{"id":6237,"date":"2025-04-02T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kraftgrp.com\/?p=6237"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:19:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T18:19:35","slug":"earth-day-and-it-reducing-your-digital-carbon-footprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kraftgrp.com\/earth-day-and-it-reducing-your-digital-carbon-footprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day and IT: Reducing Your Digital Carbon Footprint"},"content":{"rendered":"
If the internet were a country, it would be among the world’s top energy consumers. A 2024 study published in Nature Communications<\/a> found that data centers and data transmission networks account for between 1% and 1.3% of global electricity consumption. That’s a staggering amount of energy for infrastructure that most people never even see.<\/div>\n

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Earth Day serves as a reminder that sustainability is not just about cutting plastic waste or planting trees. It is about rethinking the way we use technology.<\/div>\n
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Every email sent, file stored, and server running contributes to a digital carbon footprint. While these actions may seem small on their own, collectively, they have a major environmental impact.<\/div>\n
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The good news is that you do not need to overhaul to make a difference. Small changes can significantly reduce digital waste and energy consumption. Here’s how to take action and make IT work for both you and<\/em> the planet.<\/div>\n
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Optimizing IT for Energy Efficiency<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Technology is the engine that keeps us running, but that engine burns more fuel than you might think. A few smart tweaks can help you cut down on wasted energy, lower costs, and even give your tech setup a sustainability upgrade.<\/div>\n
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Put Devices on a Power Diet<\/h3>\n
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Leaving computers running full tilt 24\/7 is like keeping a car idling in the driveway all night. It burns through resources for no good reason.<\/div>\n

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Adjusting power settings is an easy win. Enable sleep mode and set power settings to turn off the display or send the computer to sleep after a period of inactivity. This helps conserve energy when devices aren’t being used.<\/div>\n
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Upgrade to Energy-Smart Hardware<\/h3>\n
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Old tech is a power hog. If you are still rocking decade-old desktops, it might be time for an upgrade.<\/div>\n
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ENERGY STAR-certified devices<\/a> are built to sip electricity instead of guzzling it, cutting down on energy waste without sacrificing performance. Swapping out traditional hard drives for solid-state drives (SSDs) can also trim power use while boosting speed. It’s a win-win.<\/div>\n
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Stop Running Equipment on Autopilot<\/h3>\n
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Most of us don’t need every piece of equipment powered on at all hours. A little scheduling goes a long way.<\/div>\n

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Printers, for example, are notorious energy hogs. Set your printer to power down when not in use and only turn it on during scheduled print jobs. The same goes for computers and other devices\u2014make sure they go into sleep mode after a period of inactivity.<\/div>\n

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Clean Up Digital Clutter<\/h3>\n
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Just because storage is virtually unlimited doesn’t mean it should be treated that way. Unused files, duplicate backups, and outdated software all contribute to unnecessary data bloat, which increases storage demand\u2014and the energy needed to maintain it.<\/div>\n
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You can reduce your digital footprint by:<\/div>\n
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