The environmental impact of digital technology is principally attributable to the manufacture of our equipment. It is therefore important to extend the lifespan of devices for the longest possible time in order to reduce the purchasing of new equipment. To this end, you can:
- Promote a 7-year equipment replacement rate.
- Protect, maintain, repair and reuse equipment within your business: by providing protective equipment (cases and screen protectors for smartphones, carrying cases for computers, etc.) and by ensuring regular cleaning of external components.
- Keep your equipment up to date, giving priority to the replacement of individual components rather than the entire piece of equipment (e.g. for random-access memory (RAM) capacity). Also ensure the regular updating of operating systems, antivirus software, firewalls and other programmes required for proper operation of the hardware.
- Reduce the number of pieces of equipment per employee as far as possible, on the basis of actual needs, and avoid over-sizing of equipment:
- Think about equipment sharing!
- Avoid multiple screens, above all with the rise of remote working.
- Critically assess the usefulness of professional smartphones: dual SIM cards may be a good option.
- Limit the size of screens (since the environmental impact of a screen greatly increases with its size).
- Adjust default system settings: activation and reduction of equipment standby times, configuration of copiers to print on both sides and in black and white by default, automation of the switching off of certain pieces of equipment when not in use, etc.
- Ensure that users understand and comply with manufacturer’s instructions for use.
80%
of greenhouse gas emissions from the digital sector come from the manufacture of our devices and terminals (telephones, tablets, TVs, computers, etc.).
Source : Etude ADEME/ARCEP 2021