Ian Chew cannot recall or even imagine a life before he founded Greenie Web back in 2009. What began as a side project has since become a large part of his life and is likely to remain so into the future. The climate tech startup enables businesses and organisations to reduce their digital carbon footprint and is the first pioneer of the Digital Carbon Emissions Calculator and Rectifier.
Ian’s entrepreneurial path began with his first coding class in secondary school. As someone deeply passionate about the environment since young, the first question that came to his mind during the coding class was "What is the environmental impact of the digital world and how can we reduce it?" That was the pivotal eureka moment for Ian and the genesis of Greenie Web.
Carbon emissions generated from online use have skyrocketed over the past two decades. Estimates show that carbon emissions directly related to the internet, also known as digital carbon emissions, are roughly equal to the CO2 emitted by the entire aviation industry.
Despite the alarming numbers, Ian knows that the buzz around digital carbon emissions is still very nascent and a lot of awareness raising still needs to be done. “If people are not even aware of something, it makes it very hard for them to act on it,” he admitted.
Behind every cloud
Ironically, the shared global challenge of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns played a crucial role in shifting perceptions about the environment. “The clear skies and dramatically reduced pollution during the lockdown period showed the public the immense benefit of a clean and green environment,” Ian recalls. “Furthermore, it strengthened the resolve of governments and corporations to take action.” He strongly believes that the resulting elevated environmental awareness will continue for the long term.
Ian derives immense satisfaction from knowing that his work directly impacts the lives of future generations. “Working to combat climate change has a long-term impact, one that would continue for many generations after me. As such, it is the positive legacy that I hope to leave behind to my children and their children after them.”
Greenie Web had its soft launch in August 2022 but was officially revealed to the world on 27 January 2023. Today, as both a B2G and B2B company, Ian and his former schoolboy side project are forging partnerships with international environmental organisations, business associations and governments.
Over the past year Greenie Web has been bringing awareness of digital decarbonization and sustainable digitization to mainstream awareness. Ian is aware nevertheless that his climate tech startup alone cannot bring results. “Climate action is not a solo journey but based on collective action. With the world racing against time to solve this issue, we hope to enlist as many allies as possible in government, corporations and civil society to advance the decarbonization of the internet.” He explains that much of the focus has been on the decarbonization of the aviation, maritime and construction sectors. Yet, with more than 5.1 billion internet users worldwide and a rapidly growing rate of digitization across all continents, it is estimated that the amount of digital carbon emissions produced will triple within the next 20 years. He hopes that Greenie Web can bring this conversation to the forefront to stir collective action by all aspects of society.
At this point it appears that Ian has been making steady progress towards realising his goals. In celebration of COP28 back in 2023, Greenie Web launched the Uni28 movement, aiming to build capacity and raise awareness of digital carbon emissions in 28 universities around the world. Much to Ian’s delight, they exceeded the initial target and reached 30 organisations during the inaugural run. Given the overwhelming demand, Greenie Web returned with the 29 by 29 program as part of COP29 in 2024. At the time of writing, just before COP29 in Baku, Greenie Web had already reached over 45 organisations globally, well ahead of the target.
Learn more about Greenie Web (https://www.greenieweb.co).
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