Before I started working on all of this sustainable content stuff (gestures vaguely at everything, because everything in the world is interconnected), I didn't know that we basically doubled our energy consumption between 1980 and 2019, the last "normal" year before the pandemic. Globally, the vast majority of that energy comes from burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal. These fossil fuels generate the bulk of the emissions that cause climate change.

A big part of sustainable content is reducing the energy needed to power our digital lives. Our data is nothing more than energy. And that energy — at least for the foreseeable future — has a carbon footprint. There's a direct connection between every web page, email campaign, or video meeting, and corresponding carbon emissions. If we can use less energy overall, we're generating fewer emissions.

But here's a fun and interesting fact that I've recently learned. In 2022, there were an estimated 858 million tonnes (946 million tons) of CO2 emissions globally from the shipping industry. That's more than the aviation industry, which bears the brunt of the negative press.

But here's the fascinating part: about 40% of that shipping traffic is just the transport of fossil fuels. So for each step we take to reduce our energy consumption, we're not only eliminating the emissions that come from the fuels themselves, but also from the shipping that transports it.

​How do we handle the issue of inadequate climate change education in the U.S.? It's complicated. But a variety of organizations are working towards providing teachers with the necessary information, and finding ways to integrate that knowledge into the existing curriculum.

We've all seen this in action: Brookings says that companies are under intense pressure to adopt AI to increase efficiency and, most notably, to cut labor costs. "Thus, even as generative AI has the potential to boost incomes, enhance productivity, and open up new possibilities, it also risks degrading jobs and rights, devaluing skills, and rendering livelihoods insecure."

Another day, another article that enrages me. AI-infused search engines are fanning the flames of white supremacy using "science" to reinforce racism. Even if you don't care about the environmental impacts of AI, surely this must give you pause?

As someone who is looking for a new home, this new climate risk feature from Zillow caught my eye. Their competitor, Redfin, has apparently had this feature for a couple of years. I'm curious to see how accurate the predictions turn out to be.

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Consulting

​Reduce your Scope 3 emissions​

Alisa Bonsignore

Founder, Strategist, and Author