What is the environmental
cost of email?
An email system uses devices, storage, data transfers and backups. Our work on Orvile’s environmental impact looks at all of them.
Study in progress
What we’re measuring
We’re studying the resources email systems use under comparable working conditions. We don’t yet have results that would support a claim about carbon savings.
Compare like with like
A short message uses different resources from several revisions of a drawing. To compare email systems fairly, we need the same volumes, file types and retention periods.
Email relies on much more
than an inbox.
The study’s scope
Include local storage
A server at your premises needs hardware and electricity. Backups, transfers to and from mail servers and AI analysis also belong in the calculation.
How should you read the findings?
A result is useful only if you know what was measured. Look for three things:
- Describe the working practices and volumes being compared.
- Make assumptions, limitations and sources explicit.
- Distinguish measurements from extrapolations.
How long should you keep an archive?
An archive may explain a decision or a commitment that still stands. Before keeping or deleting a copy, check who needs it and how long your organisation must retain it.
Contact the teamLet’s discuss your email’s impact.
A question about the method or a situation to study? Share it with us.
Discuss the study