring the data CO2 footprint is essential for future decarbonisation strategies.”
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
