What is Digital Carbon Footprint?
Carbon emissions from digital activities including data storage, cloud computing, video calls, and email. While individual actions are small, digital emissions can be significant at organisational scale.
Why it matters
Digital emissions are growing as businesses move more operations online. Cloud providers are beginning to offer carbon reporting dashboards, and including digital emissions in your Scope 3 demonstrates thoroughness in reporting.
Example
A media company discovers its cloud hosting with a major provider generates 8 tCO₂e annually. Moving to a provider with 100% renewable-powered data centres reduces this to 1.2 tCO₂e with no change in performance.
Related terms
Scope 3 Emissions
All other indirect emissions occurring in an organisation's value chain, both upstream and downstream. Scope 3 typically represents 70-90% of a company's total carbon footprint and includes emissions from suppliers, business travel, employee commuting, and product use.
Data Centre Emissions
Carbon emissions from facilities that house computer systems, including servers, storage, and networking equipment. Data centres consume significant electricity for computing and cooling.
Put your knowledge into practice
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