How to Reduce Your Digital Footprint at Work ?

Today, companies attribute 21% of their energy consumption to ICT (information and communication technologies). This estimate takes into account computers and associated peripherals. However, the internet connection is particularly energy consuming because of all the equipment involved (box, routers, cables, servers…).

You must therefore use it in an eco-responsible way.

C’what is the digital footprint ?

Depending on the context, thedigital footprint refers to theenvironmental impact of ICT or to the traces left by a user on the Internet. This second meaning nevertheless brings us back to the ecological problem of data storage. Indeed, your web browsing involves at least one history.

The most active ones often publish comments, photos, etc.

In both cases, this information is stored on a computer remote servers that consume energy. You are therefore contributing to the waste of storage space and electricity by deliberately leaving unnecessary data behind. However, digital traces are often complicated to manage because of their passive nature (on-site tracking, smartphone ID, etc.).).

In any case, both definitions emphasize the threat represented by the data left online. They are indeed harmful for the environment and potentially dangerous for the Internet user. In addition to being energy consuming, these traces expose you to hacking, identity theft, defamation, etc.

You must therefore take steps to protect yourself and preserve the environment.

How to reduce your digital footprint at work ?

You need to be aware of the extent of the phenomenon to effectively reduce your digital footprint. Today, the Internet has about 50 million servers for more than 9 billion connected devices. Among them, computers exceed one billion and network hardware is close to this threshold.

There are more than 2 billion smartphones in the world.

From manufacture to use, each device involves a significant consumption of energy. Its design It also requires the use of the Internetextraction and processing of raw materials as well as high water consumption. All these factors are taken into account to calculate its environmental impact.

In view of these figures, take the time toevaluate the relevance of your tools and your digital habits. You risk to increase the carbon footprint of the digital world with unconsidered gestures. To limit your environmental impact, start by uninstalling unnecessary applications at work.

Also remember to unplug cables and other unused peripherals on the PC.

Sorting and deleting emails regularly

Users are rarely aware of the environmental impact of email because of its convenience and daily use. However, thesending or viewing an email Among other things, it requires the box, the routers, the cables and the servers. This is only the basic equipment for a company.

Architectures can be even more complex in some institutions.

The remote servers contacted will also have their own infrastructure with storage units, cooling systems, etc. An action that is so easy to perform will therefore have mobilized a multitude of different facilities. But you rarely have the opportunity to check the environmental footprint of your email platform.

In this case, the best solution is to sort your emails regularly and delete unnecessary messages. You will be able to lighten your account and reduce your digital footprint. This technique obviously involves automatically deleting spam, promotions, notifications, etc.

Finally, unsubscribe from newsletters that no longer correspond to your interests.

Print only what you need

Many users nowadays put at the end of their message the line: ” Don’t print this email unless you really need to “. Apply this principle on a daily basis to reduce your ecological impact at work. Indeed, you will spend less time on the e-mail, if you do not intend to print it. You’ll be helping to to limit energy and paper consumption within the company.

Faced with an essential document, optimize layout and font to avoid wasting resources. In particular, choose the fine print to save paper. This technique also allows you to use less toner when printing.

Finally, considerprint the email on both sides and in black and white, if the situation allows it.

Ecofont is currently one of the most popular fonts for its ecological potential. This technique allows you to save more than 20% compared to the ink consumption of other fonts. Following the same logic, limit the use of bold characters.

Use keyboard shortcuts

On laptops, manufacturers usually provide keyboard shortcuts for the most common actions keyboard shortcuts to access the standby and power-saving modese. Some models also offer specific buttons to choose between several battery management profiles. Look for and use these features to limit the power consumption of your device.

They are often written on the keys.

Keyboard shortcuts also offer considerable time savings on the most common actions. When combined, these advantages will allow you to save money in the long run reduce the amount of time the computer is in use. This change will help you reduce the ecological impact of your work tool.

If you switch from a PC to a Mac, you can still use your usual shortcuts by replacing Ctrl, Shift or Alt with Cmd. The reverse is, on the other hand, more random. Indeed, you will have to test three different key combinations.

Lowering the brightness of the screen’screen

In general, a brighter screen tends to consume more power. You can therefore improve your energy performance by lowering the brightness of the display. The difference is especially visible on a laptop. Indeed, the screen of a PC hogs most of the available energy.

Thus, a setting at this level will allow you to effectively improve the battery life.

The gains in this area are less obvious on a desktop computer. That said, this method also works on a desktop screen. Just find the right brightness level to get the right balance between display quality and power consumption.

In practice, the most effective solution is to aligning with the predefined lighting for a laptop’s power saver. You should also proceed according to the lighting of your workspace. In any case, avoid setting the screen to the darkest level to avoid affecting your eyes and your work.