A SUSTAINABILITY QUERY FOR THE ZETTABYTE ERA

The convergence between the top two trends shaping the world today presents tremendous opportunities that can foster rapid progress towards business goals of sustainability and digitalisation

A company strategy today void of digitalisation and sustainability is a rarity. However, in most companies these topics are discussed and managed separately. Digital transition and sustainability transition are treated as different paths. But the time has come to unleash the power of convergence between digital tech and sustainability. It is not a twin transition, but an integrated transition. The outcome of this convergence is mutually beneficial.

Amid the debate around artificial intelligence (AI), access to infinite storage space and ubiquitous computing, we need to realise that there is an environmental impact associated with all this. Whether it is the energy requirement or the environmental complexities of the supply chain, the footprint is increasing in a drastic manner. Cloud computing and AI have large energy requirements and this trend will only multiply.

We are also passing through a period of data explosion in what is known as the zettabyte era. According to a World Bank report, 90% of all data was generated in the last two years alone. In his book World Wide Waste, Gerry McGovern notes that 90% of data is never accessed three months after it is stored.

In addition, as observed by Moore’s law, we keep cramming smaller and faster components into the chip, which in turn will generate more heat. We will then have to cool the equipment and we need more electricity to do this.