Social media has a strong impact on greenhouse gas emissions according to Greenly, a specialist in carbon accounting. The environmental impact of social networks is mainly due to the energy consumption of data centers and servers. Greenly offers a vision of the environmental impact of social media.
Emissions equivalent to those of entire countries
According to Greenly, these social media emit as much as countries in the European Union. Thus, TikTok (53.7 M tCO2e) stands out with an environmental impact comparable to that of Greece (51.5 M tCO2e) and Portugal (55 M tCO2e). In second place, YouTube emits 14.3 M tCO2e, as much as Estonia (14 M tCO2e), and in third position Meta (7.4 M tCO2e), weighs as much as Luxembourg (8 M tCO2e). tCO2e is the measurement of the tonne of CO2 equivalent.
Greenly notes that, however, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) has a strategy based on renewable energies. Meta thus reduced its operational emissions by 94% between 2017 and 2023 by investing in renewable energies (11,700 MW contracted). Still according to Greenly, Meta's data centers are among the most efficient in the sector with a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of 1.08. They have avoided 16.4M tCO2e since 2021. The company aims to reduce emissions from its value chain (scope 3) by 2030. At the end of 2023, 76 of Meta's 98 renewable energy projects were operational .
X is equivalent to 4,685 Paris-New York flights
Similarly, X (formerly Twitter) has sustainable commitments but its climate commitments established before the acquisition by Elon Musk are now uncertain, Greenly says. In 2022, Greenly carried out a study on the emission of a tweet, estimated at 0.026 gCO2e. To find out X's carbon footprint, Greenly took into account the 867 million tweets sent per day, or 316 billion tweets per year. Over one year, and based on the correct data of 0.026 gCO2e, Twitter emits 8,200 tCO2e, the equivalent of 4,685 Paris-New York flights.
Coming at the top of the ranking established by Greenly, TikTok is measured with a high carbon footprint (53.7 M tCO2e). Greenly estimates that viewing TikTok would emit 2.921 g/CO2e/min for an individual user. Sensor Tower estimates TikTok's user base at 1.1 billion active users. They use the app for 45.8 minutes per day, according to Greenpeace East Asia. Greenly estimates that the annual carbon footprint of watching videos on TikTok (Data centers + data transfer + electricity consumption by end-user devices) is approximately 53.7 M tCO2e. Greenly highlights that the opening of a 100% renewable data center in Norway marks a step towards reducing its environmental impact.
100% carbon-free energy for YouTube in 2030
The heavyweight of the sector, YouTube is evaluated by Greenly with a carbon footprint of 14.3 M tCO2e in 2023, with a PUE of its Data centers of 1.10. Greenly notes that Google is committed to achieving 100% carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030. YouTube applies the “ carbon-intelligent computing » to optimize energy consumption.
Finally, Snap Inc, owner of Snapchat, is recognized by Greenly because it uses 100% renewable energy for its offices and aims for net negative emissions by 2030. Snap plans a 25% reduction for scopes 1 and 2 and by 35% for scope 3 by 2025, while investing $10 million in CO2 capture projects. These initiatives aim to limit the impact of the growth of its users and features.
An environmental impact depending on each country
Greenly points out that the environmental impact of social media depends on the type of device used and the country's energy mix. Thus, emissions in the United States are higher than in France because American electricity relies on fossil fuels, while in France, nuclear energy predominates. Thus, disparities between users appear depending on the country where they are located.
Thus, according to Greenly calculations, Facebook generates 4.38 M kg CO2e/year in France compared to 107.43 in the United States. Similarly, TikTok produces 3.19 M Kg CO2e/year in France compared to 64.26 in the United States and 12.32 in the United Kingdom.
A Greenly platform created by French people
Greenly is a carbon accounting platform launched in January 2020 by the company Offspend SAS. Offspend was created in 2019 by Alexis Normand (CEO, former Health Director of Withings, HEC, Sciences-Po), Matthieu Vegreville (CTO, X-Telecom, Data scientist at Withings) and Arnaud Delubac (CMO, ESSEC-Centrale, INSEEC, previously responsible for digital communications in the Prime Minister's office). Greenly has nearly 1000 business customers in France, UK and USA. Greenly specializes in measuring CO2 emissions. Greenly indicates that its methodology was verified by Afnor Certifications in June 2024.
