CO2 Comparison: Digital Business Card vs. Paper Business Card
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CO2 Comparison: Digital Business Card vs. Paper Business Card
In the discussion about sustainability and environmental protection, the impact of various decisions on the CO2 footprint plays a central role. This also applies to the choice between traditional paper business cards and digital alternatives like the neco business card. To make an informed comparison, we examine the CO2 emissions associated with the production and use of these two options.
Paper Business Cards and Their CO2 Footprint
To calculate the CO2 consumption of paper business cards, let's first look at the materials and manufacturing process. A standard business card weighs an average of 4.5 grams. For a print run of 500 business cards, this results in a total of 2.25 kilograms of paper.
According to data, the CO2 footprint of paper is approximately 2.5 tons of CO2 per ton of paper. Thus, the CO2 consumption for producing 2.25 grams of paper for business cards corresponds to about 5.625 kilograms of CO2.
Such a stack of 500 business cards lasts an average sales representative about one year, meaning they have an annual CO2 consumption of 5.625 kilograms of CO2.
Digital Business Cards and Their CO2 Footprint
The digital business card from neco offers an alternative way to exchange contact information without using paper. Instead, information storage and transmission occurs through the neco app.
The CO2 consumption of the neco app can be broken down into three essential factors:
User's Phone Usage
Assuming regular use of the neco app (⌀ 0.5h per day), a neco user consumes approximately 0.10 kWh of electricity per year, which corresponds to 38g CO2eq. (Source)
Data Storage
An average neco user generates 81 KB of master and transaction data over the lifetime of their account. Storing this data on the neco database consumes 0.001215g CO2eq per user per year.
Bandwidth Usage
For the use of neco Corporate, an average neco Corporate user consumes 267.28 MB per year, which produces 145.40g CO2eq. (Source)
Total CO2 Consumption
Adding up the CO2-causing factors, an average neco user consumes 183.4g CO2 per year.
Conclusion
Compared to paper business cards, the use of digital business cards like neco results in a significantly lower CO2 footprint. The CO2 savings through neco compared to paper business cards is approximately 97%.
The comparison between paper and digital business cards clearly demonstrates the ecological advantages of digital alternatives. While paper business cards are associated with considerable CO2 consumption, the use of digital business cards offers a more environmentally friendly option. By reducing paper consumption and manufacturing processes, companies and individuals can actively contribute to reducing their ecological footprint and making a contribution to environmental protection.