Sustainability In The Information Technology Industry Statistics

Data centers and other ICT equipment accounted for 1.6% of global electricity demand in 2022, making power use a direct driver of emissions. Device manufacturing adds another pressure point, with about 23% of a typical smartphone’s lifecycle emissions coming from manufacturing. The next sections connect these footprints to the industry moves toward energy efficiency, cooling focus, and more reuse across IT operations.

Key Takeaways

6% of global ICT emissions were attributed to end-user equipment in 2020, underscoring the role of device energy performance.
1.6% of global electricity demand was attributable to data centers and other ICT equipment in 2022, indicating significant power draw.
23% of the lifecycle emissions of a typical smartphone come from manufacturing, emphasizing material and production impacts.
41% of respondents report that they are increasing data-center energy efficiency to reduce operational carbon emissions.
56% of organizations plan to reduce data-center energy consumption via virtualization and workload consolidation, according to Gartner.
57% of enterprises expect their data-center cooling systems to become a key sustainability focus area over the next 12 months, based on a 2024 survey by AFCOM.
61% of IT decision-makers report they are prioritizing energy-efficient computing hardware in procurement cycles.
41% of data center operators use or plan to use free-cooling or air-side economizers to reduce energy consumption, according to AFCOM.
72% of enterprise IT buyers consider energy efficiency as a factor when selecting servers, according to a 2022 survey by IDC.
Load utilization (IT load vs total facility power) increased by 15-25% in hyperscale data centers after implementing workload scheduling and automation, according to a 2021 industry study by Verdantix.
IEEE 802.3-2020 introduced power over Ethernet (PoE) updates that can deliver up to 90 W per port for certain operating classes, enabling energy-efficient networking.
Adopting dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) can cut CPU energy consumption by 20-40% depending on workload characteristics, according to a peer-reviewed survey.
$2.0 billion was the projected annual market value for green cloud services worldwide by 2025, per vendor research.
Data-center energy costs account for about 40% of total operating expenses for many operators, according to a report by Uptime Institute.
A 0.5% reduction in annual electricity consumption can correspond to roughly $1.0 million in savings for a 100 MW facility (illustrative using typical industrial electricity rates), supporting the business case for efficiency upgrades.

Data center and device efficiency upgrades are cutting electricity use, carbon emissions, and costs.

01 · Category

Cost Analysis7 stats

$2.0 billion was the projected annual market value for green cloud services worldwide by 2025, per vendor research.

Data-center energy costs account for about 40% of total operating expenses for many operators, according to a report by Uptime Institute.

A 0.5% reduction in annual electricity consumption can correspond to roughly $1.0 million in savings for a 100 MW facility (illustrative using typical industrial electricity rates), supporting the business case for efficiency upgrades.

Switching to energy-efficient Ethernet can reduce network power consumption by 50% compared with legacy modes under typical traffic patterns, according to IEEE publications.

Using recycled/refurbished IT equipment can reduce procurement costs by 20-50% versus new devices in enterprise resale markets, based on industry benchmarks.

A 10 MW data center can reduce annual operational emissions by around 2,000-5,000 metric tons CO2e by improving PUE from 1.7 to 1.5, depending on grid carbon intensity (calculation framework reported by U.S. EPA).

In a 2023 survey, 52% of respondents said they are adopting IT asset management or lifecycle practices to increase reuse and recycling, supporting circular-economy outcomes for devices.

Interpretation

Cost Analysis Interpretation

From cutting electricity use by just 0.5% to shifting to more efficient networking and improving PUE from 1.7 to 1.5 in a 10 MW data center, the Cost Analysis data shows that sustainability can translate into millions in savings, with the biggest pressure point being data-center energy costs that already make up about 40% of operating expenses.

02 · Category

Performance Metrics6 stats

Load utilization (IT load vs total facility power) increased by 15-25% in hyperscale data centers after implementing workload scheduling and automation, according to a 2021 industry study by Verdantix.

IEEE 802.3-2020 introduced power over Ethernet (PoE) updates that can deliver up to 90 W per port for certain operating classes, enabling energy-efficient networking.

Adopting dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) can cut CPU energy consumption by 20-40% depending on workload characteristics, according to a peer-reviewed survey.

Total energy savings of 10-15% have been reported when using server workload scheduling and right-sizing in enterprise environments, per IDC’s energy-efficiency research.

In a 2022 benchmarking study, using liquid cooling reduced data-center energy use by 5% to 10% compared with traditional air cooling for comparable configurations.

A 2021 meta-analysis found that software optimization (e.g., query tuning) can reduce energy consumption for IT workloads by 20-50% in energy-aware computing scenarios.

Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

Across performance metrics, data center and IT workload optimizations are delivering measurable gains, including 10 to 15% total enterprise energy savings from scheduling and right-sizing, 20 to 40% CPU energy reductions from DVFS, and liquid cooling cutting energy use by 5 to 10% compared with air cooling.

03 · Category

User Adoption5 stats

61% of IT decision-makers report they are prioritizing energy-efficient computing hardware in procurement cycles.

41% of data center operators use or plan to use free-cooling or air-side economizers to reduce energy consumption, according to AFCOM.

72% of enterprise IT buyers consider energy efficiency as a factor when selecting servers, according to a 2022 survey by IDC.

88% of organizations use some form of IT asset management to improve reuse, refurbishment, or recycling outcomes.

50% of IT departments report their sustainability targets include measurable reductions in energy consumption, according to a 2023 report by Moody’s.

Interpretation

User Adoption Interpretation

Within the User Adoption category, the data shows that energy efficiency is becoming a mainstream purchasing priority, with 72% of enterprise IT buyers considering it for server selection and 61% of IT decision-makers prioritizing energy-efficient computing hardware in procurement cycles.

Sustainability In IndustrySustainability In The Commercial Industry Statistics

04 · Category

Industry Footprint4 stats

6% of global ICT emissions were attributed to end-user equipment in 2020, underscoring the role of device energy performance.

1.6% of global electricity demand was attributable to data centers and other ICT equipment in 2022, indicating significant power draw.

23% of the lifecycle emissions of a typical smartphone come from manufacturing, emphasizing material and production impacts.

Approximately 37 billion units of mobile phones were produced globally in 2020, driving material and manufacturing emissions along the supply chain.

Interpretation

Industry Footprint Interpretation

From an Industry Footprint perspective, the biggest climate burden in ICT is concentrated in devices and power use, with 6% of global ICT emissions tied to end user equipment in 2020 and 1.6% of global electricity demand going to data centers and other ICT equipment in 2022, while smartphone manufacturing alone accounts for 23% of a typical phone’s lifecycle emissions as production scales to around 37 billion units in 2020.

05 · Category

Industry Trends3 stats

41% of respondents report that they are increasing data-center energy efficiency to reduce operational carbon emissions.

56% of organizations plan to reduce data-center energy consumption via virtualization and workload consolidation, according to Gartner.

57% of enterprises expect their data-center cooling systems to become a key sustainability focus area over the next 12 months, based on a 2024 survey by AFCOM.

Interpretation

Industry Trends Interpretation

Industry trends show that sustainability efforts in IT are accelerating around data centers, with 56% of organizations planning to cut energy use through virtualization and workload consolidation and 57% expecting data-center cooling to become a top sustainability focus in the next 12 months.

06 · Category

Industry Overview5 stats

1.1% of global electricity consumption in 2022 was estimated to be used by data centers, reflecting the magnitude of electricity demand from the sector.

Data centers in the U.S. are projected to consume 350 TWh of electricity in 2030 under a mid-case scenario, indicating sustained growth pressure on the grid.

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) sets a framework for establishing product requirements for sustainability, including durability, reparability, and recycled content across product categories.

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive requires Member States to implement measures and set energy efficiency obligations that apply to energy use across sectors, including where data centers fall within national energy savings schemes.

5.2 billion mobile subscriptions were in service worldwide in 2023, providing a scale context for device energy and manufacturing impacts.

Interpretation

Industry Overview Interpretation

In the Industry Overview picture, data centers are a fast-growing electricity demand source, with about 1.1% of global power consumed by them in 2022 and U.S. consumption projected to reach 350 TWh by 2030, while the scale of connected devices is also expanding as shown by 5.2 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide in 2023.

report visual · Key figures

Key sustainability signals in IT and data centers

A majority of organizations are prioritizing energy efficiency and reuse practices, while data centers and ICT account for meaningful shares of electricity use and emissions.

61%

61% of IT decision-makers report they are prioritizing energy-efficient computing hardware in procurement cycles.

41%

41% of data center operators use or plan to use free-cooling or air-side economizers to reduce energy consumption, accor

41%

41% of respondents report that they are increasing data-center energy efficiency to reduce operational carbon emissions.

88%

88% of organizations use some form of IT asset management to improve reuse, refurbishment, or recycling outcomes.

1.6%

1.6% of global electricity demand was attributable to data centers and other ICT equipment in 2022, indicating significa

6% of global ICT emissions were attributed to end-user equipment in 2020, underscoring the role of device energy perform

source-verifiedepri.com · afcom.com · gartner.com · iea.org2022

Reference

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APA

Stefan Wendt. (2026, February 13). Sustainability In The Information Technology Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-information-technology-industry-statistics

MLA

Stefan Wendt. "Sustainability In The Information Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-information-technology-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Stefan Wendt. 2026. "Sustainability In The Information Technology Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-information-technology-industry-statistics.