Digital products, such as software applications, websites, and cloud services, are increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives. They offer convenience, entertainment, and productivity to millions of users around the world. But do we ever stop to think about the environmental impact of these products? How do they compare to physical products in terms of sustainability? And what can we do to make them more eco-friendly?
In this blog post, we will explore the concept of life cycle analysis (LCA) and how it can help us assess and improve the sustainability of digital products. LCA is a method that evaluates the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal or recycling. LCA can help us identify the hotspots of environmental impact, compare different alternatives, and find ways to reduce the environmental footprint of our products.
The Life Cycle of Digital Products
Unlike physical products, digital products do not have a tangible form that we can easily see and touch. However, they still require material and energy inputs to create, use, and dispose of them.
For example, a software application may need:
Hardware devices, such as computers, servers, routers, and smartphones, to run on
Software development tools and platforms, such as programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and databases, to build with
Data centers and network infrastructure, such as cables, satellites, and antennas, to store and transmit data
Electricity and cooling systems, such as generators, transformers, and air conditioners, to power and maintain the hardware
Human resources, such as developers, testers, designers, and managers, to design, develop, deploy, and maintain the software
User behavior, such as frequency, duration, and intensity of use, to interact with the software
Each of these inputs has its own environmental impact in terms of resource consumption and emissions generation. For example:
Hardware devices may contain rare earth metals and other scarce materials that are extracted from mines with high environmental and social costs
Software development tools and platforms may have different levels of efficiency and performance that affect the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the software
Data centers and network infrastructure may consume large amounts of electricity from fossil fuel sources and emit greenhouse gases and heat into the atmosphere
Electricity and cooling systems may rely on non-renewable energy sources and generate waste heat and noise pollution
Human resources may travel by car or plane to work or meetings and generate carbon emissions
User behavior may affect the demand for data transmission and processing and influence the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the software
Detailed Life Cycle of Digital Products
Digital products, despite their intangible nature, still demand material and energy inputs during their creation, usage, and disposal. These resources include hardware devices, software development tools, data centers, electricity and cooling systems, human resources, and user behavior. Each of these inputs contributes to the environmental impact of the digital product.
To perform an in-depth LCA of a digital product, we consider these inputs and their impacts across the product's life cycle stages:
Ideation: This phase includes generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. It involves brainstorming, research, and concept development, which may consume energy and materials, such as paper or digital storage.
Design: The design phase involves creating and refining the software's user interface, architecture, and database design. It requires various design and prototyping tools, whose production and operation come with environmental costs. This phase is likely to have the most leverage when it comes to making informed choices that lead to solutions with minimal environmental impact.
Development: This stage includes the actual coding and programming of the software. It requires computers, programming languages, and software libraries, all of which consume energy and other resources.
Deployment: This stage involves installing the software onto hardware devices in data centers or user devices, which can demand significant energy and infrastructure.
Maintenance: The software is monitored for issues and updated over time to improve its performance, fix bugs, and add new features. These activities continue to consume energy and resources.
Decommissioning: This final stage includes the retirement or end-of-life phase of the software or hardware devices. It includes the disposal or recycling of hardware devices or data.
How to Compare Digital Products with Physical Products
One of the challenges of LCA for digital products is how to compare them with physical products that provide similar functions or services. For example:
How does a digital book compare with a printed book in terms of environmental impact?
How does a video call compare with a face-to-face meeting in terms of environmental impact?
How does a streaming service compare with a DVD player in terms of environmental impact?
To answer these questions, we need to define a functional unit that represents the common function or service provided by both products. For example:
The functional unit for a book could be reading one page or one hour
The functional unit for a meeting could be communicating with one person or one hour
The functional unit for a video service could be watching one movie or one hour
Product | Environmental Inputs | Environmental Impacts |
|---|---|---|
Physical (book, DVD) | Paper, ink, plastic, energy for manufacturing and transportation | Deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation |
Digital (eBook, streaming service) | Energy for data storage and transmission, electronic devices for consumption | Carbon footprint from energy consumption, e-waste from electronic devices |
Then we need to collect data on the inputs and impacts of both products per functional unit. Finally we need to compare the data using appropriate indicators and methods. For example:
Water footprint: The amount of water consumed or polluted by a product per functional unit
Energy footprint: The amount of energy consumed by a product per functional unit
Carbon footprint: The amount of greenhouse gases emitted by a product per functional unit
How to Improve the Sustainability of Digital Products
Based on the results of the LCA, we can identify the opportunities and strategies to improve the sustainability of digital products. Some of the possible actions are refining the choice of infrastructure and strategies at various stages of the digital product lifecycle, not alone limited to the design phase. These are as follows:
Use low-code or no-code platforms to reduce the complexity and resource consumption of software development
Use reusable code and open source software to avoid duplication and waste of software resources
Use standard best practices and tools to optimize the performance and efficiency of software
Use renewable energy sources and green data centers to power and host the software
Use energy-efficient hardware devices and network infrastructure to run and transmit the software
Use circular design principles and practices to extend the lifespan and recyclability of hardware devices
Use real-time monitoring and reporting tools to measure and communicate the environmental impact of software
Use user feedback and behavior analysis tools to understand and influence the user demand and usage patterns of software
Work being done on account of digital LCA
As of time of writing this post, there are several examples of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) being conducted for digital products.
A holistic LCA of digital transformation requires the assessment of information and communication technology (ICT) with its wide range of multifunctional devices as well as substitution and summation effects caused by new services enabled by modern ICT.
For example, the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment published an article discussing the environmental implications of digital transformation in view of the effective as well as the potential environmental impacts.
Additionally, there is a concept called Digital Life Cycle Assessment (DLCA) which applies the rigor of an LCA process specifically to digital products and services.
To add more,
Google has developed a tool called Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) that helps cities measure their carbon emissions from buildings and transportation using Google's geospatial data .
AWS has launched a program called AWS Sustainability Data Initiative that provides access to large datasets related to climate change, weather, air quality, and energy use .
Microsoft has created a platform called Microsoft Sustainability Calculator that helps customers measure and reduce their carbon emissions from using Microsoft's cloud services .
Conclusion
Digital products are not as green as they may seem. They have significant environmental impacts that need to be assessed and reduced. LCA is a powerful tool that can help us do that. By applying LCA to digital products, we can compare them with physical products, identify the hotspots of environmental impact, and find ways to improve their sustainability. By doing so, we can contribute to a more sustainable digital transformation that benefits both people and the planet.
References
- Itten, R., Hischier, R., Andrae, A. S. G., Bieser, J. C. T., Cabernard, L., Falke, A., ... & Stucki, M. (2020). Digital transformation—life cycle assessment of digital services, multifunctional devices and cloud computing. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 25(11), 2093-2098.
- Product sustainability: Back to the drawing board | McKinsey (2021). Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/product-sustainability-back-to-the-drawing-board
- Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainability | Sustainability Blog (2019). Retrieved from https://blogs.mtu.edu/sustainability/2019/10/29/life-cycle-assessment-and-sustainability/
- A scalable approach to product life-cycle assessment (2020). Retrieved from https://www.tcs.com/what-we-do/services/sustainability-services/white-paper/life-cycle-assessment-for-sustainable-products
- Google's sustained effort to prioritize sustainability: https://insights.sustainability.google/
- Amazon's sustainability initiative: https://aws.amazon.com/sustainability-data-initiative/
- Microsoft's sustainability Calculator: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sustainability/sustainability-calculator
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