MyLondon is calling on Londoners to participate in the 'Big Digital Clean Up' as part of London Climate Action Week and its own Wasted campaign. The initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of digital storage, which relies on energy-intensive data centres.
Many people think of 'the cloud' as an ethereal space, but in reality, all those emails, photos, and files are stored in physical data centres—many located in West London—that consume significant amounts of electricity and water. A single Gmail account can accumulate thousands of unnecessary messages over years, contributing to a person's digital carbon footprint.
One journalist's experience: Clearing 100,000 emails in 30 minutes
Dave Comeau, a Local Democracy Content Editor for MyLondon, cleared 100,000 old emails from his work Gmail account in about 30 minutes. He noted that if every Londoner did the same, the cumulative effect would be substantial. Prevention is also key: unsubscribing from unwanted emails and deleting useless messages as they arrive can help avoid build-up.
Photos stored on platforms like Google Photos or Apple iCloud also take up space. Deleting duplicates, poor-quality images, and printing photos instead of storing them online can further reduce one's digital carbon footprint.
Practical tips for a Gmail mass clear-out
Mass deletion is easier on a desktop or laptop. Gmail automatically sorts messages into categories like 'Updates' or 'Promotions'—these folders are on the left side and are good for bulk deleting less useful emails. To delete all emails in a folder, tick the square box above the email list, then click the blue message that says 'Select all [number] conversations in this folder' and delete. For selective deletion, work page by page, unchecking emails to keep. To filter by date, click 'show search options' in the search bar, choose 'All Mail', set a date range, search, then select all matching conversations and delete.
Reducing email build-up
Unsubscribe from newsletters and marketing emails you rarely open. Remove unused alerts, like Google Alerts. Set up filters and folders to organize incoming emails, making it easier to delete unnecessary ones. Adopt a 'delete as you go' policy: decide immediately whether to keep a new email. Once a month, review the previous month's emails to delete any no longer needed.
Managing online photo storage
Delete duplicates, low-quality photos, and screenshots you don't need. Use built-in functions on cloud apps like Google Photos (tap Backup > Manage storage > Review and delete) to find and remove such images. Disable automatic upload to the cloud in your phone's settings (e.g., on iPhone: Settings > Photos > deselect iCloud Photos). Print photos regularly to create physical albums, and organize digital photos by year or event on a hard drive to reduce online storage.
The environmental impact of data centres
Data centres have long been part of London's infrastructure, especially in West London due to fibre optic cables, historically serving financial trading. However, the rise of AI—particularly large language models like ChatGPT—has dramatically increased computing demands. Oliver Hayes, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Global Action Plan, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'We've had data centres in and around London for a long time, but they've always been quite small. With the proliferation of LLMs like ChatGPT, the compute requirements have gone through the roof and so the data centres being built to meet that are far bigger and require more energy.' Some developments in West London have been delayed because the electricity grid is at capacity, partly due to data centre energy demands.
How you can help beyond digital clean-up
Reducing unnecessary use of AI tools can also help. While AI is useful for many tasks, defaulting to it for basic research or questions we could answer ourselves wastes energy. Researchers also warn that overuse of AI can harm creativity, critical thinking, and attention span. So limiting AI use where possible offers both environmental and cognitive benefits.
