The path to Net Zero starts with Data Erasure

Net Zero – The pledge to reduce carbon emissions demonstrates a commitment to environmental responsibility and leadership in the context of climate change being the most urgent issue of our time. This is not only a social responsibility, but also an inevitable trend for sustainable development. This article sets out how your organization can advance Net Zero goals with data sanitization.

Electronic data and IT assets are a significant and rapidly growing source of emissions. A boom in data centers is expected to produce about 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions globally through the end of the decade. Effectively managing and organizing electronic data and storage devices are very first steps that organizations and businesses can take right away to start moving towards the goal of reducing net emissions to zero.

Here’s why you should focus on data sanitization to drive sustainable outcomes.

1. Minimize data storage costs

The environmental costs of data storage are significant because it takes a huge amount of power to run data storage facilities.  The more data you store, the bigger your carbon footprint.  A single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.

Properly classifying and organizing data, specifically eliminating expired data, is the fastest way to optimize data storage costs. Data minimization also helps protect businesses and organizations from the risk of data privacy breaches.

2. Reduce electronic waste

At the end of IT assets life, they were often discarded without any strict control processes. These devices typically contain confidential or sensitive information. It created both data security risks and released large amounts of electronic waste into the environment. This is a growing problem, with one 2022 study finding that greenhouse gases from e-waste jumped by 50% between 2014 and 2020.

With secure data destruction options like data wiping, storage devices can be refurbished for a second life (or more). They can be used again within your business or sold downstream rather than becoming landfill.

3. Demonstrate commitment and motivate the community

Net Zero is only work when it is a team sport. Actively choosing products and services from partners and suppliers who share the same goal not only creates a sustainable value chain, but also displays a deep commitment and spreads the message to the community.

HTI Services can support your Net Zero goals. We provide secure data destruction services for different types of storage devices according to the security and information safety standards 𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓.𝐒𝐏.𝟖𝟎𝟎-𝟖𝟖𝐫𝟏 (according to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology). For sensitive data that is not allowed to leave your organization, we provide secure data destruction services at your requested location, ensuring maximum privacy and security.

Contact hotline 𝟎𝟗𝟐𝟖.𝟕𝟔𝟓.𝟔𝟖𝟖 for detailed advice.