VML: Amazon Web Services’ Vanishing Emails

Every day, people around the world are inundated with promotional emails. The energy used to store these emails on servers generates more than 3,200 tons of CO2 in a single day.

In response to this, VML, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Slalom, developed Vanishing Emails, an innovative solution to automate the deletion of expired promotional emails. Leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning, Vanishing Emails identifies and deletes unnecessary promotional emails, reducing stored email data and associated energy use. Integrated with AWS, the platform ensures data privacy and security while efficiently processing deleted emails. Users can customise deletion settings and track their environmental contributions in real-time by linking their email accounts to the tool.

By automating the deletion of promotional emails, the platform significantly reduces carbon emissions associated with email storage. In its first year alone, Vanishing Emails deleted 219.2 billion promotional emails, resulting in a reduction of 6,500 tons of CO2 emissions. This transformative impact not only contributes to environmental conservation but also sets a new standard for sustainable digital communications.