This report is the conclusion of 18 months of work. Arcep and ADEME have collaborated, at the request of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, to measure the environmental footprint of digital technology in France.
Terminals are responsible for 65 to 90% of the environmental impact
To achieve this, analysts from both organizations have chosen the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology. A multi-criteria approach, because as L’Arche points out, “the environmental impacts of digital technology cannot be reduced to greenhouse gas emissions”. Together, the two organizations have come to the conclusion that digital is the source of 2.5% of the carbon footprint in France.
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In reality, it is the terminals (and in particular the screens and televisions) which are the source of 65 to 90% of the environmental impact. Indeed, televisions are the main responsible for the impacts (between 11% and 30%), followed by laptops, tablets, smartphones, fixed computers, TV box, living room video game consoles, and printers.
The study also shows that “of all the stages of the life cycle of goods and services considered, the manufacturing phase is the main source of impact, followed by the use phase”. During these 18 months, the analysts were also able to measure the complexity. It is actually very difficult to quantify the impacts of digital technology on the environment.
This study should therefore be considered as a first step in a longer-term project. Arcep and ADEME point out the need for reliable data to “refining the modeling of the various digital components”.
Digital is playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives.
If the impact of digital on the carbon footprint is very low compared to that of transport (29%), there is evidence of the fact that the digital transition has profoundly upset the codes of all sectors of activities.
Digital is at the heart of our daily lives, in both private and professional life. The study also shows that digital services are responsible for 10% of French electricity consumption, or the equivalent of the annual consumption of 8,282,000 French households.
In their report, ADEME and Arcep detail the impact of digital technology on the carbon footprint at the level of a citizen. This is very telling: the average annual impact of the use of digital technology on climate change is similar to 2,259 km by car/inhabitant. Waste production is equal to 299 kg/inhabitant over the entire life cycle of equipment (from manufacture to end of life).