The Art of Low-Waste Digital Storage

We are currently living in a transformative technological era - the Digital Age. This period has brought significant benefits, particularly in key sectors such as health and education. However, the environmental impact of this transformation and the invisible digital pollution it generates are deeply concerning.

For instance, did you know that storing 1 terabyte of data in the cloud creates an annual carbon footprint of 2 tonnes? Or that data storage in digital clouds now produces more carbon emissions than the airline industry? Pretty shocking, right? 

The good news is that each of us can play a role in reducing the substantial carbon footprint associated with digital pollution. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Photos: Less is more. Take some time to review your photos, select your favourites, and back them up to a hard drive instead of the cloud. After that, delete them from the cloud. You could make this a fun year-end activity to reflect on your memories.

   
   

2. Backup regularly. Avoid saving data that you know you will never use again. If you are unsure about the necessity of certain files, back them up and then clean up your cloud storage.

   
   

3. Delete old emails. We often keep old emails that have already been dealt with or serve no purpose. Make it a habit to delete them regularly, especially those with attachments, as they take up more space.

   
   

4. Unsubscribe from irrelevant newsletters. Instead of continuously deleting newsletter emails that you don’t read, or blocking them considering them as spam, take a moment to click the unsubscribe option. It's just a click away.

   
   

5. Share Links to Online Files. When possible, opt to share a link to cloud-based files rather than attaching documents to emails. While it's not a perfect solution, this method uses less energy since it remains on a single server.

   
   

6. Be conscious of the emails you send. We often find ourselves replying with brief messages like "Thank you" or "OK" in ongoing email threads. Is that email really necessary? Also, try to avoid using "Reply All" to minimise the number of emails exchanged.

While there are many other actions we can take to make a greater impact, it's up to all of us to do our best for the sake of our planet Earth. Every small step counts.