Power Hungry: The Increasing Environmental Burden of Electronic Communications

Submitted: Two Sides North America November 26, 2024

Electronic communications is often presented as a “green” alternative to paper. Emails, cloud storage, or online bill payment and account management offer quick, cheap, and efficient options to paper-based communication and record-keeping, but the high environmental costs of the ever-expanding digital infrastructure are becoming harder to ignore, with its rising energy consumption and significant use of resources like rare-earth minerals and water. It’s essential to explore the overlooked environmental consequences of electronic communications and to understand the true sustainability of digital solutions versus paper-based alternatives.

The push for digital communications, data storage, and other trends have led to enormous server farms that run 24/7, consuming staggering amounts of electricity. For example, a report in The Times (UK) revealed that the water consumption required for ChatGPT is four times higher than previously estimated. Additionally, tech giants like Google and Amazon seek new energy sources, including nuclear, to power their data centers. These centers are critical to electronic communication and data storage and now account for a significant portion of global electricity consumption.

Over the past decade, North America and the global market have experienced significant growth in data center development, driven by the increasing demand for digital services and cloud computing.

Inventory Growth: In the first half of 2024, primary data center markets in North America saw a 10% increase in supply, adding 515 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Year-over-year, this represents a 24% growth, totaling an additional 1,100.5 MW.
Construction Surge: As of mid-2024, the data center supply under construction in North America’s top markets jumped by about 70% compared to a year ago, reaching a record 3,077.8 MW.
Colocation data centers can host multiple companies within one building, offering retail or wholesale space, or both. By the end of 2024, there will be 5,186 colocation data centers worldwide (1,803 in North America), and this number could increase to 7,640 by 2030.
Hyperscale data centers are large, remote facilities with greater cloud computing capacity than enterprise data centers. Cloud service providers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM, Alibaba, and Oracle are investing billions of dollars in building data centers around the world. This will increase the number of hyperscale data centers from 523 in 2024 to 738 in 2030.

The rise of massive server farms to support digital communication and data storage promises efficiency and convenience. However, the environmental costs of this shift are significant. Server farms require vast amounts of energy and water for cooling, often drawing on non-renewable energy sources. Additionally, the growing demand for digital infrastructure necessitates resource-intensive manufacturing of servers and other hardware. While companies erroneously present a reduction in paper use as environmentally friendly, they fail to consider the full lifecycle impacts of the digital alternative.

The Growth of Devices

The growth in the number of consumer devices also presents environmental challenges. Every year, millions of smartphones, tablets, smart appliances and laptops are manufactured and shipped worldwide. These devices require rare earth metals, generate electronic waste, consume significant energy during production, and use large amounts of processing power. The increased reliance on mobile and digital communication across these devices compounds the overall environmental impact of the electronics industry.

With 62 billion kg of electronic waste generated worldwide in 2022, only 22.3% of this was officially documented as properly collected and recycled. Since 2010, the growth of e-waste generation has been outpacing the formal collection and recycling by almost a factor of 5. The U.S. generates 7.2 million metric tons of electronic waste annually, or 21.2 kilograms (kg) per capita. Increasing levels of e-waste, improper and unsafe treatment, and disposal through incineration or in landfills pose significant challenges to the environment and human health. As a result of non-compliant e-waste management, 58 thousand kg of mercury and 45 million kg of plastics containing brominated flame retardants are released into the environment every year.

Paper: A More Sustainable Choice

Many businesses are quick to label paper as environmentally harmful, with concerns about deforestation and resource use. However, the paper industry has made great strides in sustainability, and it is the most recycled material in the U.S. municipal waste stream (between 60% – 64%). Today, paper products are primarily sourced from responsibly managed forests. In North America, rigorous standards like FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI® (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) ensure that paper production supports forest health and promotes biodiversity.

Research shows that switching from paper-based communication to digital does not eliminate environmental harm. The energy consumption, resource use, and waste generated by electronic communications are often overlooked in corporate sustainability policies. Two Sides has demonstrated that the myth of electronic communfication being “green” is primarily driven by marketing, not facts.

The Energy-Intensive Future of Electronic Communications

The push for digital communication and AI solutions continues to grow, as does the infrastructure needed to support them. Data centers, cryptocurrency mining farms, and AI-processing facilities require substantial investments in energy and water resources. While electronic communication is often marketed as a more sustainable alternative to paper, it’s clear that digital infrastructure is an energy and resource-intensive industry.

In contrast, the paper industry’s reliance on renewable forests and increasing circularity point to a more sustainable future for physical communication methods. As we continue to explore the environmental costs of our choices, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the digital world comes with its own heavy carbon footprint.

For businesses striving to make environmentally responsible decisions, it’s important to evaluate the entire lifecycle of communication methods—both digital and paper-based. By embracing responsible paper use and supporting the circularity of paper products, we can help balance the environmental impact of communication in the modern world.