Data hoarding is bad for business and the environment

According to a recent study by Veritas Technologies, at a time when public awareness of the environment is on the rise, 60% of Gen Z consumers have online accounts they no longer use, and 69% have ever closed these unused accounts. Haven’t tried turning it off. Much of the waste data associated with these accounts sits unused in data centers, and the electricity they use accounts for two percent of all global carbon emissions—about the same amount as the entire airline industry.

The findings suggest that young consumers are unaware of the impact of their own carbon footprint. From the report, 44% said it is wrong for businesses to waste energy and pollute by storing unnecessary information online. However, 51% believe that electronic versions of their account statements and other documents stored online have no negative environmental impact.

outcome? A Veritas study found that 47% of consumers would stop buying from a company if they knew how much unnecessary data it was storing, harming the environment by failing to control it. Meanwhile, 49% of consumers feel it is the responsibility of organizations that store their information and delete it when it is no longer needed, the report said.

How consumers can learn a company is storing unnecessary data

Noted Rags Srinivasan, chief sustainability officer at Veritas Technologies, said there are a number of ways consumers can feel about a company’s data management practices.

“For example, multiple data breaches may indicate that a company is having trouble with its overall data management strategy,” he said. “Moreover, in many places, including some states in the US, consumers have a right to know what information a company is storing about them, including any unnecessary data.”

Srinivasan cited 2021 Veritas research, which found that on average 35% of enterprise data is “dark”, meaning it has some unknown value, while 50% is redundant, obsolete or trivial. Only about 16% are business-critical, the study concludes.

Additionally, “many companies now include information about the environmental impact of data storage in their corporate environmental, social and governance reports,” Srinivasan said.

Veritas’ most recent Corporate Responsibility Report detailed how it reduced its carbon footprint by moving its in-house data center operations to a more energy-efficient colocation facility.

“Any mention of data sustainability in a company’s ESG report may indicate that it is not a priority for them,” Srinivasan said.

How organizations should respond to ESG and data management issues

According to Srinivasan, on average only 15% of data is business-critical.

Srinivasan said, “With half of customers saying they would stop buying from companies that fail to rise to the challenge, the risk for both businesses and the environment of not identifying and eliminating redundant data is very high ” “Data centers run 24 hours a day and, by 2030, are expected to use eight percent of all electricity on the planet.”

It is the compulsion of the leaders to pay attention to this issue. Srinivasan cautioned that organizations should not underestimate the environmental impact of poor data management practices — even if they are outsourcing their storage to public cloud providers.

Some good data management practices would be to make consumers aware of the costs of all this data, especially the negative externalities on our overheating planet.

“We should give them facts – data – and make it credible,” Srinivasan said. “Second, turn the passions among them into advocates.

“Armed with these facts, along with relatable talking points, they can become important tools of positive change among their generation.”

Gamification can be used to help consumers make positive changes.

“For example, an impact meter can describe the impact their data hoarding is having on their own carbon footprints,” Srinivasan said. “It can allow them to compare their data carbon footprint with their peers and even best in class benchmarks, thereby encouraging them to do better.”

Veritas also suggested encouraging customers to close unused or inactive accounts and providing guidance on deleting obsolete information they no longer need or want.

SEE: Best data governance practices for your organization (TechRepublic)

The study of 13,000 consumers was conducted by 3Gym on behalf of Veritas Technologies during February 1-16, 2023 in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, UK and US.