Emails also have an impact on the environment: 20 emails a day for a year can be equivalent to 1,000 km driven in a car. Here’s how to reduce your digital footprint.
Every day we send dozens of emails without thinking too much, but our lives are also digital impact on the environment. Find out how much energy a simple email requires and what small gestures can help you reduce your inbox’s environmental footprint.
How many emissions does email produce?
Sending an email is a simple and immediate gesture: just press the “Send” button and the message reaches the recipient in a few seconds. But there is also email environmental impact.
In fact, every email requires energy to write, send, transmit over the network, process by servers, store and display on the devices of the people who receive it. According to some of the most cited estimates, a simple email can approx 4 grams of CO₂ equivalentalthough a message with a heavy attachment can reach several tens of grams.
The data varies greatly based on the size of the message, the number of recipients, the retention time and the energy used by data centers and networks. For this reason it is difficult to attribute a single valueEmail carbon footprint.
However, one thing is certain: reducing unnecessary digital communication and simplifying the files we send can help digital sustainability.
Email and the environment: why does email consume energy?
When we send a message, the email is not just transferred from one computer to another.
Energy is used:
- from the device with which we write and send the message;
- from the network that transmits the data;
- from the servers that process and store emails;
- to download and view the message from the recipient’s device;
- from data centers, which must be powered and cooled.
Fewer emails with fewer attachments and thanks to the environment: ehere are some details
Attachments also play an important role: the more files, the more data to transfer and store.
According to data from HEAD (European Waste Reduction Week) in 60 minutes to send longer 12 billion emails global. An email with a 1 megabyte attachment is equivalent to the consumption of a traditional 60 watt light bulb turned on for 25 minutes.
If we consider a company with a hundred employees that sends about thirty emails every day, it is equivalent to 13.6 tons of carbon dioxide in 12 months.
This does not mean that we should stop using email. On the contrary, email is, and in many cases can be, an extremely useful communication tool avoid using paper and other subjects. The point is use it more consciously, avoiding digital waste.
10 best practices to reduce the environmental impact of email
1. Only email when absolutely necessary
Before writing a message, ask yourself: Is this email really necessary?
Sometimes we send communications out of habit, as a simple thank you, or as information that could otherwise be shared. Reducing even a small proportion of unnecessary emails can reduce data traffic and the energy used to manage it.
Of course, it’s not about avoiding all digital communication, but about taking a small step towards a more conscious use of technology.
2. Limit the number of recipients
Sending a message to many people often means multiplying the amount of data transferred and stored.
Here’s why it’s better:
- recipients include only those who really need the information;
- avoid using “Answer all” when unnecessary;
- don’t copy people out of simple habit.
More targeted communication is also often more effective.
3. Avoid dragging entire conversations with you
How many times has a new email contained a long chain of previous messages, perhaps with attachments that are no longer needed?
Whenever possible, avoid full conversations and unnecessarily large attachments. A shorter, lighter message requires less data to transfer and store.
4. Clean your inbox periodically
An email inbox full of useless messages, unread newsletters and forgotten attachments represents a large amount of data stored over time.
You can then:
- delete emails you no longer need;
- emptying the trash periodically;
- delete unwanted messages;
- remove heavy old attachments.
Deletion does not automatically eliminate all environmental impacts, but it may help reduce the amount of data stored unnecessarily, especially when done regularly.
5. Unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t read
How many newsletters arrive in your inbox every day and get thrown in the trash?
If you are no longer interested in a newsletter, deleting it every time is not the best solution, but unsubscribe.
This way you avoid receiving, transferring, storing and subsequently deleting messages that you will never read.
6. Turn off unnecessary email notifications
Many services automatically send notifications for any new activity.
Updates from social networks, reminders, promotions and automatic notifications can add up quickly. Deactivating the ones you don’t need helps keep a tidier inbox and reduce unnecessary digital communications.
7. Reduce the size of attachments
Heavy attachments are among the biggest elements that can increase the environmental impact of email.
Before sending a document or image, you can:
- compress the file;
- reduce image resolution when high quality is not required;
- use lighter formats;
- share a link to the document rather than attaching very large files.
This way the recipient can access the document without having to receive a new copy of the file via email.
8. Use a simple email signature
An email signature with large images, bold logos, banners and animations is downloaded and transferred every time the message is sent.
A simple signature, consisting mainly of text and essential information, is often the most sustainable option.
9. Group communication
Do you need to send many messages to the same person throughout the day?
Whenever possible, try to group information into one email. A more complete communication can be more effective than a long series of short messages sent every few minutes.
Of course, even in this case, the priority remains the same clarity of communication: It is not useful to create endless emails just to reduce the number of messages.
10. Before you write, look up the answer online
Sometimes we send an email to request information that is already available on the website of the company, organization or service we are interested in.
Before you press “Send”, it may be useful to check if the answer is already available online, in the FAQ or in the support area.
A quick search can avoid unnecessary communication.
Spam also has an environmental impact
Spam is not only annoying and, in some cases, dangerous.
Sending, filtering, processing and, in at least some cases, storing unwanted messages requires resources. Some impact estimates calculate around 0.3 g CO₂e for a spam message, although this varies depending on how the message is handled by email systems.
This is why it is important not only to delete spam, but also to use reporting and unsubscribing systems where possible.
Email or SMS: which consumes less?
The most cited estimates show that SMS has a much smaller environmental footprint than e-mail, mainly because it usually contains a much smaller amount of data. Estimates reported by various sources indicate approx 0.014 g CO₂e per SMSalthough this value can also change depending on the methodology used.
This does not mean that we should always replace email with SMS: they are different tools and have different functions. But it also reminds us that the the amount of data we send role in the environmental impact of our digital lives.
Sustainability also comes from our digital habits
Email has become a fundamental part of our daily and professional lives. We can’t eliminate email completely, but we can learn to use it more consciously.
Sending fewer useless messages, reducing the size of attachments, limiting recipients, deleting unnecessary content and unsubscribing from unwanted newsletters are small gestures that, multiplied by millions of people, can help reduce digital waste.
In fact, sustainability is not only about what we buy, eat or transport. The way we use technology also affects the environment.
And you? How many emails could you avoid sending today?
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