Green Clouds? Towards Sustainable Data Infrastructure

In our rapidly digitizing world, the demand for data storage and processing has surged, leading to the proliferation of data centers and cloud computing infrastructure. However, this exponential growth comes with significant environmental costs, as data infrastructure consumes vast amounts of energy and contribute to carbon emissions. This roundtable addresses this pressing issue, delving into the critical intersection of technology and environmental sustainability from the civil society perspective.

Citizens and civil society play a crucial role in shaping the discourse around sustainability in technology, advocating for solutions that prioritize both social and environmental concerns. By empowering citizens to actively participate in shaping the digital future, we can foster a more equitable, transparent, and environmentally responsible technology ecosystem. This roundtable seeks to amplify these voices by delving into sustainability within cloud infrastructure, exploring the societal ramifications of cloud computing and data storage practices, as well as addressing issues of digital equity and the democratization of technology.

This event inaugurates the Sustainable Digitalization in Europe: Focus Data Infrastructures And Cloud Computing Conference hosted by the University of Amsterdam and funded by the Research Priority Area ‘Amsterdam Center for European Studies’ (March 21-22, 2024), and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

About the speakers

Fieke Jansen is the co-founder of the Critical Infrastructure Lab and a post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Amsterdam. She also coordinates the Green Screen Climate Justice and Digital Rights Coalition.

Kristina Irion is Associate Professor at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. She has been studying cloud computing from the angles of data sovereignty and individual rights. She is part of the multidisciplinary research project on Sustainable Digitalization in Europe which studies the politics of cloud computing.

Becky Kazansky is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Political Science department at the University of Amsterdam. Her research explores data justice and risk governance in an age of planetary crisis.

Stefania Milan is Professor of Critical Data Studies at the University of Amsterdam’s Department of Media Studies and a Research Associate with the Chair in AI & Democracy at the Florence School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute.

Max Schulze is the Founder of the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA). With a background as a software engineer and a cloud expert, Max brings his experience in measuring the digital economy’s footprint and advancing the SDIA’s roadmap towards making it sustainable and future-proof. Throughout his career, he has dedicated himself to the well-being of people and the planet as he is committed to creating a positive future for the next generation.

Pepijn de Reus is a master student Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Amsterdam, researching energy consumption and the explainability of AI.