Sustainability in the ICT industry is shaped by operational choices across data centres, networks, devices, and cloud services. On this page, we connect evidence on energy efficiency, workload consolidation, and carbon measurement with cooling and energy management practices. We also cover lifecycle and circularity angles—such as smartphone manufacturing footprints, e-waste generation, and recycling—so you can spot both where impact comes from and where progress still depends on better measurement and strategy.
Key Takeaways
- 40% lower electricity consumption is achievable for data centre workloads when moving from inefficient to best-practice operations (IEA scenario results).
- 1.7x fewer emissions are achieved when workloads are consolidated onto fewer servers using virtualization (average across scenarios in a meta-analysis).
- 1.25 million GWh of electricity consumption by ICT globally was estimated for 2020, reinforcing the scale of energy efficiency opportunities.
- 28% of organisations reported that they measure the carbon footprint of their IT workloads to support sustainability reporting (survey of large organisations).
- 3.5% of total global GHG emissions was estimated to be linked to the full lifecycle of digital technologies (including hardware, networks, and data centres) in 2019.
- USD 28.8 billion was the global market size for green cloud computing in 2023, forecast to grow as enterprises pursue lower-carbon IT infrastructure.
- USD 10.2 billion global market size for data centre sustainability solutions in 2022.
- USD 4.3 billion global market size for energy management systems (including data-centre energy management applications) in 2022.
- 2,530 g of CO2e per kg of device was estimated for smartphone manufacturing embodied emissions in a 2020 lifecycle assessment (study average).
- 27% reduction in climate impact is achievable by extending smartphone lifetime by 2 years, according to a 2021 lifecycle assessment review.
- 42% of global gold demand is met through recycling in 2020, supporting the case for circularity relevant to ICT electronics.
- 50% of cloud users reported that cloud providers offer better energy efficiency than on-premise data centres (survey results from an industry research firm).
- 61% of enterprises are using or piloting carbon accounting tools for ICT infrastructure and digital services (survey by Gartner/industry).
- 73% of IT decision-makers say they have a sustainability strategy that includes emissions reduction targets for IT operations (survey by Spiceworks or equivalent).
- 1.5x more CO2e emissions are associated with data center workloads without energy-efficient practices compared with best-practice operations in a published comparative assessment (ratio reported in study).
ICT can cut emissions and energy fast with virtualization, best practice data centers, and smarter cooling and reporting.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption12 stats
01
50% of cloud users reported that cloud providers offer better energy efficiency than on-premise data centres (survey results from an industry research firm).
02
61% of enterprises are using or piloting carbon accounting tools for ICT infrastructure and digital services (survey by Gartner/industry).
03
73% of IT decision-makers say they have a sustainability strategy that includes emissions reduction targets for IT operations (survey by Spiceworks or equivalent).
04
58% of organizations use virtualization for server workloads as a standard practice in 2022 (enterprise survey).
05
35% of large enterprises reported that they have implemented an environmental sustainability assessment for suppliers in 2023 (OECD/UN Global survey).
06
24% of organizations in a 2023 survey reported that they use automated emissions reporting for IT assets (e.g., via telemetry or tagging).
07
65% of respondents said they optimize IT sustainability via right-sizing and workload scheduling in 2024 (industry survey results).
08
72% of IT organizations were planning to expand their use of low-carbon IT practices over the next 12 months, per a 2023 survey.
09
49% of data center colocation providers report having at least one ISO 14001-aligned environmental management program element (industry survey finding).
10
61% of enterprises are using or piloting carbon accounting tools for ICT infrastructure and digital services in 2022
11
57% of enterprises are using or piloting carbon accounting tools for sustainability in 2024
12
66% of enterprises are using or piloting carbon accounting tools for sustainability in 2021
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption of sustainability practices in ICT is accelerating, with 61% of enterprises already using or piloting carbon accounting tools and 73% of IT decision makers reporting sustainability strategies with emissions reduction targets.
report visual · Projection
Carbon accounting tool adoption among ICT enterprises (2021–2024)
Enterprise adoption of carbon accounting tools for ICT sustainability trended downward from the 2021 peak (leader) to 2024, with a clear gap between the highest and latest shares.
66 % of surveyed enterprises
Start
-4.77%
CAGR · 3y
57 % of surveyed enterprises
Projected
20212024
source-verifiedibm.com · gartner.com · microsoft.com2024
02 · Category
Market Size8 stats
01
USD 28.8 billion was the global market size for green cloud computing in 2023, forecast to grow as enterprises pursue lower-carbon IT infrastructure.
