The UK government wants you to delete old emails to save water

Deleting old emails is one of the ways you can help ease pressure on the UK’s water shortages. That’s according to a new press release issued by the Environment Agency. 

As the world’s first sustainable email platform, the EcoSend team is here to explain more about the environmental impact of emails.

Crucially, how some simple actions can reduce the amount of water and CO2 your emails produce.

Whether you send emails on behalf of your business, or if you’re a regular user of email, here’s what you need to know. 

Why does the Environment Agency want people to delete emails?

In a recent press release about the UK’s water shortages, the National Drought Group stated: “Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife.”

We all know that certain activities in our homes and businesses, i.e. running baths, using taps or watering the garden uses up water. However, many people don’t know that all of our online activity—including sending emails—uses up water too. 

That’s because water is needed to cool the servers which store all of our digital data, such as websites, photos, videos and yes, even emails. Furthermore, we’ve also previously reported that if the internet was a country, it would be the 4th largest emitter of CO2.

How the simple act of deleting old emails will help conserve water and also energy 

In the UK, water shortages have led to river levels falling to record lows. As a result, the Environment Agency is calling on the public to conserve water, including by deleting old emails. 

The reasoning is that old emails (i.e. emails you’ve never opened or no longer need) are taking up water resources unnecessarily. That’s because for everything we create, share and store online, a server is needed to store it, and that server ultimately needs energy to work and water to cool.

So, by removing anything from the internet you no longer need, including old emails, you can reduce the amount of water being used. It’s actually a simple trick that can add up to a lot, while also ensuring your inbox remains clutter-free! 

How much water are data centres using?

Data centres, including those which power all of our online activity use millions of gallons of water per day. 

A study by the University of Oxford found that even a small data centre needs upwards of 25 million liters of water per year. The Guardian also reported how Amazon, Google and Microsoft are operating datacentres that “use vast amounts of water in some of the world’s driest areas and are building many more.”

There’s also a growing concern about how the UK’s AI ambitions could lead to water shortages. In a story titled ‘I can’t drink the water’ – life next to a US data centre’, the BBC added that AI-driven data centers could consume 1.7 trillion gallons of water globally by 2027.

While Microsoft was in the midst of developing its AI tools, one data centre in Iowa required 6% of the district’s total water supply. 

Here in the UK, the Environment Agency also warned in 2024 of future water shortages. It added that by 2050, England alone would need an extra five billion litres of water every day just to meet demand. 

How to reduce your email water usage & carbon footprint 

• Delete old emails you no longer need
• Delete old email accounts you don’t use
• Unsubscribe from email lists you don’t want to receive 

For email senders

• Use a sustainable email platform (Like EcoSend)
• Create lightweight email templates
• Regularly clean your email list
• Avoid attachments where you can, or at least reduce the file size
• Make sure to learn about the carbon footprint of AI tools if you haven’t already
• Don’t send or reply to all
• Don’t send unnecessary emails (i.e. replying to someone in the same room)
• Keep email threads as short as possible 
• Remove images from email signatures 

💡Did you know?: On your EcoSend dashboard, you can see the CO2 reductions of your email campaigns and the number of trees we’ve planted on behalf of your business. 

Lower your email carbon footprint with EcoSend

Do you send any emails on behalf of your business? 

EcoSend is the world’s first email platform created specifically to reduce the environmental impact of email. Our servers run on renewable energy sources and we plant trees to help with reforestation efforts. 

With EcoSend, you’ll still get everything you need to send great email campaigns. But, with EcoSend you’ll get measurable data about both your email campaign performance, as well as your email CO2 reductions.

Start your free trial of EcoSend today and discover a planet-friendly way to do email marketing. 

Our email plans start at just £12.50/($12.50) if you sign up to an annual plan. 

If you have any questions about EcoSend, please drop us a line and we’ll be with you shortly.