Climate impacts of digital use supply chains

Accounts of technology’s climate footprint usually count the emissions from building, shipping, and operating devices. We introduce digital use supply chains—the production and resource consumption recorded or enabled by everyday digital activity—and use moment-by-moment Screenomics data to connect individual behavior with emissions. In a single-case study, one day of behavior-related emissions is estimated to be roughly 1,000 times the device’s own life-cycle emissions, suggesting opportunities for personalized feedback and behavior-change programs.

Environmental Research: Climate, vol. 3, no. 1, 015009