Digital sustainability and Enel’s code of conduct

Sustainability is a goal we should all strive to achieve, and digital technologies help us to do just that.

It is estimated that digital technologies can contribute to reducing global emissions by approximately 15 percent via solutions employed in areas such as energy, goods manufacturing, construction, services and transportation, traffic management, agriculture and the use of land in general.

Enel has made digitalization one of the cornerstones of its strategy: digital advances and innovations are crucial to electrification and the energy transition process.

At the same time, however, digital technologies also have an environmental impact, a fact that its users are often unaware of. This impact is not only in terms of, for example, the production and disposal of devices, but also in relation to the emissions associated with their use.

A two-pronged approach is therefore taken with respect to digital sustainability. On the one hand, the fact that one of the central objectives of digital technology is to further sustainable development must be considered; on the other, it’s necessary to ensure that the digital technology itself is sustainable.

Antonio Ganzerli, Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy for Enel's Global Digital Solutions unit defines "Sustainability BY Digital" as sustainability realized through digital technology and "Sustainability IN Digital" as the sustainability of digital technology.

Enel’s commitment and the code of conduct

Enel, in accordance with its commitment to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as set out in the 2030 Agenda, has launched several initiatives aimed at improving digital sustainability. The Group has launched the Digital Carbon Footprint project, the aim of which is to quantify emissions relating to the cloud and to identify any actions that can be taken to contain and reduce them.

Through the Digital Circular Assets project, Enel has been ensuring that its digital assets are managed in accordance with circular economy principles by looking to extend the useful life of devices through recycling and reuse.

Enel has also produced a code of conduct, detailing the actions that can be taken to minimize the environmental impact of digital technology:  

1. Pay close attention to your “digital behaviors.”
   This first rule is general: it facilitates continued awareness of the fact that using digital technologies has an environmental impact.
2. Switch off digital devices when they’re not being used.
3. E-mail responsibly.
   This translates into a number of recommendations: 
   • write e-mails only when necessary;  
   • limit the sending of attachments;  
   • use the “reply all” option only when absolutely necessary;  
   • regularly empty the trash folder, thus deleting any e-mails that no longer serve any purpose 
   • cancel subscriptions to newsletters that are no longer of interest.
4. Limit audio and video streaming.
5. Close web pages after visiting them, to avoid unnecessary data traffic.
6. Put digital devices in power-saving mode during use.
7. Put smartphones in “airplane” mode while sleeping, as this prevents any unnecessary data traffic generated by Wi-Fi connections.
8. Choose more energy-efficient digital products and services.
9. Apply circular economy principles to digital, both by extending their useful life, for example, by getting them repaired, and by disposing of them correctly as e-waste rather than regular waste at the end of their useful life, so as to prevent pollution and facilitate the recycling of materials.
10. Design sustainable hardware and software, consider the environmental impact of digital technology right from the design phase when developing digital solutions.