You surely asked yourself how you can concretely reduce the carbon footprint due to your internet usage and for that, we would like to say BRAVO!

We unknowingly emit 806 grams of CO2 every day when sending and receiving 33 emails in average or with our Google researches.

When taking into account the internet usage of 3,5 billion surfers, 365 days per year, we reach the same carbon footprint of the integrity of civil flights in the world, respectively 609 million tons of CO2. It suddenly becomes more concrete!

And this is all happening today… We’re bound to very quickly reach the 5 billion internet users. So, what can we concretely do?

What can everyone do in order to reduce their numerical carbon footprint?

Before starting, it is important to note that internet users account for 47% of CO2 emissions that can attributed to internet. Each and everyone of us clearly have our role to play in this matter.

To become an eco-responsible internet user, here are 10 actions to take whenever possible:

• Use cleanfox. Are you subscribed to the Vente-privee.com newsletter but never read it? For every email received and stored in your mailbox, CO2 is emitted. Indeed, our mailboxes are full of uselessly stored emails which consume energy to conserve. But all of that was before and now, Cleanfox exists. Try out Cleanfox, sort out your email box, unsubscribe from polluting newsletters that you don’t even read.
• Limit the receivers copied in your emails. For every receiver added when sending an email, 6 additional grams of CO2 are emitted. Please think about it next time 😉
• Stop useless queries or use Lilo. Instead of typing “weather forecast”, “SNCF” or “RATP” in your search engine, you can directly access the required website by saving them in your favorites. This is a simple and faster solution, you can avoid emitting CO2 by reducing your internet queries. Otherwise, you can use Lilo, the search engine that compensates your CO2 emission by financing environmental social projects.
• Use the URL bar. According to the ADEME, using accurate key words helps an internet user reduce their CO2 emissions by 5kg per year, the equivalent of a 40 km car ride. Given that we will soon reach the 5 billion internet users, this may make a difference…
• Send lighter emails. Is the attached file really necessary when sending your email? If yes, can you compress it? You can become an eco-friendly internet user by asking yourself this type of questions: less energy will be needed for the transfer and the treatment of your emails. Also think about using USB drives ou external hard drives to exchange the heaviest files.
• Limit the usage of the Cloud to the maximum. The online storing of our files consumes a lot of energy (Data centers, new connected devices, etc). Results: A heavy impact of Cloud on the environment…
• Prioritize television over streaming. Like many, do you watch a lot of televised shows on the internet? You should now adopt a preference for the television. Online videos represent more than 60% of traffic and watching an HD streaming emits as much CO2 as manufacturing, transporting and playing a DVD !
• Learn and recognize your labels. You can play a major role in preserving the environment by buying less polluting informatic material which favors energy savings. This in turn leads to a cheaper electricity bill. Numerous ecolabels came to life these recent years to promote the conception, commercialisation and usage of products with a reduced environmental impact over their life cycle.