Sustainability and corporate social responsibility at mail.com

Q: How can I reduce my digital carbon footprint for emails?

The average carbon footprint of an email is 0.3g CO2e, which includes the IT infrastructure used to write, send and receive, and store the email. So, if you only send an occasional email, it does not have a major environmental impact. If you send hundreds of emails per week, however, you can consider reducing your carbon footprint by cutting down on unnecessary email sending and storage – for example by unsubscribing from mailing lists and newsletters you no longer read. In addition, deleting emails you no longer need can reduce the total energy used for email storage – which is why you might have seen the recommendation to “delete email - save the environment.” It is also helpful to choose an email provider whose data centers use green electricity and energy-efficient servers, like mail.com.

Sustainability
@ mail.com

mail.com: The right address
for sustainable email

Our mission: Email that’s good for the community and the planet

We can only build a sustainable future by working together. So, at mail.com, we strive to create a strong and inclusive community founded on the principles of social and environmental responsibility. Through our corporate citizenship and our focus on diversity, we work to foster these values every day.

mail.com is committed to using resources responsibly and reducing our environmental impacts. Not only do we continuously improve the efficiency of our facilities; we also minimize our CO₂ emissions through the use of green energy. New email and cloud servers are built with the most energy-efficient technologies possible and recycled or disposed of properly at the end of their service lives.

Environmental responsibility: Shrinking our footprint

at symbol against background of green leaves

Moving toward carbon neutrality

To cut our CO₂ emissions and shrink the climate impact of sending and receiving email, mail.com utilizes energy from renewable sources wherever possible.

With annual power consumption of 14 GWh, our data center in Kansas runs on wind and solar power. Solar panels on the data center roof generated 179,180 kWh of electricity in 2023. Our data center in Missouri also uses 100% renewable energy.

Recycling – from paper to hardware

Recycling saves resources by giving old materials new life, from paper to the valuable metals in our servers. We collect and recycle paper in all our offices, and our employees are encouraged to recycle their trash at work.

Our office computer hardware is also recycled, with 105 metric tons of hardware from United Internet AG reused or recycled by our partner AfB in 2023. The same principle applies to the servers in our data centers, which are recycled or disposed of appropriately at the end of their service life.

Using energy efficiently

In addition to sustainable energy sourcing, lowering our energy consumption is an important part of our environmental responsibility. The data centers where we store emails and cloud data are optimized to save energy. How? We regularly upgrade our data centers and use state-of-the-art, low-power processors designed to minimize heat losses and require less energy. By optimizing our hardware, we maximize the benefit to our customers while minimizing our environmental footprint.

Eco-friendly communication with email

mail.com has been in the email business since 1995, offering our customers secure service they can count on. Over the years, email has evolved into the preferred means of communication in many sectors, with digital replacing paper for everything from credit card statements to advertising brochures. This conserves valuable resources and reduces the emissions previously generated in the production of paper, printing, transportation, and delivery.

Powered by renewables

Our data centers in Lenexa, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, are powered by 100% renewable energy.

843 metric tons less CO₂

In 2023, we were able to reduce CO₂ emissions by 843 metric tons of through the responsible recycling of old hardware.

Expert certification

The ISO 50001-compliant energy management system in our Lenexa data center continuously tracks, manages, and optimizes energy efficiency.

Corporate social responsibility: Putting people first

hands joining in the center of group of diverse people

Committed to diversity

We are proud to not only be an eco-friendly company, but one that celebrates diversity as well. We treat all our employees with respect and offer them equal opportunities, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, social and educational background, religious and ideological beliefs, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability. We firmly believe that the diversity of our workforce is essential to our creativity and productivity. To fully unlock this potential for ideas and innovation, our Diversity, HR, and Sustainability teams implement a variety of programs and initiatives that foster diversity and promote equal opportunities.

Our responsibility to our employees

One aspect of social sustainability is our responsibility as a fair and attractive employer. Our working conditions and HR processes are structured with sustainability in mind, while our values and leadership principles reflect this holistic approach. Promoting the health of our employees and ensuring a sensible work-life balance are particularly important to us, so we support employees’ individual needs at different stages of their lives. We go beyond the legal requirements for occupational health and safety with programs focusing on exercise, ergonomics, nutrition, managing stress, and strengthening resilience. We value the opinions and ideas of our employees, regularly collecting their feedback and encouraging their suggestions.

Global corporate citizenship

We live our commitment to social responsibility on a global and local level. Since 2006, the United Internet for UNICEF foundation has been working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help children in need. UNICEF supports projects in the fields of education, health, and child protection, improving the lives of children around the world.

Zero tolerance for discrimination

We do not tolerate discrimination in any form. To further underscore this commitment, as part of United Internet we became a signatory to the Diversity Charter in 2021. By joining this workplace initiative, we have pledged to firmly anchor anti-discriminatory principles in our organizational culture.

Digital responsibility: Data security and consumer education

Computer screen on desk with lock symbol

We protect your data and emails

With our free email service and the included cloud storage, we help people access internet services and participate in digital life every day. Why is digital responsibility important? Because it means taking active responsibility for the security of the data we have been entrusted with.

Safeguarding our customers' data is a top priority – which is why our email and cloud services are protected by state-of-the-art security. We continuously strive to improve our security levels by working with external partners such as independent auditors and open-source communities like OWASP. We also collaborate with security researchers through our bug bounty program.

Multi-ethnic group of people working on a bike together in their small and local business

Tools for freelancers and small businesses

Small businesses are the backbone of many communities, helping drive employment and economic growth. Part of our digital responsibility is helping freelancers and small businesses in the community thrive.

Enterprising businessmen and -women can save time and money with our free all-in-one solution that integrates email, online office suite, and cloud. And as their businesses grow, we have highly affordable plans to scale up online storage, features, support, and more.

Decoding the digital world

For more than three years, we have been publishing easy-to-understand explainers in our blog every week. Not only do we provide updates and how-tos to help users get the most out of their email, but we also address key topics of IT sustainability and online security. Because one aspect of our corporate digital responsibility is helping you use email safely and easily!

Go to mail.com blog

FAQs: Sustainable email

What is sustainable email?

Sustainable email is an email service that lowers the environmental impact of digital communications. One effective way of doing this is to reduce carbon emissions by using energy-efficient email servers.

How can I reduce my digital carbon footprint for emails?

The average carbon footprint of an email of an email is 0.3g CO2e, which includes the IT infrastructure used to write, send and receive, and store the email. So, if you only send an occasional email, it does not have a major environmental impact. If you send hundreds of emails per week, however, you can consider reducing your carbon footprint by cutting down on unnecessary email sending and storage – for example by unsubscribing from mailing lists and newsletters you no longer read. In addition, deleting emails you no longer need can reduce the total energy used for email storage – which is why you might have seen the recommendation to “delete email - save the environment.” It is also helpful to choose an email provider whose data centers use green electricity and energy-efficient servers, like mail.com.

Are emails bad for the environment?

Emails have an environmental impact due to the energy needed to produce, send, and receive them. After all, you need an electronic device to access your emails, and emails can only be stored and transmitted using servers that need energy to run. However, due to the vehicles used in the delivery chain, sending a letter by conventional mail generates much higher carbon emissions than email. Emails also have the advantage of reducing paper waste – as long as we follow the reminder to “Think before you print”

Learn more

Click to keep reading about our company’s social and environmental responsibility!

UI Sustainability Report All United Internet Reports

Sustainability@ mail.com

mail.com: The right address for sustainable email