Marion Bobillo Rouch (E08): ‘The Digital Carbon Footprint Will Triple by 2050’

Marion Bobillo Rouch (E08) specialises in guiding companies towards digital sobriety. She warns of the substantial footprint of AI and digital terminals, while offering pro-business solutions. We take a closer look.

ESSEC Alumni: How did you develop your expertise in digital technology? 

Marion Bobillo: I began my career in consulting with PwC Strategy&, then turned to marketing, first in products and offers, then digital, a field in which I gradually specialised. Following an entrepreneurial experience, a management role in e-commerce for three brands in the H&H group and training in web development at Le Wagon, I started out as a consultant in the eco-design of digital services. 

EA: What is the environmental impact of digital technology?

M. Bobillo: Digital technology represents 3% to 4% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, a figure comparable to that of aviation, and 78% is linked to the manufacture of terminals. In fact, there are 34 billion devices in the world, every year we sell 1.39 billion new smartphones, and 3.1 million computers in France alone. It takes 800 kg of resources (200 kg of fossil fuels, 600 kg of minerals and several thousand litres of fresh water) to make a 2 kg computer. In terms of use, digital devices are also huge consumers, clocking up 6.2% of France’s power use, and the arrival of generative AI will multiply that impact. In all, it’s estimated that the digital footprint could triple between 2020 and 2050. 

EA: What are public authorities doing about this? 

M. Bobillo: France has enacted two key laws on this issue. Firstly, the 2020 AGEC Law (anti-waste & circular economy) imposes a longer device lifespan. Secondly, the REEN Law of 2021 (reduction of the digital environmental footprint) aims specifically to raise awareness among users, integrate environmental criteria in digital public orders, and develop eco-designed online services. As for public players, municipalities of more than 50,000 inhabitants are required to roll out a responsible digital strategy and work to recover the heat emitted from data centres. For private players, major businesses and mid-cap companies are subject to stricter obligations than small and very small businesses. They are required to measure their environmental impact annually and implement actions to reduce that impact, such as lower the energy use of equipment, manage data centre impact, or process electronic waste, and so on. In general, all devices that are 10 years old or less must be recycled through the reuse or repair sectors.

EA: Have these laws led to an improvement? 

M. Bobillo: Unfortunately, the regulation is not enough to generalise these practices, and the efforts made by some rare players, such as certain administrations and major companies or B-Corp firms, are drowned by the AI tidal wave. As with the GDPR for personal data and the RGAA [French General Benchmark for Improved Accessibility], as long as the government does not carry out regular inspections, the organisations in question will take their time to bring themselves into compliance. Yet the penalties for breaching these regulations are high!

EA: In this context, you decided to specialise in impact CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) and responsible Product Management. What is that exactly?

M. Bobillo: My approach consists in highlighting the correlation between economic and environmental performance. In other words, show companies (a world I worked in for a long time and whose priorities and needs are familiar to me) that responsible digital use is neither a constraint for teams, a deterioration in user experience, nor even an extra cost. On the contrary! Most eco-design criteria are coherent with business; the aim is to obtain the lightest, fastest and most accessible device, with functional units optimised to a maximum. 

EA: How does eco-design applied to digital products and services work, in practical terms? 

M. Bobillo: Firstly, eco-design is based on a continuous improvement process. Sure, we maximise the impact during the design or overhaul phase, but we have to work on the whole life cycle. Secondly, eco-design is holistic. We act on all the components of a project, from the technical stack and host to architecture, functions, content, resource use, servicing and scalability, etc. 

EA: What tools, methods and resources are to be used? 

M. Bobillo: To begin with, we can use the GreenIT collective’s eco-index, a simple and user-friendly tool which focuses on just 3 variables: DOM size, request volume and page weight. It’s worth noting that GreenIT also produced 115 good eco-design practices which offer a great basis to rapidly implement the first measures. To go further, I often use the RGESN (General Policy Framework for the Eco-Design of Digital Services). This assessment framework draws on 78 criteria forming levers to reduce the footprint of a website or mobile application, including UX design, hosting, architecture and front-end or back-end technical choices, content, and so on. The downside is that this is not always appropriate for every type of application. It can be supplemented with the GR491, or Reference Guide for Responsible Digital Service Design, created by the INR. Finally, there are paying measurement solutions such as Kastor Green or Greenspector, but the most comprehensive method is the Life Cycle Analysis.

EA: How can we learn more about these issues?

M. Bobillo: To learn the basics, you can refer to free resources such the MOOCs by INRIA or ADEME on the environmental impacts of digital use, and to go further, there are fee-paying training courses or certifications, such as the RGESN, ACV or the Responsible Digital certification. Don’t hesitate to join communities such as Designers Éthiques for UX profiles. Lastly, one way to begin exploring these issues is to carry out an RGESN audit with the help of an expert in responsible digital use - I’m preaching to the choir!

EA: Could you give us some examples of eco-designed digital services?

M. Bobillo: Off the top of my head, the Dalkia website, which has reduced CO₂ emissions by 64% compared to the previous version; the Ruches Biocoop site, which limits emissions to 1.51 g of CO₂ (compared to 7 g for a Google search), or that of Métropole de Grenoble, which boasts the best performance among the websites of France’s 22 metropolitan areas.  

EA: Who are the good guys and bad guys of responsible digital use? 

M. Bobillo: Aside from the players subject to the strictest regulatory constraints, there are organisations which are already engaged via their activities, such as the Shifters, the non-profit group behind the Shift project, which naturally adopted a responsible approach when creating its website. The digital eco-design barometer by GreenIT and Razorfish also shows that CAC 40-listed companies are more virtuous in this respect than e-retailers. However, this difference is above all due to the fact that it is easier to eco-design a corporate site than a retail site, which is often more complex. On national levels, France is actually quite advanced, not only thanks to its legislation, but also to bodies such as ARCEP, AFNOR and DINUM, who have drafted dedicated specifications and reference guides.

EA: In addition to the actions you lead, what other measures would you recommend for responsible digital use?

M. Bobillo: It is urgent that we raise awareness on a massive scale, something workshop operators such as the Fresque du Numérique and the Bataille de l’IA contribute to. These workshops are offered on a regular basis by ESSEC Alumni. Regulation will not be enough. Change has to come on an individual level, and in particular from CSR and IS heads, as well as company leaders.

EA: What are the realistic prospects for the growth of responsible digital use in the years ahead?

M. Bobillo: Despite the setback for responsible digital use represented by the current roll-out of AI, my belief is that the cause will gain ground, supported by regulations and the backing of company CSR commitments, with a search for the same tipping point as with environmental concerns in general. Things change fast in the digital sphere. In a world of finite resources, we will have no other option but to move towards greater sobriety. 

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni 

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