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The impact of excess emails on CO2 emissions is something many of us have been commenting on for over a decade, but it’s not individual users who are to blame. Small mailboxes are good for climate change (“Unnecessary emails under fire as reducing carbon production becomes a chore,” November 19).
There are two main culprits. First, the e-mail service providers. In the past, there were strict size limits mainly to keep costs down, although CO2 emissions were noticed by those with a green agenda. Now most users have unlimited storage which encourages them to keep everything. The larger the inbox, the larger the carbon footprint. Those involved in next year’s COP 26 climate change conference must put it to major vendors like Google, Microsoft, BT and Sky.
Second, excessive email traffic is usually a background that covers much deeper organizational issues like culture (e.g. lack of trust and transparency) and an inadequate digital communication policy.
Tackling ways to reduce the carbon footprint of email must first start at the top of the organization and with email providers.
Monica Seeley
Author, “Brilliant Email”
Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
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