Insights from Web Summit – Lisbon 2023

Web Summit is one of the largest technology conferences in the world and it takes place annually in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference brings together a diverse range of professionals from the technology industry, including entrepreneurs, investors, and developers. It typically features a mix of keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, and startup exhibitions. The conference aims to provide a platform for professionals to connect, learn, and share insights in the rapidly changing landscape of technology and business.

EcoNudge had the opportunity to attend this event for the first time a couple of weeks ago. With approximately 70,000 attendees, it was quite overwhelming, and easy to lose focus without a game plan. We wanted to learn as much as possible about startups in the cleantech and sustainability sectors and gain valuable insights. We spoke with several different startups and learned about their mission and their challenges. It quickly became clear to us that what lies at the heart of the problem is human behavior.

For instance, did you know that the carbon footprint of cloud services exceeds that of civil aviation? On average, 30% of those servers are idle at any given time. This is equivalent to 30 of 100 planes flying randomly without passengers. So, why aren’t these damn servers being turned off when not in use?

Climate change at its core is a behavioral problem, and changing behavior, especially at the societal level, is inherently difficult. Consider the simple act of turning off a light when leaving a room – the incentive, albeit small, is a lower energy bill. Yet, many of us don’t consistently do it.

Now, imagine a similar scenario in the workplace, where the cloud servers are analogous to the lights in your room. In most cases, there’s no incentive for employees to turn these servers off if they are not being rewarded for it or if they are not directly responsible for the energy bill. Although you could argue that environmental concern should be incentive enough, the reality is that not everyone feels that way and even if they do, laziness might get in the way. We are all humans.

Web Summit reinforced the fact that sustainable action fundamentally requires behavioral change. Regardless of how advanced the technology is, none of it will matter if we don’t built systems that align human behavior with sustainable action.