Role of digitization and innovation
The world is experiencing two major shifts that if combined can lead to immense societal development globally. Digitization alongside the globalization of climate change is forcing industries to pivot their business models leading to structural changes. The evolution of technology spanning blockchain, artificial intelligence, and data analytics continues to play a major role in the transformation of systems. However, it is difficult to assess the impact of such fast-paced advancements on climate change and emissions production.
According to an article published by EY entitled How digitization acts as a driver of decarbonization, digitization is viewed as being both good or bad for achieving climate targets, depending on how industries leverage such advancements to drive transformational change. The duality of the impact of technology on the environment must be monitored and assessed to ensure it streamlines eco-friendly solutions.
The impact of digital technologies on the environment can be witnessed through the interaction of software on the networking of hardware components. Additionally, the increased demand for power consumption, energy, and natural resources leads to a rise in data traffic. Relying on fossil fuels and traditional sources of energy to power the demand for high data usage is no longer feasible. Concerted efforts, and collaboration amongst industries coupled with substantial investment needs to take place to ensure that efficiency and renewable sources of energy are used to dive efforts to transform society to a low-carbon economy.
There is no doubt that digitization is pivotal in achieving the targets set by the UN Paris Agreement. All facets of society, from an industrial and governmental level, to corporations, should embed technological innovation into their operations to reach Net-Zero targets. Collectively, we also must monitor the impact of digitization as it has reached a total contribution of 4% of total emissions produced worldwide. Data centers and the increased production of e-waste are the largest contributors to this emission production.
The data centers of large global ICT companies remain powered by fossil fuels leading to the potential expansion of their negative environmental footprint. Investment in their efficiency minimize their potential impact on the environment though the dismantling of old centers and high consumption of water to keep the centers cool remains a challenge. It is also estimated that data centers consume approximately 2% of the world’s electricity, which is approximately the same amount consumed by the aviation industry. Unless renewable energy is powering data centers and efficiency mechanisms are embedded in design of the centers, their impact on climate change could be detrimental.
Energy efficiency coupled with carbon capture technologies play a pivotal role in combatting the negative impacts of the ICT sector. Google’s approach to efficiency for its data centers is centered on using outside air for cooling, in areas with temperatures that permit such an approach, and the construction of custom servers that include detailed performance data. Google also installed smart temperature and lighting controls to minimize energy loss. Ensuring servers are operating at high performance levels allows Google to operate as efficiently as possible by using fewer physical servers. Through its effort to improve efficiency, Google has also continued to work on offsetting its annual electricity consumption by purchasing renewable energy.
In 2017, Google became the first mega-sized company to carbon-offset 100% of its annual energy consumption. From 2010 to 2020, the company successfully signed over 55 agreements for approximately 6 GW of power. Consequently, in 2021, and in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All and the United Nations, Google launched the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Compact to fully decarbonize electricity production systems. This will help ensure Google’s energy demand is produced 100% by clean energy.
Aiming to achieve the 24/7 CFE Compact by 2030, Google is using several renewable energy sources to achieve its goal, including Google’s operations in data centers and office campuses. The clean energy will be supplied by renewable energy provided through a combination of on-site power generation and off-site electrical grid. The reduction of clean energy costs by 70%-80%, and the major shift in clean energy production over the past 10 years has played a significant role in integration of clean energy sources, making it easier for all types of corporations to contribute to this change.
Google begun signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) in 2010, which are contracts to purchase renewable energy on the same grid used for their data centers. PPAs are a long-term process as they involve building infrastructure to support the use of renewable energy. This was successfully done in Belgium, Denmark, Chile and Finland, with plans of expansion in process.
Moving society towards a clean and circular economy while reducing e-waste can be challenging but it also can be achieved through e-waste mitigation policies that include both the producer and the consumer. Recycling, upcycling, reusing, and reselling are just some ways institutions can tackle e-waste production. Circular economy principles must be embedded within the design phase of the product itself to help at the end-of-cycle.
The expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the exponential use of complex hardware equipment, though it also has proven to have energy efficiency components. This double-edged sword must be considered by policy and decision makers to ensure it optimizes technological advancements. According to the Climate Institute, Switzerland has reduced its e-waste by implementing an “ordinance on the return” policy program that includes financing, transportation, and collection that impacts the waste system itself.