Metaverse and sustainability: friends or foes?

With the ongoing development of the new technological paradigm, the metaverse, new questions and dilemmas arise: Will it be a world of opportunity for all or just a few? Will it be a waste or a saving of resources? Will its benefits outweigh the negatives in terms of sustainability? These issues are shrouded in mystery, which is giving rise to speculation. That’s why we’ve decided to investigate and answer some of these questions and prepare your business for the next digital revolution.

What is the metaverse and how is it used?

The metaverse is a real-time virtual universe where one can interact with the environment and generate experiences in various scenarios. To access this parallel reality, each individual must have a (customisable) avatar and access to the internet. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, defines this technology similar to the logic behind video games as «the ability to recreate people, places and things with the help of engineering and let them interact with each other». Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder and CEO, added to this definition in 2021 talking about how this technology will influence people’s lives. He said that its main use would be linked to work productivity and enhancing virtual meetings, as well as other non-leisure activities.

What is the relationship between the Metaverse and Sustainability?

Today, by far the biggest traffic-generating activity on the internet is attributed to the viewing of online video content or «online video streaming». In 2018 alone, streaming produced the equivalent carbon emissions to Spain, a trend that is set to continue to grow. Considering that just half an hour of video streaming emits 1.6 kilograms of CO2, can the metaverse benefit society and the environment?

The resource problem

Assessing the environmental impact of the metaverse requires looking at three related variables: resource use, data use, and waste generation.

Digital technology, its constant evolution and improvement, consumes scarce resources (metals) and represents a considerable emission of waste. For the metaverse, this would mean the renewal of electronic devices such as glasses or virtual reality bracelets, which may render many other devices obsolete. This digital waste, better known as e-waste, represents a problem when it comes to disposal, which has led to international treaties to limit the movement of this waste because it is toxic in some cases and because it contains valuable metals.  

According to Intel analysts, if we want a high-quality, reality-defying metaverse, «our global computing infrastructure would have to be 1,000 times more powerful» to support it. For a truly immersive experience, you need good graphics and more processing power, which means more power consumption. Today, the internet accounts for almost 4% of global GHG emissions, and this percentage is expected to double by 2025. Not to mention virtual reality or artificial intelligence within this virtual world, which «will vastly increase the volume of data collected, transferred, processed and stored». This is why with the current state of affairs, creating and participating in the metaverse means generating massive volumes of data.   

The transition to sustainable technologies: metaverse and sustainability

Technology companies have a duty to reduce the environmental impact of storing data before we allow the Metaverse into our daily lives. And there is a solution: build more data centres with renewable energy. For example, Google has set a goal of running its data centres on carbon-free energy by 2030, and Microsoft has committed to do so by 2025. At APlanet’s «Sustainability Challenges and the Power of Technology» event, Emma Urrutibehety – Enterprise Account Executive at Microsoft – elaborated on the tech giant’s projects to achieve net-zero.

When talking about digital ecology, the debate usually revolves around two categories: «Green IT» («greener» digital technology) and «IT for Green» (a use of digital technology that supports the ecological transition). In the case of the metaverse, both can be achieved. On the one hand, the metaverse can be designed using clean energy. On the other hand, the metaverse has the capacity to teach and expand knowledge for cross-border sustainable development. This knowledge would not only benefit individual users, but would also be of great use to data analysts. This new ecosystem would facilitate the design of data-driven policies to achieve the SDGs. 

How can your company prepare for the next technological revolution?

To avoid being left behind, companies need to prepare now for the next technology paradigm shift. According to VentureBeat, these are the main steps to take in order to make the metaverse sustainable:

1. Set climate targets.
2. Rethink physical infrastructure to address the need for data storage. As we have seen above, this can be done with data centres that use renewable energy. 
3. Review products and how they are manufactured. In other words, redesign and rethink the product life cycle, from the resources needed in its manufacture to the end of the product’s life, so as to minimise e-waste. This step also refers to transparency in the supply chain. 
4. Create a circular economy for production and distribution.
5. Educate and hold the supplier network accountable.

Benefits of technology and how it is connected to APlanet

As The Times points out, technology is also driving a third powerful force: measuring the impact of companies on people and the planet, through their operations, jobs and products.

Computational processing power and big data make it possible to translate impacts into data available to companies. Investors, consumers and other stakeholders can then easily understand and compare them. Data measurement and analysis has the potential to improve our world, as it is a way to show evidence of business impact. Getting that data can be a challenge if you don’t have the right tools, but at APlanet we have developed ESG data management software to help you in this process. 

If you want to know more, contact us or book a free demo on our website!

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