We use cookies to give you the best experience and to help improve our website

Find out more about how we use cookies

Choose whether to use cookies:

No thanks That's fine

Skip to main content

Jisc

You are in:

  • Reports
  • Exploring digital carbon footprints

Utilities:

  • Search the Jisc website
    Clear search results

Search the Jisc website
Clear search results

Navigation:

Report

Exploring digital carbon footprints

The hidden environmental cost of the digital revolution and the steps universities and colleges can take to address it.

About this report

Authors

  • Scott Stonham

  • Published: 10 June 2022
  • Updated: 10 June 2022
Download as PDF

How can the education sector shape its sustainable future? There has, arguably, never been a more important or urgent question for all of us in education to address.

Exploring digital carbon footprints report cover

About the report

The carbon impact of digital technologies is huge and growing at an exponential rate, which has been accelerated further by the rapid digitalisation forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital is now more entwined in our lives than ever, yet it is easy to underestimate the extent of the environmental harm it can cause.

Organisations of all types, education included, are discovering that the greatest contributors to their carbon footprints are the services and products they buy. Indeed, a vast majority (approximately 80%) of IT’s carbon footprint can be attributed to the manufacturing and distribution of the equipment itself. The rest comes from operational usage.

IT is often one of the biggest contributors to an education institution’s own carbon footprint, with one UK college attributing 20% of its emissions to IT alone.

How we source, procure and dispose of our technology assets is the first area to address, an important part of this being how to use equipment for longer.

Increasingly, technology companies are providing solutions to these challenges by improving carbon transparency in the supply chain, or helping lower the barriers to extended technology life through refurbished, remanufactured and re-homed tech.

Operational digital carbon emissions apply to on-premises, cloud and remote technology use. Within these areas there are opportunities for increasing awareness, measuring, communicating and improving impact.

The key to improving our digital carbon footprint is in taking informed action, which requires understanding and awareness. College and university leaders can use technologies such as carbon calculator apps and real-time energy consumption carbon emission dashboards to measure and communicate impact.

Four key topic areas

The report focuses on highlighting the source and impact of digital carbon footprints for:

  • Procurement
  • On-premises IT
  • Cloud technologies
  • Remote working

Download the report (pdf)

About the author

Scott Stonham

Founder, Well, That’s Interesting Tech!

About this report

Authors

  • Scott Stonham

  • Published: 10 June 2022
  • Updated: 10 June 2022

You are in:

  • Reports
  • Exploring digital carbon footprints

Areas

  • Connectivity
  • Cyber security
  • Cloud
  • Data analytics
  • Libraries, learning resources and research
  • Student experience
  • Trust and identity
  • Advice and guidance

Explore

  • Guides
  • Training
  • Consultancy
  • Events
  • R&D

Useful

  • About
  • Membership
  • Get involved
  • News
  • Jobs

Get in touch

  • Contact us
  • Sign up to our newsletter
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • Modern slavery
  • Carbon reduction plan
  • Accessibility