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The carbon cost of clicks: Black Friday's dirty secret
Every year, the day after Thanksgiving brings us Black Friday—a retail free-for-all that's become the face of consumerism. Millions of us rush to online stores to score deals. But while you're busy getting that bargain, there's an unseen cost you won't see in your cart total or shipping fees: the environmental impact of the technology behind it all.
As we click "buy," massive networks of servers, data centers, and logistics systems spring to life, consuming energy and spewing greenhouse gases. The real environmental cost of Black Friday is much bigger than we think—from the carbon emissions of cloud servers to the energy footprint of express shipping.
The energy cost of online shopping
When we think of Black Friday's environmental impact, we picture the physical stuff—packaging, delivery trucks, air freight. But there's another part we often overlook: the technology behind our online shopping.
Every time you load a page, add an item to your cart, or watch a product video, data is processed through servers in data centers. Data centers are the backbone of the modern internet, powering everything from social media to e-commerce. But the "cloud" isn't as clean or weightless as it sounds. Data centers use more than 1% of the world's electricity, and during events like Black Friday, consumption surges as we all go online.
This increased demand means more cooling systems and backup power—all of which consume energy. Even the most efficient data centers have to rely on non-renewable energy during peak times, adding to their carbon footprint.
The reality behind "green" cloud servers
Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft claim their cloud services are "green" and "sustainable," using renewable energy credits and carbon offset programs. But these claims don't always hold up to scrutiny. Data centers need a lot of energy—not just to process data but also to cool servers and prevent overheating. And when demand spikes, like on Black Friday, that energy has to come from somewhere. Often, it's fossil fuels.
Many data centers are located in regions where renewable energy is scarce. So, during peak shopping times, they rely on fossil fuels to meet the demand. Cooling systems play a big part here: while centers buy renewable credits, the power drawn during peak times often comes from coal or natural gas, making their green claims feel a bit empty.
Clicks add up: The carbon footprint
A single web search emits about 0.2 grams of CO2, and streaming a video generates around 55 grams per hour. Not much on its own, but on Black Friday, when billions of clicks, searches, and streams happen, it adds up fast. In 2021, online Black Friday shopping in the UK generated 386,000 metric tons of CO2—the equivalent of over 215,000 flights from London to New York.
And let's not forget the devices we use to shop: smartphones, tablets, and computers all consume energy in production and use. Mining the materials, manufacturing them, and keeping them charged all add to their carbon footprint. Frequent upgrades—often encouraged by Black Friday deals—amplify this impact. And let's not forget what happens when we dispose of them.
Beyond tech: The logistics of shopping
It's not just cloud servers that have an environmental impact. Getting products to your doorstep has a cost, too. Warehouses, fleets of delivery trucks, and last-mile delivery services, all add to e-commerce's carbon footprint. One-day shipping isn't cheap when it comes to emissions—it often involves air freight, which has a much higher carbon footprint than ground transport. And many Black Friday purchases are returned, doubling transportation emissions and waste.
Fulfillment centers, which are running 24/7 during Black Friday, also have big energy needs for heating, cooling, lighting, and automation. This surge in activity means more emissions from energy use, adding another layer to the environmental cost of our shopping habits.
The distributed cloud: A greener solution?
Traditional cloud computing has a massive carbon footprint, but there is a better option: the distributed cloud. Companies like Hivenet are rethinking cloud infrastructure using smaller, decentralized nodes instead of massive data centers. These nodes can be housed in underutilized spaces, even in homes, since they are the devices we use daily, like laptops, spreading the load and reducing energy costs.
This model uses less energy by reducing the need for massive cooling systems and using existing infrastructure. Distributed cloud systems also reduce the energy required for data transmission and overall environmental impact by processing data closer to where it's needed.
Distributed networks can also more easily integrate renewable energy. Instead of relying on centralized, power-hungry data centers, smaller nodes can draw energy from local renewable sources like wind or solar. This fits with Hivenet's vision: a flexible, sustainable cloud that's better for the planet.
Mind the gap: Promises vs. reality
The tech industry talks a lot about sustainability—carbon-neutral pledges, carbon-negative goals. But as Black Friday shows, the reality doesn't always live up to the promise. Surges in demand expose the weaknesses in our infrastructure and the gap between marketing slogans and actual practice.
To truly reduce the carbon footprint of online shopping, we need to rethink both our tech and our habits. We need to embrace greener tech like the distributed cloud, but consumers also need to understand the impact of their clicks—not just on their wallets but on the planet.
What can you do?
You may feel powerless, but individual actions do add up. Here's how you can have a more eco-friendly Black Friday:
- Choose standard shipping instead of one-day delivery.
- Consolidate your orders instead of making multiple separate purchases.
- Support companies using greener tech, like those using distributed cloud.
- Shop local to reduce shipping emissions.
- Avoid impulse buys to reduce returns and waste.
- Opt for digital products over physical ones when you can.
- Educate yourself and others about the environmental impact of online shopping.
Black Friday for a greener future
The environmental impact of Black Friday goes beyond delivery trucks and plastic packaging. It reaches into the tech infrastructure that underpins our digital world. The cloud has changed shopping, entertainment, and communication—but at a cost we can't ignore.
The distributed cloud is the way forward. By decentralizing data processing and integrating renewable energy, companies like Hivenet are making a greener digital future possible. But tech alone won't solve this problem—it takes a change in industry practice and consumer behavior.
Happy Black Friday. Click wisely. 🎉️🌎️🚍️
