The tech industry is responsible for a significant amount of carbon emissions, but accurately accounting for these emissions is a complex task. Current industry standards for disclosure may actually allow companies to underestimate their carbon footprint.
According to a report by The Guardian, the official declarations of carbon emissions made by tech companies are often lower than the actual amount. This is because these reports include offsets purchased from other sources, which can be misleading.
A more accurate way to measure carbon emissions is by using “location-based” emissions, which directly measure the output of data centers. When compared to official declarations, these “location-based” emissions show that real emissions from the tech sector are actually more than seven times higher than reported.
The use of “renewable energy certificates” can also mask the true impact of the tech sector’s growing carbon footprint. These certificates are an attempt to offset carbon emissions, but they may not accurately represent the sector’s overall carbon output.
Overall, it’s clear that the tech industry’s carbon footprint is not being accurately represented, and that there are significant discrepancies between reported and actual emissions.
