Data decarbonisation, greenhouse gas emissions, and industrial business

The United Kingdom (UK) has set clear policy goals in its bid to become net zero. The government’s ‘Industrial decarbonisation strategy’ aims to decarbonise industry and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by two-thirds come 2035 (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2021). UK manufacturing supply chains are highlighted for their adoption of digital innovations to drive down carbon dioxide emissions. However, while ‘digital’ can be a part of the solution, there is also a dark side to digitalisation and digital data for GHG emissions. Data has a carbon footprint that is bigger than the aviation industry. Thanks to unprecedented levels of digital data being generated (e.g., Internet of Things sensors) many industrial businesses struggle to effectively process and use this data, resulting in poor data reuse, forgotten data, and data duplication that comes at a great cost to carbon emissions. In this developmental paper, we provide early insights from an initial review of the relationship between digital data, GHG emissions, and industry.