- SaaS sector lags behind others in sustainability awareness and industry
- Digital emissions are growing fast and AI is accelerating the environmental impact
- EcoSend runs entirely on renewable energy and serverless digital infrastructure accountability
Sustainability isn’t a word most people associate with SaaS. Unlike sectors that rely heavily on physical infrastructure or global logistics, the software industry often escapes scrutiny when it comes to environmental impact.
With the carbon cost of digital activity rising, especially in the era of AI, that’s starting to change.
Since launching just over two years ago, EcoSend, an email marketing platform, has run entirely on renewable energy and serverless infrastructure. I spoke with the James Gill, the company’s founder and CEO, to understand what’s holding SaaS back from being truly sustainable, and what it will take for the industry to lead, not lag, in building a greener digital future.
What does being sustainable mean to an online business like yours? How do you gauge/monitor your sustainability?
At EcoSend, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword or an afterthought. It is baked into our very DNA as a company.
Since we launched EcoSend just over two years ago, we have run our platform on fully renewable energy and the latest ‘serverless’ technology. Being ‘sustainable’ means that our planet has to be at the heart of every decision we make, and every corner of our product. Historically, SaaS businesses have avoided the level of scrutiny around sustainability which other industries have been exposed to.
Companies operating in hardware, transportation, supply chains etc have started adapting to more sustainable practices as a result of this scrutiny. We strongly believe that SaaS companies should adapt in the same manner, to actively lead us all towards a better future, rather than continuing to lag behind.
To help us monitor our commitment to sustainability, we don’t just rely on internal processes, but external accreditation and reporting. We are certified by ‘Green Small Business’, as well as members of the Good Business Charter, Pledge 1%, and Terra Carta. In addition to this, we are currently in the process of certifying as a B Corp.
As a SaaS provider, what are the biggest obstacles you’ve encountered in your journey towards being more eco-friendly?
One of the greatest challenges we face is common to many businesses working in the sustainability space, and that is a lack of awareness. Few people are aware of the carbon cost of our digital activities, and yet if ‘The Internet’ were a country, it would be the fourth most polluting nation in the world.
Taking email specifically, over 360 billion emails are sent per day according to research by Statista. Each email can have a carbon cost of up to 26g. Yet few marketers are aware of the environmental impact of their campaigns. While many of us can understand the impact of boiling a kettle, the impact of digital activities like sending an email seems harder to wrap one’s head around.
So the first challenge is raising awareness. Secondary to that challenge is motivating change.
It is one thing for a company to be aware of the environmental impact of their online activity, but to motivate them to migrate their email service provider, data and campaigns is another.
We dedicate a lot of effort to making migration as easy as possible for companies, to help remove the inertia associated with changing software. This includes custom import tools and dedicated onboarding sessions with our support team to facilitate the process for companies who are keen to make the switch.
In an ideal world, what would it take to get publishers like us to report more on ecological credentials of SaaS providers?
I believe a starting place would be better awareness of the scale of the challenge. Digital emissions often sit behind reporting on other high-emission activities, such as air travel. But the ‘invisibility’ of digital emissions should not mask its scale nor its impact.
With the recent, meteoric rise in AI, the impact of digital emissions will only continue to grow and be more keenly felt.
The ‘carrot’ motivation to SaaS companies to improve their sustainability credentials will only get us so far. But increased coverage by publishers in the digital sustainability sector will lead to increased regulation across the ecological credentials of SaaS companies. This will play an additional ‘stick’ factor in motivating companies to change to better practices and reporting. Both are required in order to facilitate change.
EcoSend has sustainability built at its core as its USP. How different is the make-up of your audience compared to your peers?
We are fortunate to work with hundreds of dedicated B Corps, charities, and purpose-driven organizations, for whom the concepts of sustainability and holistic capitalism are ingrained in their core ethos.
Our clients are ambitious and determined to grow profitably, but the key difference is that this growth never comes at the expense of people or the planet.
Whether they are entrepreneurs, SMEs, or large corporations; we learn so much from our client’s efforts to drive forward digital sustainability, and we’re delighted to support them in their mission.
AI has been hailed as the solution to the sustainability conundrum and the destroyer of forests. What’s your take on this?
The rise of AI presents both threat and opportunity. The deciding factor will be in how AI is deployed. ChatGPT is currently estimated to use around 39.98 Million kWh per day. That’s more than the annual energy consumption of over 100 nations.
Frivolous usage of AI will only hurtle us further down a path we shouldn’t be on. That said, if we can consciously harness AI, we can use it to create a better future. Whether it’s automating complex ESG reports, evaluating the sustainability credentials of a large supply chain, or increasing the efficiency of corporations’ admin tasks; there is scope for AI to serve us, rather than contribute to our demise.
If the use of AI is both limited and conscious, then I believe it can be a solution to the sustainability challenge. Unfortunately, current trends seem to show the opposite is the case.
Where do you go from here? How do you get even more sustainable?
We are currently in the process of certifying as a B Corp. The process to apply and maintain B Corp certification will ensure our company is held to B Corp’s high standards for ethical and sustainable business practices. Through this application, we will hold ourselves publicly accountable to ensure we ‘walk the walk’ of sustainability, ethics, and community across our company, software platform, and supply chain.
Beyond our B Corp application, we regularly review how to improve our sustainability credentials. These reviews have prompted us to take a more active role in our local community, through volunteering at food banks and conservation sites across London.
One example of ways we have evolved – we have always sent a gift to our Enterprise clients every Christmas. We switching from sending hampers to instead sending donations to Beam – an organization that supports people experiencing homelessness in the UK to find stable work and accommodation. We have so far sponsored over 50 clients via our partnership.
In addition, we recently added a new tree-planting partner to our ecosystem to improve the monitoring and reporting of where our clients’ trees are planted.
While we are proud of what we’re doing, we know the world needs more – more from us, and more from all businesses. We are excited to push ourselves to do ever more to protect our home planet and inspire others to follow.
