Is electronic communication REALLY better for the environment than a posted letter?

Gone are the days of letterboxes full of bills, statements, letters and greetings cards. They have now been replaced by social media messaging, ecards and emails, which are perceived as a quick and easy alternative. However, even though less paper is being used, sending an email, or any form of other electronic communication, still comes with a considerable environmental cost. As an example, let's take a look at the environmental impact of sending an email compared to sending a letter in the post.

“How can emails be bad for the environment?” is a question often posed. At first glance, it doesnʼt make sense that an email should leave any carbon footprint at all, because itʼs not a tangible item. Well, as it happens, emails produce an invisible ‘digital pollutionʼ that is often hard to recognise, because we simply canʼt see it.

Every time we press ‘sendʼ, our email travels through an extensive network of cables and servers that requires constant cooling, using up huge amounts of electricity. In fact, it was claimed that in 2014, server storage for emails accounted for 1.8% of the USAʼs entire electricity consumption!

Whatʼs more, the larger the email, the more energy is used. A simple, text only email will typically generate 4 grams of emissions, which sounds promising when compared to the 20-29 grams typically generated by posting a letter. However, sending an email often prompts another email in return, and before you know it, an email conversation has multiplied that 4 grams many times over. Furthermore, when an email contains an image attachment, the emissions can jump up to a staggering 50 grams! Add to this any other recipients copied in to that email, and an entire extra energy trail is added for every additional reader.

There are 3.9 billion email users around the world, collectively sending 2.4 million emails every second! Even if every one of those emails was just the smallest text only correspondence, together, they would amount to 2 million metric tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the emissions of 5 million cars!

It is estimated that over half of the worldʼs emails are either spam or unnecessary. An average email may only be 5% the footprint of a handwritten letter, but most people are sending far more emails than they ever posted printed letters. According to recent studies, a typical office worker sends around 10,000 emails per year!

The actual amount of CO2 produced by an email varies according to the amount of energy it takes to move the email across the internet, to process it, view it, store it, re-read it and delete it. An emailʼs carbon footprint also includes the manufacturing of the equipment such as computers, servers and cables used to make the email system possible. Furthermore, many of those machines would’ve been manufactured using energy from fossil fuels.

Today, green technology is thriving in the printing and mail delivery business and is actually giving the good, old fashioned letter some new found credibility when it comes to reducing carbon emissions!

Royal Mail is currently rolling out a tenfold increase in electric vans in selected low emission zones and green cities, adding to itʼs 85,000 strong army of ‘feet on the streetʼ postmen and women. They are also trialling new, all electric micro-vehicles (which to me, look a bit like the tuk-tuks common in Asian countries) which boast zero tailpipe emissions. During the 2022-23 financial year, Royal Mail reduced itʼs carbon footprint by an impressive 7%, with a committed plan to ultimately reach ‘Net Zeroʼ.

How can I reduce my email carbon emissions?

- Deleting emails reduces their carbon footprint. Empty your junk, sent and read folders regularly. Of course, this will also help you find the emails you DO want to keep, quicker!

- Send links to documents rather than attaching them.

- If you must send attachments, shrink them down to a smaller file size. Most PDF handling software has a ‘reduce file sizeʼ option.

- Copy less people into emails.

- Only ‘reply allʼ when it is absolutely necessary.

- Unsubscribe from any newsletters you donʼt actually read.

How else can we help reduce carbon emissions, as well as the ones listed above?

Well, surprisingly enough, you may sometimes want to swap that bloated email

for a good old fashioned letter!