Digital ecology: Avvena joins Planet Tech'Care!

A key issue of our era, the digital sector is a lever for economic and social development that transforms, connects and disrupts our daily lives, whether through online services, e-commerce, teleworking or social media.

In France, the latter could account for almost 7% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a level well above that currently emitted by air transport (4.7%). This growth would be driven in particular by the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and emissions from data centres. This is borne out by the work of the experts from the Négawatt association, who anticipate an increase in electricity consumption by the digital sector of 15 TWh by 2030, i.e. +25% compared to 2015, thus bringing the digital sector's share of French electricity consumption to around 15%.

Although it often allows for greater efficiency within an organisation, the development of digital technology has ambivalent environmental and social effects, and its contribution to the ecological transition must be weighed against the rebound effect it produces. The European Commission also considers the digital sector to be a key sector for achieving its objective of climate neutrality by 2050.

The acceleration of digital transformation, with the digitalisation of tools and activities, has a direct impact on the environment and the pollution it generates, although invisible to our eyes, is nevertheless very real.

In France, the CSR Platform points out that greenhouse gas emissions are not the only indicators to be taken into account, although they are often particularly highlighted by environmental studies. It has also identified four major environmental indicators that are proposed to partially represent the environmental footprint of digital technology:

• depletion of abiotic resources, mainly minerals (not to mention the high pressure on energy and water resources needed for their extraction, the associated social conflicts and the almost non-existent recycling of small metals used for high-tech functions in the digital sector).
• climate change (greenhouse gas emissions) ;
• primary energy (unprocessed energy as available in nature: crude oil, hydropower, natural gas...about 10% of the world's primary energy is used to extract and refine metals);
• water consumption (for example, the manufacture of a computer requires on average 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals, 1.5 tonnes of water.

In summary, the impact of digital technology (and the solutions to reduce it) are factors that must be integrated into a sustainable business strategy.

How to go digital?

Digital responsibility applies from the design of equipment and software, but also in their choice and use by the end consumer. It aims at a more sustainable use of digital technology, in all sectors of activity and in the uses made of it.

This is an essential prerequisite for implementing a sustainable digital transformation with reduced impact! Eco-designed infrastructures, devices with a longer lifespan, good practices, green data centres, many levers exist to make digital and eco-responsibility rhyme and each company has the power to act on its digital footprint without losing performance.

Green IT, our new support service

In early 2021, Avvena joined Planet Tech'Care, an initiative launched in October 2020 under the impetus of the Conseil National du Numérique, Syntec Numérique and its network of partners (the GreenIT Alliance, the Fing, GreenIT.fr, the Institut Numérique Responsable, The Shift Project, the Cigref, Cinov Numérique, the Société Informatique de France, Systematic and Talents du Numérique) to federate the eco-system and to generate, together, more impact.

As signatories, we are committed to contributing to the programme through feedback and the sharing of best practices in order to be part of a growing dynamic of actors committed to reducing the impact of digital and to the emergence of new methodologies and best practices for a responsible digital.

If you want to eco-design a digital product, measure and reduce the impact of your existing products or implement sustainable digital uses in your company, our experts have the latest methodologies and recommendations to help you understand and control the environmental impact of your digital uses.