Speaker: Charlotte Beauvoisin, Founder and Chief Creator, Diary of a Muzungu | East Africa Travel Blog & Podcast
The presentation by Charlotte focused on the crucial themes of digital sustainability, the digital carbon footprint, and the intersection of conscious travel and digital branding. She highlighted the environmental impact of digital technologies, pointing to the carbon footprint of online services, the energy consumption of servers and data centers, and the growing issue of digital waste.
Charlotte unpacked the concept of a digital carbon footprint, explaining it through the lens of emissions generated by everyday online activities like emails, streaming, and data storage. She went on to explore the energy demands of AI and cloud services and tied these to the broader environmental implications of digital infrastructure. Her presentation also brought into focus the importance of conscious travel and how digital branding plays a role in this space. She emphasized strategies for reaching African diaspora travellers, particularly through authentic storytelling, impactful digital marketing, and building emotional connections on digital platforms.
She then explored ways individuals can actively reduce their digital carbon footprint. These included changing personal digital habits by regularly cleaning email inboxes, deleting unnecessary emails and attachments, unsubscribing from mailing lists, and using links instead of sending large files. She spoke about reducing unnecessary data storage by deleting unused photos and files, using cloud storage efficiently, and responsibly recycling or donating old electronic devices. Limiting unnecessary AI queries, reducing excessive streaming, using energy-efficient devices, and turning on power-saving modes were also highlighted as part of this effort. She also encouraged integrating digital detox periods into our daily routines, like putting phones on airplane mode, scheduling specific times for digital use, and making space for offline engagement.
At the system level, she discussed selecting green hosting providers, choosing servers closer to home, optimizing website performance, and minimizing the resource consumption of online platforms. Charlotte stressed the importance of calculating one’s digital carbon footprint to become more conscious of these impacts.
In closing, Charlotte underscored the significance of mindful and intentional digital consumption. She noted that combining this with continuous learning about digital sustainability is not only key to reducing environmental harm but also essential for building authentic, impactful brands that resonate with conscious travelers.