Digital Decarb at Loughborough

Best Practices

Email Emissions

Did you know that each email you send generates about 4g of CO2? Here's how to reduce your email's environmental impact:

  • Ask yourself if the email is essential before sending. 
  • Limit recipients to only those who need to act or be informed. 
  • Minimise the use of logos and images in your email content. 
  • Instead of attaching files, always send links to shared documents. 
  • Unsubscribe from mailing lists that no longer serve you. 
  • Use Conversation View so you can quickly delete or use the Ignore feature to delete conversations you aren’t interested in automatically 
  • Regularly clean out your inbox by deleting spam and outdated messages. 
  • To check your inbox size in Outlook, go to ‘File’ and select ‘Mailbox settings.’ 

Data Storage Impact

Did you know that data centres, including cloud storage, produce more CO2 emissions than the aviation industry? Here are ways to manage your data sustainably:

  • Avoid storing multiple versions of the same document—use tools like SharePoint or Teams that track version history automatically and efficiently.

  • Retain only the most important versions of your documents.

  • Delete unimportant files and keep only those with long-term significance, such as decision records and transactions.

  • Follow retention policies to avoid keeping data longer than necessary.

  • Set aside time annually to review and reduce your stored data.

  • Consider whether high-resolution images are truly necessary in your files; opt for lower quality when possible.

  • Scanning documents isn’t always eco-friendly. Remember, the original paper had an environmental cost, and scanning adds to it without much benefit.

  • Prioritise selective storage, keeping only what's essential.

  • Accept that not all data needs to be preserved, even if it feels valuable.

  • Use cloud storage such OneDrive or Teams (SharePoint backed) but keep in mind they still have an environmental footprint.

  • Regularly identify and remove "dark data"—files or documents you no longer need and will never use again.

  • If you have the OneDrive app installed on your phone, make sure camera backup is switched off unless keeping all photos is vital for your work.

By following these tips, you can significantly reduce your digital carbon footprint.