Development has and continues to play a key role in society’s advancement. However, while development is an essential part of meeting the world’s current and changing needs, the continual use of natural resources and the environment mean we must find ways to sustain the natural systems from which we source the materials we use. The Brundtland Commission defines sustainable development as our capacity to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.

Where does technology come into the equation? According to Ericsson, the total life cycle carbon footprint of the ICT sector is approximately 730 million tons CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2-eq), or 1.4 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes all equipment powered by electricity at every phase of the life cycle, from the manufacturing, to the loads contained and processed through networks as well as data centers, devices such as desktops and cellphones, and any other electrical equipment.

In 2020, global data centers were responsible for 1% of the global final electricity demand. However, even with the growth in internet traffic and digitization and subsequently the demand for electricity, according to the International Energy Agency, huge strides in energy efficiency have helped limit electricity demand growth from data centers and data transmission networks. The use of data centers will only continue to grow as the world evolves. This begs the question of how organizations can sustainably make use of the solutions provided by data centers and on-premises infrastructure without halting development. The answer is Hybrid Cloud!