Jan. 22, 2024

Clean Up Your Content: Strategies for Sustainable Digital CME/CE

The Hidden Impact of "Digital Hoarding"

In this age of digital communication and content creation, it’s easy to overlook the environmental impact of all the websites, videos, documents, and other media we produce and consume. However, the energy required to power our digital lives generates significant carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

In a recent episode of the Write Medicine Medicine podcast, I spoke with content strategist and sustainability consultant Alisa Bonsignore about how content creators can reduce their digital environmental footprint. Alisa first became aware of this issue around 2015 when she realized the massive amounts of outdated, unused content her healthcare and tech clients retained digitally. She soon learned this "digital hoarding" used a surprising amount of energy for storage and data transfers.

Balancing User Experience with Emissions

Most of our energy still comes from fossil fuels. So even increasing renewable power doesn't offset the doubled energy usage since 1980. All the bits and bytes comprising our digital content equal energy and emissions. A single healthcare nonprofit's website, bloated with unnecessary stock photos, racked up 8MB per homepage load. Removing only the generic images would save an estimated half a ton of emissions yearly.

We are already seeing the impacts of climate change. And even if it hasn't affected us directly, it's more of a matter of when, not if. We already know from countless studies that climate change is going to disproportionately affect women and children and the elderly, the poor or unhoused, and populations of color who generally tend to live in places that have been treated unfairly historically and are still dealing with the brunt of that. ~Alisa Bonsignore

How can individuals and organizations "do more with less" online? Bonsignore suggests evaluating if each piece of content serves your audience’s needs in the lightest possible format. For example, video requires much more data and energy than audio alone. Do talking-head corporate videos require both? Analyze if written content could replace imagery that lacks purpose. Scrutinize why you create multiple, lengthy email newsletters or separate microsites rather than well-organized webpages. In short, balance convenience for users with minimized impact.

Overcoming Institutional Barriers

However, influencing large organizations poses challenges, as productivity metrics reward content volume over prudence. Luckily, sustainability aligns with good user experience and plain language principles—the most usable information requires less overall content. When possible, creators should advocate for sustainable formats despite institutional inertia. For instance, research shows video-off meetings use only 5% of the emissions of leaving cameras on.

Sustainable Marketing

For sole creators like consultants producing their own marketing materials, remember to analyze if each image or video provides value worth its weight. For example, splash pages with stock photos of people scrolling phones don't demonstrate your mobile app's usefulness. Prioritize lean text and visuals over resource-intensive videos unlikely to fully engage audiences.

While individual actions like driving less only reduce emissions by about 4%, far-reaching professional changes could have greater influence. By questioning if, when, and how we digitally communicate, content creators can lead the way toward broader awareness of sustainable best practices.

Want a digital declutter checklist?

👉🏽 Grab the checklist here.

Action Steps

1. Assess and Optimize Content: Perform regular reviews of digital content, pruning anything outdated or less relevant, thus improving performance and reducing emissions.

2. Embrace Lighter-weight Content: Create content that is easily loadable and environmentally friendly, phasing out heavy elements like unnecessary images or graphics.

3. Prioritize Audience Needs: Ensure that content aligns with what the audience actually needs, rather than what company management may think they want.

4. Turn Off Video When Possible: In video conferencing, turn off cameras when not critical, to save on energy, costs, and reduce emissions.

5. Educate on Sustainability Metrics: Engage with resources like Worldwide Waste to better understand digital sustainability measurements and eco-impact.

6. Promote Sustainable Cultural Shift: Encourage discussions on sustainability within your audience and engage in practices that reflect a commitment to reducing your digital footprint.

7. Collaborate for Better Design: Follow the Content Design Manifesto's directive to work alongside design professionals from the beginning, with an eye towards inclusive, sustainable, and usable content.