Sustainability of new tech: the drawbacks of "the latest and greatest"

Every year for Earth Day, the internet is flooded with lists and shoutouts to sustainable brands, practices, and general way of life. If it feels repetitive this year, it's because it is. “Underconsumption” has already been a prominent topic for the past year, as more people are looking for easy ways to save more and spend less. But with all of this chatter, the one industry that seems to be sliding under the radar is tech. Shopping your own closet and reusing jars sounds great, but what about your phone?

How to make your phone service more sustainable 

The strongest case you can make for how sustainable anything is, is by proving how long it can last. While technology seems like it should last years, if not decades, the reality is not so aligned. On average, Americans upgrade their phones every 2-3 years. The good news is that number has actually increased, as it used to be more like 18-24 months. The bad news is that it’s still a very short lifespan, especially considering that the manufacturing of a new phone has the same carbon footprint as driving a gas car for 220 miles (largely part to the metal mining for the hardware and batteries).  

That doesn’t mean that you can’t – or shouldn’t – upgrade your phone, but that there are more eco-friendly ways to do it:  

• Buy used. You can still get a relatively (if not, brand) new phone on the used market. Whether you purchase a refurbished one directly from a manufacturer or a carrier or find one from a direct seller on a regular marketplace like Facebook, buying used significantly reduces the carbon footprint, as it doesn’t require manufacturing of a new phone.  

• Extend your phone’s life. Even keeping on to your phone for an extra year can reduce its total emissions by about 30-40%. And let’s face it, phone iterations aren’t what they used to be – you get marginally better performance for a whole lot more money, which can be better spent elsewhere.  

• Recycle properly. Another process to consider is how you get rid of your old phone. You can find official e-waste recycling centres/programs, trade it in, or hand it down to a family member or friend to continue its life.  

Keep in mind that most phone providers will try to entice new customers through phone deals. There is no shame in switching carriers because you wanted the latest iPhone. We get it. But, if you’re going to make the switch, just make sure that you’re actually saving money in the long run, not just the short one right now. A lot of the time, those deals come with stipulations around what monthly service plans are required to secure the discount. And, typically, those providers end up making more money off you from those plans than if they were to sell you the phone at regular price and let you pick a cheaper plan. Big companies making money off their customers instead of helping them stay connected no matter what? We can hardly believe it.  

Luckily, you can do your research ahead of time and use a phone bill calculator tool to compare how much you’d be spending over the length of the phone financing/contract if you were to agree to the required phone plan vs. if you bought the phone outright at full price and picked a cheaper phone plan (like TextNow’s!).  

Is AI sustainable?  

Since you’re here, let us just throw in one more fun fact for Earth Day. AI may not be your every-day go-to (yet), but it is for a lot of people, and a lot of companies. You may already be using it regularly without even knowing it (example: Google’s “Gemini” overview that gives you answers before any website links when you search for anything).  

Now, you may have heard some rumblings around the environmental impact of AI, and it all mainly comes down to this: Maintaining the physical data centres required to power any AI tool takes a lot of energy. And it also takes a lot of cooling power to keep the servers from overheating, which uses a lot of water. Globally, AI-related infrastructure may soon consume six times more water than Denmark, a country of 6 million, according to one estimate. 

Now, this all sounds very doomsday-y, and there is valid reason to be concerned. But, on the flip side, AI is also currently helping solve other complex environmental issues, and its impact is being tracked and studied by various organizations, which should hopefully lead to better regulations and solutions.

So, where does that leave us? Statistically speaking, using the “latest and greatest,” whether it be physical hardware or new software almost always is followed by environmental implications. This doesn't mean you shouldn't ever upgrade or adapt to new technology, it just means that you should follow that old saying: if it ain't broke...(don't make yourself broke for an upgrade).