Impact of Datacenters on the Environment

 Developments in technology – including the advent of smart phones, mobile technology, and cloud computing - have no doubt transformed our lives.  Technology affects almost every aspect of our life – from social media, school, work, shopping, and entertainment to health and wellness.  It has also improved productivity and enabled easier access to information – and lots of it.  According to Ofcom's Communications Market Report, the average person used 4.5GB of data per month in 2020.  That's a 27% increase compared to 2019 and 55% increase compared to 2018.  With increase in video streaming, and growth of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart and connected infrastructure, and autonomous vehicles demand for data will continue to increase.  These days data is referred to as “the new oil” - the fuel that is driving our social, technological, and economic progress.
 
Almost all the data we consume today are stored in data centers around the world.  Data centers require a tremendous amount of energy and large amounts of water to operate.  It requires water directly (for cooling) and indirectly (for producing electricity).  Data centers are said to consume approximately 200 terawatt-hours of electricity (which is nearly 1% of global electricity consumption) according to the International Energy Agency.  More significantly, data centers contribute to 0.3% of all global carbon dioxide emissions. 
 
So, what can corporations, institutions and us as individuals do to drive down energy and water consumption without compromising on technological progress?  One simple action we all can consider would be to store data responsibly (i.e. store only what is essential and delete unnecessary data periodically). Corporations could build on-site renewable energy sources to support data centers.  Large technology companies that focus on cloud computing (and therefore require a lot of data centers) such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft are all investing in renewable energy and are launching new wind and solar projects. While that is a good sign, we have a long way to go with the ever-increasing demand for data.

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