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Would an energy rating put pressure on internet giants to manage their environmental impacts?
It seems that Commission officials are asking themselves this very question.
In an action plan for the digitalisation of the energy sector published today [1], the Commission says it plans to ‘explore the possibility’ of developing environmental impact indicators for ‘electronic communications services’, intended to guide consumers towards the most energy-efficient choices.
ECOS welcomes the move to address the resource use of the digital industry. Measuring and reporting the environmental footprint of digital services will help consumers connect the impact of digital services to the actual value delivered.
Possible services targeted by these measures could be the top three internet traffic generators: video streaming, online gaming and social media. The plan also mentions developing energy labelling for blockchains.
We hope this action leads to the development of an energy label for such services.
Carolina Koronen, Programme Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS):
‘You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Measuring the environmental impact of digital services is a first step towards ensuring a digital industry that is on track with sustainable development goals. Next, we need the EU to put its foot down, and set some minimum requirements on energy consumption and other impacts for Netflix and similar providers. Soon, we hope to see an energy label before a Saturday night binge-watch.’
Energy labels for data centres
As part of the plans, the Commission has announced it will explore the development of environmental labelling for data centres, along with reporting and transparency requirements.
This is also a positive step towards ensuring a sustainable digital economy, but minimum energy performance requirements are crucial, as well as requirements for other critical impacts such as water use and material use. [2]
In 2019, data centres represented around 1% of global electricity demand, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). [3]
Without policy intervention, the energy demand from data centres will represent 3.2% of the total EU electricity demand the equivalent of almost 100 TWh in absolute terms, by 2030 – an amount of energy that exceeds the annual electricity consumption of Belgium. [4]
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