Why UX Is Going Green

Rebeka Costa Brabo on why the net is significantly contributing to climate change and how green UX may just be the cure

- Rebeka Costa Brabo

For all the benefits that technology brings, there is a dark cloud that hangs over all of us. This cloud chases us in newspapers every day and is felt across the entire world. It makes us fear for the future and question our habits – our youth is even skipping school to demand action. This cloud is mostly made up of CO2 and its name is climate change.

Among the many culprits of rising carbon emissions is the IT sector. It embodies the very thing that has defined the 21st century and includes everyone from UX designers to tech giants such as Apple or Google. It connects the entire globe and, unsurprisingly, requires a lot of energy to operate.

Data – and our growing need to send and receive it faster than ever before – are key pieces in understanding this puzzle. Each time we use data, be it by using Facebook or sending an email to a coworker, we spark a chain of events that needs electricity to get us that data.

With technologies like 5G being part of a near future for the market, we can no longer ignore the energy consumption linked to IT. More electricity-intensive demands for IT usually means coal burning. Fortunately, UX designers are doing their part to mitigate this trend of consuming more without worrying about the consequences: green UX design.

A PROBLEM THAT KEEPS GROWING

With the consequences of the climate crisis already being felt by many people in the world, global warming is on everyone’s mind. It’s usual for us to discuss Chinese or American emissions but we often overlook the role of specific industries. In all this, exactly where does the internet fit in?