IT

Digital technology underpins almost everything we do at the University of Sheffield - from teaching and learning to research, administration and everyday campus life. Our IT estate includes powerful high performance computing (HPC) systems, a complex network infrastructure, on-premise servers, cloud services, and thousands of staff and student devices. All of this brings huge benefits for collaboration and discovery, but it also carries a significant and growing environmental footprint. 

Our IT-related emissions come from both energy use and the things we buy. Our HPC platforms, together with our core network, draw substantial amounts of electricity and form an important part of our Scope 2 footprint. At the same time, a large share of the carbon impact of IT sits in Scope 3 - in the embodied emissions of devices, infrastructure and software services. Most of a laptop or desktop's lifetime carbon is released during manufacture, not during use, which makes how often we buy, how long we keep equipment in service, and how we dispose of it critically important. 

Software and cloud services are an increasing part of the picture. Recent analysis shows that indirect emissions linked to software licences and subscriptions can dominate the IT footprint, reflecting the energy and material intensity of the global software industry. Our growing use of cloud computing and AI also presents a measurement challenge: while services like Google Cloud can be efficient, it is not yet straightforward to fully quantify their embedded emissions. We're working to cap unnecessary data storage and to develop better methods for tracking the impact of cloud and software. 

We are also taking responsibility for digital waste and the lifecycle of IT equipment. Extending the life of devices, reusing and redeploying assets, and reducing demand for new hardware will all help to cut emissions and resource use. Centralising procurement, consolidating servers, improving power management and limiting the number of devices issued to staff will support a more efficient, less carbon intensive IT estate.

Our goal is to ensure that digital technology enables, rather than undermines, our transition to net zero. By combining smarter procurement, better data, energy efficient infrastructure and everyday behaviour change, we will reduce the environmental impact of IT while still providing reliable, modern tools for students and staff.