Electronic communication is often presented as a “green” alternative to paper. Emails, cloud storage, or paying bills and managing accounts online offer fast, cheap and efficient alternatives to paper-based communication and record-keeping — but it’s becoming harder to ignore the high environmental cost of the constantly expanding digital infrastructure behind them, with rising energy consumption and significant use of resources such as rare-earth minerals and water. It’s important to examine the overlooked environmental consequences of electronic communication and understand the real sustainability of digital solutions compared with paper-based alternatives.
The push toward digital communication, data storage and other trends has led to massive server farms that run 24/7 and consume 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. Tech giants such as Google and Amazon are also seeking new energy sources — including nuclear — to power data centres. These centres are critical to electronic communication and data storage, and now account for a significant share of global electricity consumption.
Over the last decade, the North American and global markets have seen substantial growth in data centre development, driven by rising demand for digital services and cloud computing.
Inventory growth: In the first half of 2024, primary data centre markets in North America saw a 10% increase in supply, adding 515 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Year over year, this represents 24% growth, reaching a total of an additional 1,100.5 MW.
Construction surge: By mid-2024, data centre supply under construction in North America’s most important markets rose about 70% compared with a year earlier, reaching a record 3,077.8 MW.
Colocation data centres, offering retail or wholesale space (or both), can house multiple companies in a single building. By the end of 2024, there will be 5,186 colocation data centres worldwide (1,803 in North America), a number that could rise to 7,640 by 2030.
Hyperscale data centres are large, remote facilities with more cloud computing capacity than enterprise data centres. Cloud service providers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM, Alibaba and Oracle are investing billions of dollars to build data centres worldwide. This will bring the number of hyperscale data centres from 523 in 2024 to 738 in 2030.
The rise of massive server farms supporting digital communication and data storage promises efficiency and convenience. But the environmental costs of this shift are significant. Server farms require large amounts of energy and water for cooling and often rely on non-renewable energy sources. In addition, growing demand for digital infrastructure necessitates resource-intensive manufacturing of servers and other hardware. Companies present reduced paper use as environmentally friendly, but this mistakenly ignores the full life-cycle impact of the digital alternative.
Growth in devices
The rising number of consumer devices brings its own environmental challenges. Every year, millions of smartphones, tablets, smart devices and laptops are manufactured and shipped worldwide. These devices require rare-earth metals, generate electronic waste, consume significant energy during manufacturing, and use large amounts of processing power. Growing dependence on mobile and digital communication through these devices further increases the overall environmental impact of the electronics industry.
In 2022, 62 billion kg of e-waste was generated worldwide, of which only 22.3% was officially documented as properly collected and recycled. Since 2010, the growth of e-waste generation has outpaced official collection and recycling by nearly fivefold. The US generates 7.2 million metric tons of e-waste annually, or 21.2 kg per capita. Rising e-waste levels create significant challenges for the environment and human health through improper and unsafe handling and disposal via incineration or landfill. As a result of improper e-waste management, 45 million kg of plastic containing 58 thousand kg of mercury and 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 due to concerns over deforestation and resource use. But the paper industry has made major sustainability progress and is the most recycled material in the US municipal waste stream (between 65% and 69%). Today, paper products are primarily sourced from responsibly managed forests. In North America, strict standards such as FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI® (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) ensure that paper production supports forest health and promotes biodiversity.
Research shows that shifting from paper-based to digital communication does not eliminate environmental harm. The energy consumption, resource use and waste generated by electronic communication are frequently overlooked in corporate sustainability policies. Two Sides has shown that the myth of electronic communication being “green” is driven primarily by marketing, not by the facts.
The Energy-Intensive Future of Electronic Communication
Demand for digital communication and AI solutions continues to grow, along with the infrastructure required to support them. Data centres, cryptocurrency mining farms and AI processing facilities require significant investment 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 sector.
By contrast, the paper sector’s reliance on renewable forests and its 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 essential to acknowledge that the digital world carries its own heavy carbon footprint.
For businesses seeking to make environmentally responsible decisions, it’s important to evaluate the full life cycle of both digital and paper-based communication methods. 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.