![Giftmio [Lifetime] Many GEOs](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHdpZHRoPSI3MjgiIGhlaWdodD0iOTAiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA3MjggOTAiPjxyZWN0IHdpZHRoPSIxMDAlIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjEwMCUiIHN0eWxlPSJmaWxsOiNjZmQ0ZGI7ZmlsbC1vcGFjaXR5OiAwLjE7Ii8+PC9zdmc+)
Whether it’s B2C or B2B, the national and global ecommerce industry is booming.
But that boom in how consumers and businesses go surfing to buy goods and services — at work and residential — is taking an enormous strain on the worldwide resources and the environment, says a brand new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
The digital economy is booming. Annual smartphone shipments have greater than doubled since 2010, hitting 1.2 billion in 2023. And Web of Things (IoT) devices are projected to surge 2.5 times to 39 billion by 2029, from 2023. Recent data from 43 countries shows business ecommerce sales grew 60% from 2016 to 2022, to succeed in $27 trillion. The information represents about three-quarters of world gross domestic product (GDP).
This growth is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the environment, in response to the UN report.
Ecommerce role within the environment
The digital economy is resource-intensive. A four-pound computer requires 1.7 kilos of raw materials.
While the production phase is essentially the most impactful — generating some 80% of smartphone greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — environmental harm occurs throughout the lifecycle of devices and knowledge and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, including through ecommerce, in response to the report.
Digital waste is growing faster than collection rates. Waste from screens and small IT equipment rose 30% between 2010 and 2022, reaching 10.5 million tons. Improper disposal results in pollution and other health and environmental hazards.
Increasing demand for data transmission, processing, and storage for recent technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks and IoT is boosting emissions. For instance, the ICT sector emitted an estimated 0.69 to 1.6 gigatons of CO2 equivalents in 2020, corresponding to 1.5% to three.2% of world GHG emissions.
As digital devices grow to be more complex, they require more mineral resources. Phones used 10 elements from the periodic table in 1960, 27 in 1990 and 63 in 2021.
Because of this, demand for critical minerals critical for each digital and low-carbon technologies is soaring. For example, demand for cobalt, graphite and lithium is predicted to extend by 500% by 2050, in response to the World Bank.
A pressing concern is digitalization’s increasing energy and water needs. In 2022, Google’s data centers and offices consumed greater than 21 million cubic meters of water. Newer technologies, similar to generative AI, also require more potable water for cooling servers.
Within the U.S., one-fifth of information center servers’ direct water footprint comes from watersheds which can be moderately to highly water-stressed, in response to the report.
“The digital economy currently generates excessive waste, reinforced by programmed obsolescence – the built-in reduction of a product’s lifespan as a result of technical, functional or psychological reasons – in modes of production,” the report says. “A circular economy minimizes waste and maximizes resource use through reusing, refurbishing, recycling, and increasing product lifespans.”
Enroll
Enroll for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends within the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vp of B2B and Market Research, at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
