The Carbon Footprint of an Email

A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas created through our everyday tasks. According to Statista, the sending of one email is estimated to produce 0.000001 tonnes of CO2. While this seems small, it's important to note that over 306 billion emails are sent each day. For decades, email has been an essential part of how we communicate. So, could we really reduce our email carbon footprint when it's such an essential part of our everyday communication? And if so, what small steps make a difference?

How does email have a carbon footprint?

The process of creating an email requires electricity. That electricity comes from burning coal, gas, and oil, which then emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, causing climate change. Compared to daily activities, email only accounts for about 0.3% of the world's carbon footprint. Although this is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, by building better email habits this number can be decreased. One study found that even just sending one less "thank you" email a day would save over 16,433 tons of carbon a year, the equivalent of taking thousands of diesel cars off the road.

Good email habits that benefit the planet

Ask your audience to delete your emails once they've read them

Saving emails requires electricity. If your email isn't informational or offers tips your audience can look back on, suggest they delete it! It's a small way to show your audience your sustainability efforts and may encourage them to make this an email habit of their own.

Send emails to only a few segments

Email marketing is all about sending the right message to the right people at the right time. Not everyone on your list wants or needs to hear about every campaign. Your ESP should offer the option to organize your list by where subscribers are in the buyer's journey, and you may also want to let readers opt out of campaigns they're not interested in.

Send one less email

Even one less email makes a difference. Next time you want to send a "thank you" email, try combining it with other offers, like pairing a thank-you-for-signing-up message with more information about the product, shopping recommendations, and a discount code.

Use a design tool that makes creating emails quicker

The less time you spend creating an email, the less electricity consumed. A good email design tool allows teams to create and send emails quickly, with multi-user support so teams can co-edit in real time.

Should we stop emailing altogether?

The short answer is no. Email is still the most effective and sustainable way of communicating across a distance. However, even the smallest of efforts make a difference, so why not start building better email habits?