Landscaping review: Digital decarbonisation and the role of global standards in measuring data energy consumption

As the world grapples with the urgency of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, digital decarbonisation has emerged as a pivotal focus area. The rapid proliferation of data and its energy demands present both a challenge and an opportunity for policymakers, businesses, and technology leaders. The sheer scale of energy consumption associated with data centres, storage, networks, compute, and global digital infrastructure demands robust measurement standards. However, the lack of clarity and consensus on energy metrics highlights the need for globally recognised standards to guide digital decarbonisation strategies.

The debate surrounding the environmental impact of data underscores a critical problem: how do we measure the energy cost of data and digital systems across their lifecycle?

This question arises amidst discrepancies in methodologies, interpretations, and transparency across industries. As Jackson and Hodgkinson (2024) emphasise in their analysis of the data threat to net zero, the absence of standardised approaches to calculating energy use per gigabyte (GB) creates ambiguity, impeding effective policymaking.

This paper explores the role of global standards in addressing these uncertainties and positions digital decarbonisation as an essential part of achieving climate goals. It draws on a comprehensive review of existing standards to illustrate how energy consumption in digital systems, including data storage, network transmission, and compute processing, can be measured, assessed, and managed. [...]