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What Is ‘Dark Data’? And What Does It Mean For The Environment?

In 2020, digitization generated 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Collectively data centers have a greater carbon footprint than the aviation industry. Companies generate 3.5 trillion gigabytes of dark data every day, and storing that data for a year emits as much CO2 as 3 million flights from London to New York. Experts at Loughborough University have coined the term ‘digital decarbonization’ to help companies reduce their digital carbon footprint. But what is dark data?

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