02
USD 10.2 billion global market size for data centre sustainability solutions in 2022.
03
USD 4.3 billion global market size for energy management systems (including data-centre energy management applications) in 2022.
04
USD 6.1 billion global market size for DCIM (data centre infrastructure management) in 2023.
05
USD 3.9 billion global market size for e-waste recycling services in 2023.
06
USD 52.7 billion global IT asset disposal (ITAD) market size in 2023.
07
USD 13.6 billion global market size for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) was reported for 2023; energy-intensive industries increasingly contract with ICT firms for MRV and reporting workflows that support climate compliance.
08
$2.6 billion global market size for electronic waste recycling equipment was reported for 2022 in an industry analysis.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, sustainability spend in ICT is already substantial and growing, with the green cloud computing market reaching USD 28.8 billion in 2023 and major adjacent categories like DCIM at USD 6.1 billion and IT asset disposal at USD 52.7 billion signaling a broad, multi-billion dollar pull toward greener infrastructure.
03 · Category
Materials & Circularity4 stats
01
2,530 g of CO2e per kg of device was estimated for smartphone manufacturing embodied emissions in a 2020 lifecycle assessment (study average).
02
27% reduction in climate impact is achievable by extending smartphone lifetime by 2 years, according to a 2021 lifecycle assessment review.
03
42% of global gold demand is met through recycling in 2020, supporting the case for circularity relevant to ICT electronics.
04
81% of organizations reported that they track device retirement and resale/recycling routes as part of IT asset disposition in 2023 (industry survey).
Interpretation
Materials & Circularity Interpretation
From a materials and circularity perspective, extending smartphone lifetimes by 2 years can cut climate impact by 27% while 42% of global gold demand already comes from recycling, showing that circular practices meaningfully reduce both embedded emissions and pressure on virgin materials.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance & Efficiency3 stats
01
40% lower electricity consumption is achievable for data centre workloads when moving from inefficient to best-practice operations (IEA scenario results).
02
1.7x fewer emissions are achieved when workloads are consolidated onto fewer servers using virtualization (average across scenarios in a meta-analysis).
03
1.25 million GWh of electricity consumption by ICT globally was estimated for 2020, reinforcing the scale of energy efficiency opportunities.
Interpretation
Performance & Efficiency Interpretation
For the Performance and Efficiency angle, the data shows that ICT energy use can be dramatically cut by moving data centers from inefficient to best practice where electricity consumption can be 40% lower, while consolidation through virtualization can deliver 1.7x fewer emissions, against the backdrop of ICT’s 1.25 million GWh electricity consumption globally in 2020.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics3 stats
01
1.5x more CO2e emissions are associated with data center workloads without energy-efficient practices compared with best-practice operations in a published comparative assessment (ratio reported in study).
02
1.9x higher water usage intensity was reported for some cooling configurations compared with more efficient configurations in a peer-reviewed comparative analysis (ratio reported).
03
19% reduction in energy consumption is achievable through liquid cooling adoption versus conventional air cooling in a published meta-analysis (study reported savings).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show clear measurable gains when ICT systems use efficient operations, with data center workloads emitting 1.5 times more CO2e without best-practice energy measures, water usage intensity rising by 1.9 times under less efficient cooling, and energy consumption potentially dropping by 19% through liquid cooling instead of conventional air cooling.
06 · Category
Industry Overview4 stats
01
28% of organisations reported that they measure the carbon footprint of their IT workloads to support sustainability reporting (survey of large organisations).
02
3.5% of total global GHG emissions was estimated to be linked to the full lifecycle of digital technologies (including hardware, networks, and data centres) in 2019.
03
1.8 kilograms of e-waste per person per year was generated globally in 2022 in a UN e-waste monitor estimate.
04
34% of data center operators report that they use on-site energy generation (e.g., backup generation) with sustainability-related tracking (operator survey finding).
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the ICT industry overview, sustainability is increasingly measured and acted on but remains uneven, with only 28% of organizations reporting carbon footprint tracking for IT workloads and data centers still relying on on site energy generation reported by 34% of operators, even as digital technologies contribute an estimated 3.5% of global GHG emissions over their full lifecycle.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Sustainability In The Ict Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-ict-industry-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Sustainability In The Ict Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-ict-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Sustainability In The Ict Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-ict-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+11 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)