new data centre construction in the face of similar threats. If data centres are forced to provide their own power sources, they will opt for the cheapest and most efficient, which right now are solar and wind. Decoupling the cloud from fossil fuels could be a big step toward decarbonising economies and enabling greener growth. TRANSPARENCY IS THE GOAL The very word ‘cloud’ summons up the always- changing, hard-to-pin-down nature of these issues. Cloud, like its namesake, has become almost a natural force itself, with its own set of complex, interlocking systems. Cooperation and openness with the cloud providers seems to be essential for any progress. Robinson says: “I would like it if the cloud operators would set up service desks where people could ring up and ask engineering- focused questions about what’s going on with the infrastructure, so we can understand how what we’re doing inside that infrastructure affects energy – instead of getting something from them that’s ultimately an accounting convenience for them to report.” Cloud is certainly not the sole domain of the media industry. A vast amount of the world’s technology infrastructure – across sectors – relies upon the cloud in some capacity. But media does have a disproportionately bigger voice than other industries in advocating for positive change. “I don’t know if we’re the biggest users of the cloud, but we do have the biggest voices,” states Ward. “You can start to build awareness and get viewers and consumers on board. Make people think: ‘That’s actually really important to me. I care about that and want to learn more about it.’ These providers are businesses, and ultimately they want customers. If they’re not delivering something their customers want, then they won’t be as successful as businesses.”
I DON’T KNOW FOR SURE IF WE ARE THE BIGGEST USERS OF THE CLOUD, BUT WE DO HAVE THE BIGGEST VOICES
controversially declared should be a good proxy for carbon emissions. Unlike AWS, Google allows customers to know the locations of data centres and what type of power they are using. THE PARADOX OF PROGRESS The discussion also covered the complicated issue of infrastructure deferral. We tend to automatically think the most sustainable approach to any tool is to use it for as long as possible before replacing it, but that’s not always the case. Robinson explains how, in some scenarios, cloud growth could paradoxically lead to greater sustainability. “We might say that the less cloud we use, the better, then we won’t have to keep building more and more cloud. But as cloud technology progresses, it gets more efficient, which means you can deprecate the old cloud more rapidly and end up with a more condensed, energy-efficient cloud. Sometimes, driving the economic models lets you build more energy-efficient infrastructure. Imagine how big Amazon’s cloud would be if it was still running on Pentium II processors.” Singular.live’s Ward adds that the future of cloud may end with big companies having to produce their own energy if they want to keep operating. In the past few months, data centres in Ireland have had to roll back services because they’ve begun to interfere with the country’s domestic energy grid. Other countries,
including Germany, Singapore and China, are imposing restraints on
WELCOME TO THE FLINT The Flint was launched in 2023 to provide the M&E industry with news, best practice, insights and inspiration for the sustainability transition ahead. Industry veterans Neal Howman and Neal Romanek observed that, for all the great work being done around sustainability in the media space, a great deal of it happened in siloes with poor communication among the various parts of the content supply chain. The Flint aims to break all that down and give the entire M&E industry one place for anything and everything sustainability-related. The word ‘sustainability” itself is something that seems to divide rather than unite people. For The Flint ,
impoverished life goal. Prosperity is fulfilling your purpose, making real use of your opportunities, augmenting and empowering the people around you. Prosperity means being awesome. In addition to its website, The Flint offers a weekly newsletter, a monthly webinar and podcast – as well as services to media businesses who want to communicate sustainability stories to the rest of the world.
sustainability is the intersection of place, people and prosperity. The crisis in our environment is accelerating – it’s an emergency that requires us to act now and together – but we can’t talk about the environment without talking about people and their prosperity. Prosperity means much more than basic financial success. When the Vulcans say ‘live long and prosper,’ they don’t mean ‘may you become a billionaire’ – not that there’s anything wrong with that, even if it is a pretty
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