In our new series for Miscellany, we answer the green questions you were too afraid – or too confused – to ask. This month: is digital working really greener than paper?
This answer may at first seem obvious but it’s worth remembering digital documents are not carbon neutral. By 2040, if current trends continue, storing our digital data will account for around14% of global emissions – the equivalent CO2 impact of the entire US today. So, while cutting out unnecessary use of paper is a good idea, a virtual declutter will also reduce the environmental impact of your work day:
• Make the effort to regularly look at what you’re storing digitally, deleting documents you no longer need.
• Many internet activities can be made greener: switch to an eco-friendly search engine that carbon-offsets the emissions from searches (such as by planting trees), and don’t leave music or videos playing on your computer.
• Change your email habits. A 2019 study concluded that if each person in the UK sent one less email a day, national COÇ emissions would be reduced by just over 16,333 tonnes.
• When you use paper, take time to figure out those printer settings so you can print doublesided and in black and white as a default, use scrap paper for notes and lists, and make sure you recycle everything
The answers to our eco-dilemmas are taken from Is It Really Green? by Georgina Wilson Powell (published by DK)
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