Perspectives

Debunking the environmental impact of Technology

Written By: The Transmutation Principle

The environmental impact of Technology is often clouded by myths and misunderstandings. Although technology holds immense promise for advancing sustainability, we must be mindful of its hidden impact on our planet and its finite resources if we are to use it responsibly.

The first most crucial thing about the environmental impact of technology is that it is globalised.

While a ChatGPT inquiry sent from a Bukit Panjang office laptop, or an iPhone purchased from the Marina Bay Sands Apple store may not have a direct environmental footprint on Singapore, our digital consumption behaviour does however have an impact elsewhere which is often invisible and therefore difficult for consumers to visualise the environmental impact of their consumption.

Experts estimate the footprint of ICT represents 3% of our Global Greenhouse gas emissions (more than all aviation combined!), and this number is expected to reach 10% by 2035 due to a unique double digit growth YOY in ICT-induced fossil fuel emissions.

Indeed, the extraction of materials & assembling of our devices – and datacenters – along with the energy demand growing bigger by the day to support AI’s growth take a heavy toll on our planet. The carbon dioxide emissions along each process, water consumption and downstream pollution are the most obvious externalities we can think of.

Countries like China, Taiwan or Indonesia with devastating mines of Nickel are excellent examples of the situation the IT industry can have.

Although it might appear difficult, quantifying the environmental impact of technology in our cloud-connected world is crucial and entirely possible.

A way to ascertain this is to project a “Lifecycle Assessment (LCA)” of the technology that we use, which tracks the “cradle-to-grave” impact of technology on our planet.

Dissecting the Lifecycle of Technology, we need to begin with Manufacturing, which is the birthplace of every piece of equipment and tool used in any piece of Technology.

Our daily devices such as laptops and smartphones are just the tip of the iceberg. Cisco estimates we have 35 billion active devices worldwide. Studies estimated that about 70% of our active technology environmental footprint is contributed by the Manufacturing process of technology.

You read that right: 70% of Technology’s environmental impact is contributed by the Manufacturing process, which is greater than the carbon emissions of our world’s Data Centres’ energy consumption.

After Manufacturing is Utilisation which is the usage lifespan of our devices.

80% of our online activity is audio-visual-imagery such as movie streaming and virtual meetings.

When our Social Media activity shifted to video-based attention acquisition since a decade ago, our social content consumption also shifted towards that direction.

Enabling video and connecting devices across the world need robust and powerful data centres. While Data Centers are seen as the Bad Boys of the IT industry, they only use up to 40% of the total energy needed to support our IT activities.

The majority of our Technology energy consumption still lies within the devices that we use daily, from CCTV to smartphones.

This insight may become obsolete by the end of 2025 because of AI, which will soon become the most energy-intensive Technology.

Another interesting insight for Singapore is that 7% of our country’s energy consumption is used to power Data Centres, an essential cog in the complex architecture of our daily applications.

This places Singapore in the top three countries of energy use for Data Centres.

Finally, we have the “End-of-life” of Technology. Every piece of equipment that we produce becomes electronic waste when they are depreciated or disposed of.

Prior to NEA’s launch of their islandwide electronic waste collection initiative in July 2021,Singapore was recycling only a mere 6% of our e-waste.

This puts us behind other developed countries such as Taiwan, South Korea & Japan,which approximately recycles 50% of their e-waste.

Unbeknown to most, our e-waste is mostly exported to neighbouring countries like Indonesia or Cambodia.
With the increasing consumption of digital devices, Singapore is increasing its capacity in recycling metals by ramping up on value recovery systems, which is a strategic move for the industry towards niche innovation and self-sustenance of critical resources.

Most studies have shown that the utilisation lifespan of our home appliances have dropped by 75% between 1990 and 2020. It is evident that consumer choices have a role to play in reducing and mitigating the environmental impact of our e-waste.

After a decade in establishing our Data Centre industry, Singapore is now well on its way in becoming a stronghold for Tech & IT infrastructures.

The emergence of local champions on Green data centers (CoolestDC, NUS startups), and massive flow of Green Tech investments into the region, poses a unique opportunity for Singapore to spearhead Green IT and Tech for Good to establish itself as a regional, responsible leader putting Sustainability and Care at the core of its strategy.

IMDA is also the main actor driving the force of Green IT and have started many pilots recently to test solutions before rolling them out in the ASEAN region.

Walking the talk, the Transmutation Principle team will be co-organising one of the biggest digital sustainability conferences in Singapore, to facilitate deeper knowledge exchange and real-life case studies of Green IOT, infrastructure & devOps solutions amongst responsible technologists.

The Green IOT conference will be happening on 16th April and we will be releasing complimentary tickets to students and our academia.

Increasing access to climate education is the first step to mitigating the environmental impact of our Technology. A key focus for us in 2025 is to host a series of sustainability workshops to help our communities upskill in climate change knowledge. You can view our upcoming workshops here, with a dedicated workshop on Digital Sustainability happening on 1st July.

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About The Transmutation Principle:

Pros for the Bonos: The Transmutation Principle, a Singapore-based sustainability consultancy, empowers businesses to integrate sustainable practices for long-term value and resilience. They offer tailored services, from ESG program development to sustainability strategy design, guiding organisations toward a net-carbon future. Through their 3% Committee initiative, they are committed to supporting the SMEs in decarbonisation via climate education, fractional services, and ESG consulting.