Energy Use in Manufacturing and Transport

Both making a digital device and moving it to the shop use energy. Factories need electricity to run machines that mould cases, solder components and assemble devices. Transport needs fuel to move parts between factories and to carry finished devices by lorry, ship or plane.

Much of this energy comes from non-renewable sources, such as coal, oil and natural gas, which are also called fossil fuels. They took millions of years to form and are used up far faster than they are replaced, so they will eventually run out.

Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, so adding more of it to the atmosphere increases the environmental impact of a device. That impact happens before you switch the device on, because it is built into the manufacturing and transport stages.

Worked example

A pair of wireless earbuds is assembled in a factory where the moulding and soldering machines run on electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. The tiny chips inside are made in another country and flown in, and the finished earbuds then cross the sea on a cargo ship. The power station, the plane and the ship all released carbon dioxide before anyone listened to music on the earbuds.

So a device's energy use is not only about charging it. The fuel and electricity needed to make it and move it often come from non-renewable sources, which increases its overall effect on the environment.