What’s Hiding in Your Inbox and Cloud Storage
Gayatri Joshi, Principal, Vorgate Impact

A very large footprint might be hiding in your inbox…I’m referring to carbon..and water.  We often think of emails and cloud storage as something indistinct or intangible, even though it’s part of how we exist.  Hardly an hour goes by before the urge or need to send an email or text, but each message sent carries a measurable environmental cost in the form of carbon emissions, energy, water, resource extraction and land loss.  

The cost of the email you sent earlier, it was the energy equivalent of running a 60-watt light bulb for 2-3 minutes. Now imagine leaving it on for an entire year.  It’s estimated that the average office worker receives 121 emails a day.  Over the course of the year, that adds up to 136 kg of CO2 for one person, just for email. 

Footprint of One Email:

Footprint of Cloud Storage: 

These emissions might not seem like much, but when scaled globally, it is estimated that email traffic generates around 112 million metric tonnes of CO2 annually, which is more than the total emissions of some countries..  and we didn’t even include AI processes or messaging on social media platforms… or how long those emails are in the cloud. 

Cloud storage, though it invokes soft fluffy whiteness and blue skies, it is far from that.  Storing 1GB in the cloud consumes .0078kWh per month equating to 40kg per TB annually.  

Additionally, the energy used in data centers, which store your cloud data contribute directly to this carbon footprint, as they heavily rely on electricity to power servers and cooling systems.  Water usage is also intense to keep the data centers cool, with estimates of 1-2 liters of water per kWh. With billions of terabytes in the cloud, it is a significantly expanding global issue.  Global data centers account for 1% of all global energy use and the demand is rising, projected to 3-8% by 2030.

Factors that influence your email’s carbon and overall footprint 

  1. Devices. The electricity used by your laptop or smartphone to read and send emails contributes to the footprint.  The more powerful the device, the more energy it might consume. The battery type and the charging efficiency also affect the overall footprint; battery mining for lithium and cobalt has intense environmental impacts, especially at the beginning and end-of-life cycle.

  1. Data Centers.  Data centers consume incredible amounts of energy to store and process email data. Cooling systems used to prevent overheating, adding to both energy and water consumption.  Some estimate 11-19 liters of water daily. There are other hidden costs in the construction of data centers, such as the energy, water and land clearing required to build the data centers. Some estimates put a data center construction at 150,000 tons of concrete, 10,000 of steel and 30 million liters of water, exponentially increasing the overall footprint. This does not include the estimated 2.7 million tons of e-waste generated annually from data centers for the rapid replacement cycle of equipment.

  1. Network Infrastructure. Transmitting emails through internet service providers and networks, using power for routers, servers and other equipment requires energy. The total energy needed is difficult to measure, but every step of sending, routing and storing requires power.

  2. Email Attachments & Volume. Larger attachments require more energy to store and transmit. The more emails sent, the more energy consumed. This includes everyone copied on an email.  Ten more recipients means ten more transmissions through the network and ten more emails that are stored.  This is compounded by the length of time emails are kept in your inbox.

10 Tips to Reduce Your Email and Cloud Storage Footprint

  1. Delete Old Emails.  The more emails you store, the more energy and resources are consumed to maintain those records.  

  1. Keep It Concise.  Be succinct in your email, avoid replying all or copying everyone on an email if it is not necessary.  

  1. Limit or Compress Attachments. Use cloud-based file-sharing platforms. Instead of sending a large 10MB file as an attachment, share it as a link. This reduces email size and storage.

  1. Optimize Cloud Storage. Only store necessary files.  Regularly review, delete and archive files you no longer need or don’t need immediate access.

  1. Switch to Energy-Efficient Devices. Choose devices with Energy Star ratings or with higher efficiency rates.  When possible use solar-powered chargers.

  1. Choose Green Hosting. When choosing your cloud storage or hosting service, consider providers that use renewable energy or have committed to reducing carbon emissions. 

  1. Choose Energy Efficient Data Centers. Choose companies that invest in sustainable infrastructure like low carbon technology, renewable energy or water-efficient cooling systems.

  1. Optimize Email Marketing. Be mindful of how often and how relevant the content is to your audiences. Use HTML formatting to reduce file size and include links to content rather than attaching files.

  1. Turn Off Devices and Cloud Syncing When Not in Use. When you’re not actively using your devices or cloud storage, turn off cloud syncing or put devices in power-saving mode. This will help reduce energy consumption of data transfers. 

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  1. Unsubscribe & Report Spam.  Actively unsubscribe from email lists you no longer need. Also mark spam to help your spam filter block unwanted email and reduce overall volume of emails.  It’s estimated that over 100 billion spam emails are sent per day, that’s approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of CO2 produced per day.

You don’t need to be tech-savvy to reduce your email and cloud footprint. Unsubscribe, delete, store less and send smarter.  In a world of billions of messages, one small change makes more impact than you think. A lighter inbox can help the planet and your sanity will thank you!