Working at your PC

Work offline when possible

Objectives

To be aware of the eco-footprint of working online
To think about other ways of creating products without having to be online

Green Value indicator

Working online is more energy-consuming, and it also emits more CO2. Save energy consumption and decrease CO2 emissions by working offline, and then sharing documents on a USB/flash drive once finished.

Explanation

There is a tendency to do everything online when creating content and project outputs, including researching and studying literature, and using shared documents. Products, such as manuals, are generally divided among partners who could do their part offline rather than online, only sharing them online after they are finished, to receive feedback from the other partners.

Ultimately, working offline can ensure that documents that are not yet finished are not shared with others and that only the latest version is uploaded. There should only be one document that needs to be developed and then shared, so there is no confusion as to which is the correct version to share. Also, if there is only one document, it emits less CO2 than multiple documents. It is important to be aware of the CO2 that is generated when working online. This could be done using a carbon footprint website like www.websitecarbon.com to see how much carbon you are producing. According to this infographic (www.climatecare.org ), a common website that does not need high resolution and is average, produces 1,76 grams CO2 every time that page is viewed.
Download to your pc the bibliography that you find online or, if it is a web page, simply save it in the history to be able to continue using it offline. This will prevent the page from loading every time you begin working, and thus not waste energy uselessly. If the creators have some kind of program that can be used offline, like Microsoft Word or LibreOffice, they should use it, rather than its online version or other programs that can only be used online.
Once the document is shared online for other partners to verify, it can be downloaded, commented on, and republished online.

PROS/CONS of the action

Pros:

Working offline does not consume energy nor release as much CO2 as working online
Working without being connected to the web helps with concentration - no distractions, more focus
The document can be private until posted
The document offline can be changed as many times as possible, accessing it anytime if it is in a personal computer

Cons:

All content created eventually will have to be shared and published online
All partners must pre-set a schedule to download the document in order not to have multiple versions of the same document
If the document is on the personal computer and not yet in the cloud, without that computer you cannot access it. It is always better to save a copy on a pen-drive

Certified

Not Certified

Link to useful sources

Infographic: The Carbon Footprint of the Internet www.climatecare.org