Cultural organizations such as theaters, movie houses and companies are increasingly active in the digital domain. This involves not only public-facing initiatives such as livestreams and digital exhibitions, but also daily behind-the-scenes activities: emailing, video calling and file storage. All of these activities consume energy and resources. Want to be more conscious of your digital footprint, including in your everyday digital tasks? Here's what you can do.
Green web hosting and website optimization
A website does not just run "in the air," but on servers that consume energy continuously. Some hosting parties use data centers that run on fossil energy, others on renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar.
But green hosting alone is not enough. Everything your website sends (images, scripts, video files) requires energy, even on the visitor's side. Especially for cultural institutions with online archives and ticket sales, it's smart to look critically: are all pages needed? Are images optimized? In this article by Digihobbit you can read what you can do to deal with your web content as sustainably as possible in a general sense.
✅️ Doing:
- Hosting on green energy
- Lightweight website management systems
- Optimized, functional media
- Clear navigation
❌ Don't:
- Hosting on 'gray' energy
- Heavy website management systems
- Large uncompressed images and video
- Needless pages
- Getting media to play automatically
Energy efficient use of AI
More and more cultural organizations are discovering AI for things like grant applications, audience communication or image generation. But generative AI consumes enormous amounts of computing power. ChatGPT, Midjourney and similar applications run on gigantic data centers that continuously perform complex calculations. Therefore, it is important to deploy AI only when it really adds value.
Don't use it purely "because it can" or because it's trendy. Also remember that AI is not always the most sustainable or creative choice. Search engines such as Ecosia or local software can sometimes produce the same results with less impact.
🔎 Definition: Artificial Intelligence (AI), or artificial intelligence, is an umbrella term for algorithms and methods that perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence. Read more about it in this article.
Server usage and cloud storage
From digital archives to project files, a lot of data ends up in the cloud. It seems invisible, but all that information is stored on physical servers that need to be produced, cooled, maintained and eventually replaced. The more data you store, the larger your digital footprint (as data traffic consumes huge amounts of energy). Moreover, it increases risks in data breaches: the fewer files you have of personal data, for example, the smaller the damage if something goes wrong. Therefore, plan a major cleanup round at least annually. Remember: 90% of your stored data will probably never be needed again. Dare to clean up!
✅️ Doing:
- Delete outdated and disused emails and accounts
- Not putting images in emails
- When something is already online, in the cloud or on an intranet, share links instead of files
- Inbox regular cleanup
- Unsubscribe from newsletters you don't read
❌ Don't:
- Keeping everything "just in case"
- Circulate large attachments
- Send everything as a separate file by mail
- Leaving dozens of newsletters unread
- Continue to receive all newsletters, even if you never open them
💡 Tip: Have a full inbox and no idea how to start cleaning up? Flip the date (from old to new) or sort by sender and start deleting.
Digital traffic
Every email, download or stream consumes energy. Especially with online events and livestreams, this adds up quickly. Consider, for example, a movie house that archives hundreds of hours of video or a theater group that shares many large files. Reduce your impact by looking more critically at what you distribute, how much you store and how you communicate. Less traffic means less strain on networks and servers. A few practical tips:
- Upload to the cloud only what absolutely belongs there. Store the rest locally on an external drive that doesn't consume power when your computer is off.
- Choose offline alternatives to programs you now use online. For example, GIMP instead of Canva, or a local photo editing program instead of Adobe Lightroom.
- Perform an annual digital cleanup on cloud services and delete files that no longer serve a purpose.
- Delete social media accounts that add no value to your organization or yourself.
- Clean up your social media channels annually: delete old posts that no one is looking at anymore.
At the office
You can also be smarter about digital resources in the office. Video calling is convenient, but not always necessary. Old devices do not need to be replaced right away, unless the software is so outdated that security updates are no longer available. Refurbished equipment is often an excellent durable alternative. Do a digital spring clean with the entire team at least once a year. This saves space as well as energy.
✅️ Doing:
- Video calling only when necessary
- Annual archive cleanup
- First try to repair
- Choosing refurbished or modular equipment
❌ Don't:
- Video calling in any situation
- Double save everything
- Equipment replaced immediately
- Throwing electronics in the garbage
Want to read more?
- Eight books on technology and conscious digital working
- 40 tips to reduce your digital footprint
- Develop strategy on sustainability
Want to make your Web site more sustainable? Then engage a specialist in sustainable web design, such as Charlotte Bax of Digihobbit. Or delve into the many guides and tools to get started yourself. That's how you'll reduce your online footprint step by step.