Ochieng' Ogodo - Science Journalist
[NAIROBI] – With the increasing demand for hardware, network services, data storage, and emerging technologies worldwide, the digital technology industry's carbon footprint is expanding, says a report co-authored by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that was released yesterday.
In addition to industry pledges to support environmental sustainability and digital growth, the report shows a general slowdown in the advancement of climate goals.
“An effective green transition needs digital companies to drive progress and lead by example,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
He adds that: “This report is an important tool for understanding where to focus efforts to maximize digital technology’s immense potential to advance sustainability in the face of climate change for the digital future we want."
The global tech sector has seen a rise in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but accountability and transparency are still issues.
The Greening Digital Companies 2024 provides information and best practices to assist global tech companies in reducing their emissions more quickly, achieving low-carbon operations, and enhancing their climate reporting.
Out of the 200 businesses the report examined, 148 stated that their combined electricity use in 2022 amounted to 518 terawatt-hours (TWh), or roughly 1.9 per cent of the global total. The ten corporations with the greatest levels of consumption, all having their main offices in the US or East Asia, accounted for 51 per cent of the total, which represents a nine per cent increase from 2021.
Balancing act
According to the report, digital technologies can expedite the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide a plethora of socio-economic advantages.
Weather forecasting and climate change monitoring can be enhanced by technology, and it can also help integrate low-emission technologies and optimize energy use.
However, in order to promote sustainable development, industry needs to keep an eye on and deal with its own environmental problems, such as carbon emissions, water and energy consumption, e-waste, and the depletion of raw materials.
Evaluating the value chain of corporations
The report’s 2024 edition provides the first comprehensive overview of corporate value-chain emissions, include everything from material suppliers and outsourced device production to the use of a company’s end-products by consumers. Such end-products range from cell phones and computers to search engines and AI chatbots.
“Digital companies need to do their part in the fight against climate change,” said Lourdes O. Montenegro, Director of Research and Digitisation at the World Benchmarking Alliance.
“This report uniquely offers evidence-based insights on the sector’s state of play. We are bringing these data and insights to the attention of the international community to help ensure that the impact on people and planet is consequential to success in business,” Montenegro added.
Dealing with emissions from emerging technologies
The report makes clear that the exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will continue to increase emissions and put additional strain on energy resources.
It also mentions how artificial intelligence (AI) and other revolutionary technologies can help promote sustainable development.
The Greening Digital Companies 2024 emphasizes the role of governments in putting monitoring frameworks in place and speeding up the availability of green energy in order to assist digital companies in meeting sustainability goals.
“From the development point of view, it is increasingly important for industry players to more closely monitor their own greenhouse gas emissions and act to reduce emissions and energy use,” said Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
Governments can assist industry sustainability efforts by liberalizing energy markets, modernizing power grids, lowering red tape for permits, and liberalizing the energy markets. Investment in renewable energy is also essential.
