KPIT Cummins Blog

Our IT industry is responsible for a significant environmental impact. Manoj Mone, Principal Solution Architect, KPIT Cummins, considers the ways we can turn this around.

Courtesy: Bert Kaufmann

‘Our main goal at Facebook is to help make the world more open and transparent. We believe that if we want to lead the world in this direction, then we must set an example by running our service in this way.’ - Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Creator and Chief Executive

Let’s extend this statement from Mark Zuckerberg to an environmental consideration. It’s really important for technology giants to start thinking about their impact on the natural world. You might be under the impression that the IT Industry doesn’t exploit our environment nearly as much as other industries do. But think again! They all use coal to power the ‘cloud’ that stores our emails, photos, music, and videos. Yes, the very same coal that destroys our climate through mining pollution, and is a non-renewable resource.

I was shocked to read the latest report from Greenpeace titled ‘How Clean is Your Cloud?’

This disturbing assessment sets the context – ‘Giant data centres which store and send the terabytes of pictures, emails, songs and streaming videos we enjoy every day are now one of the fastest growing sources of new electricity demand in the world. Every day, tons of asthma-inducing, climate destroying coal pollution is thrown in the air to keep the Internet humming.’

Here’s how the tech world is hurting the environment – 

1. Some of the largest IT companies building their business around the cloud are rapidly expanding without adequate regard to electricity sources.
2. Even though there is an absence of transparency and a difficulty in measuring the performance or actual impact on the environment, the cloud has been portrayed to be inherently green.
3. Data centres currently consume 1.5% - 2% of all global electricity, and this is growing at a rate of 12% a year.
4. Over half of North America’s technology companies rely on coal for 50% - 80% of their energy needs.
5. Data centre clusters are cropping up in places where cost-effective and non-renewable coal powered electricity is abundant.

However, there are some efforts worth mentioning –

1. Akamai, responsible for a tremendous amount of internet traffic, is the first IT Company to begin reporting its carbon intensity under the new Carbon Utilization Effectiveness (CUE) standard. Still, there has been a notable absence of reporting under CUE by other companies.
2. Facebook has now committed to power its platform with renewable energy. Facebook took the first major step in that direction with the construction of its latest data center in Sweden, which can be fully powered by renewable energy.
3. Yahoo and Google both continue to lead the sector in prioritizing access to renewable energy in their cloud expansion, and both have become more active in supporting policies to drive greater renewable energy investment.

What can we as individuals do?

1. Make a pointed effort to seek renewable energy when selecting our data centres, world wide.
2. Advocate complete transparency of our energy usage.
3. Become aware of our carbon footprint.
4. Encourage our customers and suppliers to adopt similar policies, and engage with green suppliers.

So techies, next time you ‘like’ or share something online, do spare a thought for the coal you’re burning, and keep thinking about how we can keep our Earth green.