CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: 1. Waste that is not visible is also a concern
When environmental crisis is discussed, issues such as plastic, industrial pollution, vehicular emissions and electronic waste come to mind. But the digital age has also created a form of waste that is not visible. Unnecessary emails, messages, photographs, videos, duplicate files and unused material lying in the cloud for years are becoming part of digital waste.
This waste does not pile up on the ground, but servers, networks and data centres continuously use energy to store and transmit it.
2. Every message is not an environmental crisis, collective behaviour is the bigger challenge
It would not be correct to say that one unnecessary message or email by itself creates a major environmental crisis. The real problem arises when crores of people carry out billions of digital activities every day.
The entire digital chain of sending a message, processing it on a server, delivering it to the recipient and often storing it for years depends on resources. Therefore, the environmental impact of digital behaviour must be understood at its vast scale.
3. Data centres are the backbone of the digital world
Behind the digital world visible on our mobile phones are huge data centres. Thousands of servers in these centres remain continuously active to run services such as email, social media content, online video, cloud backup, digital payments and artificial intelligence.
India’s data centre capacity was 375 megawatts in 2020, which rose to more than 1,500 megawatts by 2025. According to the government, the industry is also increasingly using advanced cooling technologies to reduce water and energy consumption.
4. Environmental responsibility is necessary alongside digital growth
India is rapidly moving towards a digital economy. From digital payments to online education, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the role of data is increasing in every sector.
Stopping digital growth is neither the solution nor is it necessary. The question is how this growth can be made environmentally sustainable. The more data is created, the greater the responsibility will be to handle it in an energy-efficient manner.
5. Water is also a resource for the digital economy
The environmental discussion around data centres cannot be limited to electricity alone. Many data centres require water to keep servers cool.
According to WRI India, more than half of India’s data centres are located in water-stressed areas. This makes it clear that water availability must also be taken seriously in the expansion of digital infrastructure.
6. The challenge will increase in the age of AI
Artificial intelligence has made the role of data centres even more important. Training and operating large AI models requires high computing capacity. This means more servers, more electricity and, in many circumstances, more cooling.
Therefore, it is not enough to view AI only as a technological revolution. Its costs related to energy, water, land and electronic waste must also be included in digital development planning.
7. Cleaning digital waste is also necessary
We clean out old paper, plastic and electronic goods from our homes, but such cleaning habits are rare in digital life.
Thousands of old emails, duplicate photos, unnecessary videos, old documents and unused cloud backups remain stored for years. In expert literature, such unnecessary or less-used stored data is also viewed in the context of “dark data”, and the need to reduce it has been emphasised.
8. Small beginnings are possible at the individual level
Digital environmental responsibility does not have to begin only with a large campaign. Users can unsubscribe from unnecessary email lists, delete old mails and files, clear duplicate photos and avoid repeatedly sharing large video files when they are not needed.
Small steps such as switching off video streaming when it is not required during video meetings can also be part of the judicious use of digital resources.
9. The responsibility is not only on consumers
It would also not be correct to put the entire burden of digital waste on citizens. The role of large technology companies, data centre operators and institutions is far more important.
Companies will have to decide which data is actually necessary, how long it needs to be retained and which data can be safely deleted. Better data management policies can reduce unnecessary demand for energy and storage.
10. India must move towards green data centres
While expanding its digital economy, India should emphasise making data centres more energy-efficient. The use of renewable energy, better cooling systems, water recycling and server efficiency can be important components of this effort.
The government has also mentioned the use of direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling and other technologies in data centres, aimed at reducing water and energy consumption.
11. Extra caution is needed in water-stressed areas
The decision to set up data centres should not be based only on the availability of land and electricity. In areas where water is already limited, the water requirements of large data centres can put pressure on local communities and other uses.
Therefore, water availability, recycling capacity, the local environment and future water demand must be given equal importance in site selection. The central government has also said that aspects such as water availability, water balance and recycling are considered in large construction projects linked to environmental clearances.
12. Digital literacy must include the environment
Today, digital literacy is understood as the ability to use mobile phones and the internet, make online payments or avoid cyber fraud. It is now time to include digital environmental responsibility in it as well.
Schools, colleges and offices should develop an understanding that digital activities are not entirely “invisible” or “zero-resource” activities.
13. Companies must change the habit of accumulating data
Many institutions continue to collect large amounts of data thinking that digital storage is cheap. But cheap storage is not free from environmental cost.
Companies should conduct regular data audits. A policy should be framed to identify and safely delete unnecessary duplicate records, old unrelated documents and unused backups.
14. Stopping digital growth is not the solution
It must also be kept in mind that digital technology, in many cases, reduces the environmental burden. Online meetings can reduce travel, digital documents can save paper and digital services can reduce the need for many physical processes.
Therefore, the debate should not be about whether digital technology is good or bad. The real question is how efficiently and responsibly digital technology is being used.
15. Digital environment must find a place in policy
The larger India’s digital economy becomes, the more necessary it will be to assess its environmental impact. Better data should be available on aspects such as electricity and water consumption by data centres, carbon emissions, electronic waste and land use.
The United Nations Trade and Development institution has also emphasised the need for renewable energy, better data and water management and more systematic monitoring to reduce the environmental impact of digital services.
16. The definition of environmental protection must change
Environmental protection can no longer remain limited to saving forests, reducing plastic and preventing pollution. In the digital age, servers, data centres, energy and water resources are also part of the environmental debate.
Just as we try to become responsible about the physical waste generated from our homes, we must also become aware of digital waste.
Conclusion
The digital revolution is an important part of modern India’s development journey. Stopping it is neither possible nor desirable. But digital expansion cannot be separated from environmental responsibility. Unnecessary messages, emails and stored files alone are not a major crisis, but it would also not be right to ignore the collective impact of billions of digital activities.
The expansion of data centres in India and the growing demand for AI-based services will make electricity and water requirements even more important in the coming years. Therefore, energy-efficient technology, renewable energy, water recycling, responsible data management and digital cleanliness must be made part of digital development from today itself.
A clean India of the future will not only be an India with clean roads and less pollution; it should also be an India with responsible digital behaviour and sustainable digital infrastructure.
Hashtags: #Editorial #Bhopal #Desksource #DigitalWaste #Environment #DataCentres #DeskSource #EnvironmentalCrisis #AI #WaterStress
