RADICAL REALIST

We hold corporations accountable for their environmental impact. Why do influencers, with millions of followers, get let off the hook? 

We tax airlines. We regulate corporations. But influencers? The ones making millions off their followers? They pay nothing for the environmental cost of their content. This cost has already been quantified. Meta’s 2024 Sustainability Report reveals the staggering scale of resources needed to power our social media world: 

• Its data centers alone consumed nearly 15 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2023 

• It used over 5,274 megaliters of water – equivalent to thousands of Olympic swimming pools

• And according to the International Energy Agency, global data centers now consume up to 1.5% of the world’s electricity. 

These numbers grow larger every year, driven by an insatiable appetite for more content, more views, more engagement. So we need to understand that when an influencer with a million followers posts daily content, it’s not just about their server usage, it’s spurring on consumption of energy – through streams, shares, and phone charges – leaving a CO2 footprint for the sake of entertainment.  

And each action, each post, multiplies the environmental impact exponentially. 

Before founding my charity Naz and Matt Foundation in 2014, I lived in a bubble of comfortable ignorance. I was a consumer, a bystander. I didn’t think about my social impact or feel any moral responsibility to support other communities beyond relatively minor donations. 

But life has a way of opening your eyes. 

Through lived experience of working directly with the most vulnerable LGBTQI+ adults, I’ve learned that we all have a moral obligation to build stronger bridges of understanding between communities. When people see the real impact of their actions – both harmful and helpful – they’re more likely to step up and do their part. We need this more than ever to protect our planet. And for better or worse, on social media we are more connected than ever. Here’s my radical proposal…An environmental responsibility tax for mega-influencers 

Before you dismiss this idea, hear me out.If influencers with over one million followers contributed just 1% of their earnings based on their content’s carbon footprint, we could generate millions annually for environmental projects. 

Think about it: 

• The aviation industry already does carbon offsetting 

• Big corporations have environmental responsibility programmes 

• Even small businesses calculate their carbon footprint 

So why aren’t the biggest digital influencers – businesses in their own right – doing the same? 

This isn’t about punishment. 

It’s about opportunity. 

Imagine if the next viral trend wasn’t a dance challenge or product unboxing, but a global movement for environmental responsibility. 

Imagine if influence wasn’t just measured in followers and likes, but in positive impact on our planet. 

The technology that enables these influencers’ platforms doesn’t have to destroy our environment. 

But someone needs to take the first step. 

The planet needs influential voices now more than ever. 

And what’s the point of having a million followers if you’re not using that influence to make the world a better place? 

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*Matt Mahmood-Ogston is a social impact photographer, and the CEO of Naz and Matt Foundation, a multi-award-winning charity that works to remove the barriers preventing religious and culturally conservative parents from accepting their LGBTQI+ chidren.*