At Axoly Tech, eco-design is integrated from the outset of every project and throughout its entire lifecycle.
But why ?
Here are a few points that can shed light on our approach and on the magnitude of the challenges related to the digital world.
We do not claim to have exhaustively analyzed all data.
1. The growing environmental impact of the digital sector
➔ The digital sector is a major energy consumer.
According to various sources, the digital sector accounts for between 4% to 5.5% of global annual electricity consumption. This consumption is primarily driven by the manufacturing and use of electronic devices. Data centers, through their servers and cooling systems, as well as communication networks, also represent a significant demand for fossil fuels (coal, oil). Data centers alone consume 2% of the world’s electricity.
➔ The greenhouse gas emissions of the digital sector account for between 3% to 4% of global emissions.
According to Ademe, data centers generate 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions related to digital technology. Whether it’s energy or emissions, these numbers are expected to rise in the coming years, driven by the growing needs of the artificial intelligence industry. To recap, a single request on ChatGPT requires nearly 10 times more energy (2.9 Wh) than a request on Google (0.3 Wh).
➔ E-Waste production
In 2022, 62 million tons of e-waste were generated. The current extractive and linear logic is leading to an exponential growth in this e-waste, largely driven by the obsolescence of our electronic devices. This obsolescence is fueled by a multitude of factors. These waste streams have significant human and environmental consequences, including pollution, public health risks, and the lack of material recycling.
➔ Extracting abiotic resources
These multiple physical infrastructures supporting digital technology are made from natural resources such as rare metals (lithium, cobalt, etc.), minerals (copper, lead, etc.), and fossil fuels. This extraction raises numerous environmental concerns, including the destruction of ecosystems and toxic releases into nature to extract these metals. Socially concerning questions related to working conditions are also a factor to consider. The use of vital resources such as water is also staggering. For example, in 2021, Google’s water consumption for its US data centers alone reached over 16 billion liters.
2. The growing individual impacts of digitalization
➔ Social consequences
The concerning trends around digitalization are numerous: digital addiction, over-consumption, impulsive purchases, misinformation, anxiety, social isolation, infringement on the right to disconnect, digital divides, privacy and data security issues, lack of access to rights, and algorithmic discrimination. They can lead to the exclusion of people from the use of digital technology, while also risking the creation of addictive behaviors in others.
➔ Impacts on living conditions
In addition, there are the precarious working conditions in extractive industries, especially in Southern countries, the devastating impact of water scarcity on local communities, and the severe negative effects on public health, exacerbated by pollution.
3. Software is more than just lines of code
Contrary to common perception, software, computer programs, web applications, and digital services do have significant impacts on the environment and individuals.
All these tools are stored in data centers that consume numerous natural resources, such as water and raw materials. Far from being merely “cloud” services, they exist in physical locations.
With this simplified schema, here’s where we are:
Resources extracted ↔ Hardware ↔ Software ↔ Usage.
To operate effectively, these tools rely on external resources and raw materials.
These same software systems also directly contribute to the obsolescence of our devices and can compromise our privacy.
However, it is possible to make software more efficient and reduce its environmental impact — and, by extension, its societal impact — through eco-design.
4. Eco-design of digital services
The benefits of an eco-designed software are numerous: it allows for reducing the global environmental impact of digital technologies, aligning with your sustainability goals, whether intrinsic or related to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Furthermore, it contributes to improving performance and efficiency of your services, while meeting increasing client demands for sustainability.
By adopting an eco-responsible approach, you can also strengthen your brand image and differentiate yourself on a market where socio-environmental concerns are becoming increasingly prominent.
Finally, eco-design allows us to accurately identify your actual needs and future uses of the software or web application. This will help avoid costly developments and unnecessary energy consumption.
Our approach
At Axoly Tech, we create your tailor-made software or web app by placing their eco-design at the center of the process.
The impact of their life cycle is also taken into account: at each stage of their development, we measure the energy consumed by these solutions.
This will ensure their efficiency and lightness, while reducing their ecological footprint.
In addition, eco-designed software helps extend the lifespan of your electronic devices, thus combating their planned obsolescence.
Finally, an eco-design approach makes it possible to identify exactly your real needs and future uses of the software or web app. This will avoid costly developments and unnecessary energy consumption.
At a more ethical level, your autonomy over your software and sovereignty over your data are our major concerns.
At Axoly Tech :
- We guarantee this autonomy and sovereignty for you.
- Once your software or web application has been created, they belong to you entirely, as does all the data they contain. In a world where our data are increasingly being coveted for commercial purposes, this independence is essential.
- We create your software without any subscription obligations. This means you have complete freedom over your choices.
- We take a special interest in ethical design and avoiding dark patterns.
At our scale, we’re daily striving to deeply embed these principles into our business model.
Our ambition is to inspire other organizations by contributing to a heightened awareness of the environmental and social implications of digital technology.