The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) was proud to sponsor the Best Poster Prize at iPres 2022 in Glasgow. The prize was awarded to ‘The CO2 Emissions of Storage and Use of Digital Objects and Data’ by Tamara van Zwol, Lotte Wijsman, Robert Gillesse, and Arie Groen of the Dutch Digital Heritage Network.
DRI Director Dr Natalie Harrower said that the poster ‘raises the very timely question of how to mitigate the environmental impact of digital preservation’, adding that:
The analysis of the respective climate impacts of server storage, cloud storage, server environments and data usage, as well as the use of a relevant case study, reveal intriguing and sometimes surprising data about emissions caused by digital storage, preservation and use.
Natalie also noted that ‘the question about whether cultural heritage organisations should rely on cloud storage options owned by proprietary organisations is especially relevant’.
The Digital Preservation Coalition noted that the poster ‘managed to present this information clearly and concisely, while still offering practical tips to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions for each of the four aspects examined’, and that it was ‘an ideal fusion of message and visual on a topic that is of great interest to the digital preservation community.
More about the poster, and the other prizes awarded at iPres, can be found at the iPres website: https://ipres2022.scot/ipres-prizes-2/.
(Image: Tamara van Zwol and Lotte Wijsman accepting the Best Poster award trophy at iPres, September 2022. Images courtesy of the Digital Preservation Coalition)
