Clearing your spam folder can help save the planet!

Yes, you heard that right. Clearing your spam folder can help save the planet.

There are about 3.93 billion[1] email users worldwide in 2019 — that’s almost half the population! 293.6 million[1] emails (approximate) were sent and received per day in that year alone worldwide.

One email is approximated to produce 0.000001[1] tonnes of CO2e. Doesn’t sound like much, right? WRONG.

(CO2e= carbon dioxide equivalent)

Carbon footprint: refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by a person, organisation, event or product.[1]

293.6,000,000×0.000001= 293.6 ≈ 294 TONNES of CO2 per day.

That’s the equivalent of the CO2 produced by about 64[1] passenger vehicles in a whole year.

! an email with an attachment of over an MB can emit an avg 50g CO2e[1] !

Wondering how email leaves carbon footprint? Here’s how:

When typing the email, the computer consumes electricity; when sent, it goes via a network running on electricity; every email is stored on a server and this mammoth amount of data needs massive server farms (centres with millions of computers storing and transmitting information). These servers consume enormously large amounts of energy 24/7, countless litres of water or air conditioning systems for cooling. Did I mention the energy?

What we can do about it:

*Spoiler- it’s very easy!

• Clear your spam & junk folder regularly: remember- the email is being stored thus consuming energy unnecessarily
• Never leave trail mails when replying.
• Do NOT ‘reply all’ unless truly necessary.
• Delete emails you don’t require anymore
• Unsubscribe to newsletters you don’t need and don’t subscribe to those you’re not interested in or if it is promotional (unless it’s a necessity which often isn’t)

Here is a good article to help you with that.

• Avoid emails whenever possible: ‘thank you’ emails, jokes and one-line emails are a burden on the planet and not on your friends, they will do fine without!
• Deactivate social media notifications: they are simply information you find on the actual platform most of the time
• Link to files or information online instead of adding an attachment
• Reduce the size of emails by lowering the resolution and
• compressing images & avoid large HTML elements
• Use green email services: choose and support email services that rely on 100% renewable energy (green email) such as Posteo.de, Mailbox.org and Tutanota. Bonus: they’re ad-free and have privacy as a priority
• End emails that need not be logged or saved with a message to delete them as a step to be more environmentally friendly. “Delete this email and help the earth! Check out this blog if you’re curious as to how this helps.” would be a suitable message. The second sentence can be lost after the first time.

For email services:-

• Encourage users to keep up the clearing of spam and junk folders. Maybe with a fun pop-up window saying “You just helped the earth! Clear the spam/junk folder and help more…”

Of course, this isn’t enough to stop climate change. But, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Everything listed above hardly takes a few minutes and can easily be done while commuting, saving time. If we all take this little step, it will make a huge difference.

Conclusion

Emails and the internet, in general, can leave a surprising amount of carbon footprint as proved by all the horrifying facts listed above. Decluttering and organising your emails isn’t just productive for your work but also for the environment. So, take a green initiative today and feel a little happier knowing you care about the planet and have become its good friend…!

Some information has been adapted from Carbon Literacy and Reset.

Other sources have been linked.

Originally published at http://ttells.com on May 17, 2020.