Email Carbon Calculator

The Email Carbon Footprint Calculator

Every email campaign has a carbon footprint. Find out yours.

Estimate your email campaign carbon footprint:

We'll calculate the annual impact based on your selected frequency

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Average Email

4g CO₂

Carbon emitted per standard email

With Attachments

50g CO₂

Carbon emitted with large attachments

Global Impact

300M tons

Annual CO₂ from emails worldwide

How We Calculate Email Carbon Footprint

1

Email Size

We estimate the size of your email including all content and attachments

2

Server Energy

We calculate the energy used by servers to process and store your email

3

Recipient Count

We factor in the number of recipients to calculate total carbon impact

Server Energy Methodology

Our server energy calculations are based on a comprehensive model that accounts for the entire email lifecycle:

Data Center Energy

We use industry-standard metrics of 0.008 kWh per GB of data processed in modern data centers, accounting for server operations, cooling systems, and network infrastructure.

Transmission Energy

Email transmission across networks consumes approximately 0.002 kWh per GB of data, factoring in routers, switches, and transmission infrastructure.

Storage Calculations

We estimate 0.001 kWh per GB per month for email storage, multiplied by an average retention period of 3 months across all recipients' inboxes.

Carbon Conversion

Energy consumption is converted to carbon emissions using a global average of 442g CO₂ per kWh, adjusted based on regional energy grid carbon intensity where possible.

Formula

Total CO₂ = Email Size (GB) × Recipients × (Data Center + Transmission + Storage) × Carbon Factor

Email Carbon Journey

1
Composition

Email created and stored on sender's server

2
Transmission

Email sent through network infrastructure

3
Reception

Email received and processed by recipient servers

4
Storage

Email stored in recipient inboxes for months

Composition Energy

When you create an email, your device and the email server consume energy. The server processes the email, validates addresses and prepares it for sending. This consumes approximately 0.003 kWh per email, depending on size and complexity.

Attachments significantly increase energy consumption

Our methodology is regularly updated based on the latest research and industry data on data center efficiency and energy consumption patterns.

Email Carbon Footprint FAQs

Does email have a carbon footprint?

Yes, email, much like all of our digital activities, does have a carbon footprint. From the process of writing an email, through to it being sent, stored, opened and replied to. Generating this energy and the use of this equipment are what generate carbon emissions.

The emissions of an email can vary greatly depending on many factors, including its size, the time of day it's sent, how many people it's sent to, and where in the world it is being sent from and to.

How many emails are sent per day?

According to research from the BBC, OVO Energy, and Statista, approximately 361.6 billion emails are sent on an average day worldwide. By 2027, this number is projected to increase to over 408 billion emails per day. This massive volume means even small optimisations to your email campaigns can have a significant impact.

How does my email platform impact the CO₂ of my campaigns?

The chances are, your current email platform runs on standard energy and doesn't proactively attempt to reduce the emissions of your campaigns. An email marketing platform like EcoSend runs on renewable energy sources.

Not only is EcoSend designed to reduce the emissions of your campaigns, but we also invest in climate projects on your behalf to help offset any estimated carbon emissions that couldn't be saved for you.

EcoSend even provides features to help you send more focused campaigns that work smarter, with sophisticated segmentation capabilities that ensure you send the right message to the right person at the right time.

Can deleting emails reduce my email CO₂?

Yes, deleting unnecessary emails can help reduce your carbon footprint.

Research from energy company OVO suggests that if every person in the UK sent one fewer thank you email per day, it would save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year. Similarly, if every person in the UK sent one fewer email per day, it would reduce carbon emissions comparable to 81,152 flights to Madrid.

By deleting old emails, you reduce the storage energy required to maintain that data on servers.

How much CO₂ does email produce?

The carbon footprint of an individual email varies depending on its content and size.

A standard email without attachments produces approximately 4g of CO₂, while emails with large attachments can generate anywhere between 26g and 50g of CO₂.

On a global scale, email communications are estimated to produce around 300 million tons of CO₂ annually.

Research has also found that if the internet were a country, it would be the 4th highest emitter of carbon emissions of any country in the world. Reducing the carbon emissions of your email campaigns is a small but mighty step to help make the internet more sustainable.

Does using AI impact the carbon footprint of an email campaign?

Yes, AI tools used in email marketing can contribute significantly to the carbon footprint. For example, research has shown that AI systems like large language models require significant computational resources, which consume energy and produce carbon emissions.

When using AI to generate or optimise email content, this adds to the overall carbon footprint of your email campaign. However, AI can also help optimise targeting and reduce the total number of emails sent, potentially creating a net positive impact when used strategically.

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