Green IT, or sustainable IT, is no longer just an option or a communication tool: it has become a strategic pillar for every company. As digital transformation has accelerated—driven in particular by the explosion of Artificial Intelligence—the sector’s carbon footprint is under greater scrutiny than ever.
Back in 2022, we shared the fundamentals for understanding and reducing the environmental impact of your business. Four years later, where do things stand? From changing practices and stricter regulations to emerging solutions such as GreenOps, discover how Green IT is transforming digital professions today.
The state of play in 2026: digital technology’s impact in the age of AI
While digital technology accounted for approximately 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions at the start of the decade, recent projections point to an upward trend, now approaching 5% to 6%. Two major factors explain this development:
1. The explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence: Training and using AI models every day—for generating text, images, or code—requires enormous computing power. Data centers now need extremely powerful processors that consume vast amounts of electricity and water for cooling.
2. The hardware paradox: In 2026, manufacturing devices—computers, smartphones, screens, and connected objects—still accounts for nearly 78% of the digital sector’s carbon footprint in France. Rare-metal extraction and devices’ end of life remain the most significant environmental challenges.
However, “digital for good” continues to demonstrate its value: smart-grid optimization, intelligent logistics, and digitization still prevent millions of tonnes of CO₂ emissions in other sectors.
Solutions for businesses: from awareness to standards
Today, companies are being pushed to act not only by environmental awareness, but also by legislation—such as the European CSRD, which imposes strict sustainability reporting requirements that include digital impact. Here are the main levers currently available:
1. GreenOps: measuring to reduce cloud impact
The days of simply deleting unnecessary data are over. Technical teams are now adopting GreenOps, an approach aimed at optimizing cloud architecture to reduce both financial costs and the carbon footprint. Companies use real-time dashboards to shut down test servers at weekends, adjust computing power to the strict minimum required, and select data-center regions powered by low-carbon energy.
2. Sustainable web design becomes a standard (RGESN)
Sustainable design is no longer a niche practice. With the widespread adoption of France’s General Framework for the Sustainable Design of Digital Services (RGESN), developers, designers, and project managers are integrating environmental considerations from the mock-up stage onward.
- Design: Native dark mode, streamlined interfaces, and strict limits on autoplay videos.
- Code: Optimized server requests, extensive media compression using new formats, and serverless architecture that only consumes energy at the precise moment a function is executed.
3. The revolution in IT asset management (hardware)
Since manufacturing causes the most pollution, the golden rule in 2026 is to extend equipment lifespans. Companies no longer replace computers every three years, but instead aim to keep them for five to seven years. Purchasing refurbished equipment for corporate fleets has also become an accepted and valued standard, supported by robust professional warranties and equipment durability ratings.
New everyday eco-friendly habits for professionals
In 2022, we recommended sorting your emails. While this remains useful for keeping your workspace organized, experts now agree that its carbon impact is marginal compared with other activities. In 2026, these are the actions that genuinely make a difference:
- Use AI more wisely: Do not run complex generative AI queries for simple tasks that a conventional search engine can handle. Generating one AI image uses as much energy as fully charging a smartphone!
- Manage video and virtual meetings: Video streaming accounts for the largest share of internet traffic. When working remotely, turning off your camera during large meetings when it is not needed—and favoring static screen sharing or collaborative documents—drastically reduces bandwidth usage.
- Take care of your equipment: This is the number-one action. Protecting your work computer and repairing your smartphone instead of replacing it after the first screen or battery issue is where end users can make the greatest difference.
- Continue browsing responsibly: Ethical search engines such as Ecosia and Lilo now provide optimized, lighter results. Using ad and tracker blockers also reduces the amount of unwanted data downloaded in the background.
Conclusion
Green IT has evolved from a set of “best practices” into genuine sustainability engineering. For digital professionals, it offers a tremendous opportunity to innovate differently: writing cleaner code, designing more useful services, and consuming resources more responsibly. Digital pollution may be invisible, but the solutions are now concrete, measurable, and within reach of every organization.
