Sustainable Communications Guidelines

Emails are the most popular method of communicating at Imperial. They are an important part of the way we keep each other informed and up to date.  

But did you know that at Imperial, within 12 months, we collectively receive 366 million emails and send almost 60 million? That’s enough to power 426 homes for a full year! 

There are some simple things we can do to streamline the way we use email, while maintaining the benefits of this form of communication: 

• Keep your sender list concise: Avoid cc’ing in more people than need to action or note your message. Unnecessary levels of cc’ing increase the carbon footprint, and could also cause recipients to disengage from your emails as they feel they are not specifically relevant to them.

• Use reactions: An e-mail reply generates around 4g CO2, where a reaction such as a thumbs up is a fraction of the emissions.  

• Use file sharing, not attachments: Share large files through SharePoint, rather than attaching to an email. (But remember to regularly audit and clean out your shared drives so you’re not keeping unnecessary or irrelevant files longer than needed). 

Microsoft Copilot is a powerful tool that can help us craft and refine communications. While the emissions data for Copilot, and other AI platforms like it, is yet to be published, we know that AI searches generate more emissions than traditional search methods. There are ways we can learn to use it while being mindful of its environmental impact: 

• Be specific with requests: Avoid vague or overly broad queries. Clear, focused questions help Copilot generate accurate responses faster, reducing unnecessary processing and energy use. 

• Reuse and refine responses: Instead of starting from scratch each time, build on previous answers. Ask Copilot to revise or expand existing content to avoid redundant queries. 

• Limit large-scale generations: Only request long documents, code, or images when truly needed. Generating large outputs consumes more computing resources. 

• Use Copilot to reduce other digital waste: Let Copilot help you compress documents or streamline presentations, reducing the need for excessive attachments and long messages. 

• Avoid repetitive or idle use: Using Copilot for constant back-and-forth without a clear goal can waste energy. Plan your queries and use it as a purposeful tool. 

In a modern university, virtual meetings are an important and accessible way of bringing colleagues and students together. At Imperial, a large percentage of staff work in a hybrid way, and many classes are taught online. Here are some ways to lower the environmental impact of virtual meetings: 

• Turn off video when not needed: Video streaming uses significantly more energy than audio. For large meetings or when you're not speaking, consider switching to audio-only to reduce bandwidth and emissions. But please balance this with the social benefits of being on camera with colleagues.  

• Keep meetings short and purposeful: Plan agendas in advance and stick to time limits. Shorter meetings mean less energy use and more efficient collaboration. 

• Choose low-impact platforms: Use platforms that are optimised for energy efficiency and avoid unnecessary features like HD video or background effects unless essential. 

• Avoid recording unless necessary: Recording meetings increases data storage and processing demands. Only record when it’s needed for accessibility or documentation. Microsoft Teams’ transcription tool is a good lower-energy alternative to recording. 

• Share files smartly: Instead of sending large attachments during meetings, share links to cloud storage. This reduces duplication and keeps email sizes small. 

• Opt out of calendar notifications: Whether inviting or responding to a calendar event on Outlook, opt out of notifications and responses to cut down unnecessary emails. 

Imperial prints over 5.1 million times a year, using more than 600 trees annually for our paper demand. We can all do our bit to minimise printing to when it’s absolutely necessary. Sharing documents digitally by using Sharepoint is a great alternative.  

 And when you do need to print, you can: 

• Print double-sided and grayscale 

• Use recycled paper, when possible 

Visit the ICT ‘Think before you print’ webpage for more information and suggestions. 

Every click, scroll and download on a webpage uses energy, so we need to make our content count. Here are some top tips for improving the sustainability for the Imperial website. 

• Optimise files: Always optimise and resize large images or videos, compress files and choose web-friendly formats to keep pages fast and efficient. 

• Reuse what’s already there: Search the main website image and document library first instead of uploading duplicates. It saves space and keeps things tidy. 

• Write clearly and simply: Short, focused content is easier to read and better for search engines, it means less energy used to load and scroll. You can read our writing of the web guide here: Writing for the web. 

• Link, don’t duplicate: Point users to existing pages rather than copying content. It keeps the site streamlined and easier to maintain. 

• Spring clean regularly: Outdated pages and files take up space and slow things down, removing old content and pages makes a big difference. The same is true of your SharePoint and OneDrive folders – audit and clean out regularly to avoid unnecessary storage. 

• Make it accessible: Good design is sustainable design. Use alt text, readable fonts, and strong contrast so everyone can engage easily. Learn more on our Digital Accessibility online training course. 

• Layout matters: Use headings and clear layouts to help people find what they need quickly, reducing time and energy spent browsing.