Environmental Costs of Running a Laptop [Infographic]

by . September 11th, 2014

What do you think is the environmental impact of running a laptop for a year? As more entreps rely on mobile computing devices instead of desktops, it becomes a very relevant question.

Going green and running a more energy-efficient business should always be a priority, and for many of us it is. New appliances and devices are getting more and more energy efficient all the time, but that doesn’t really give us the whole picture.

Global Economic Intersection released a neat little infographic that helps fill in the blanks, as well as gives suggestions for how to offset the resulting environmental impact.

Impact of Running a Laptop!

Some notes:

  • You probably use your devices well over 8 hours a day.
  • Assuming an 8-hour working day, a contemporary laptop will consume anywhere from 100,000 to 105,000 watts of electricity
  • London to Glasgow is approximately 414 miles, or 667 kilometers, or a approximately 1 hour 10 minutes by plane, 6-8 hours by car, depending on traffic.
  • If you want to plant trees to offset CO2 emissions, make sure they’re native to your region and not an invasive species. Otherwise, you might do more damage than you offset.
  • You could extrapolate your aggregate impact on energy based on how many kilowatt hours you pay for on your electricity bill.
  • Calculating your C02 emissions is of course, extremely complicated, as a unit of energy in China may likely produce more Co2 than the same amount produced in Germany or Canada, thanks to different power generation techniques.
  • 2,300 kg of cow flatulence is 5070.63 lbs of cow fart in ‘merican.



