Greater transparency on infrastructure emissions

• Participants noted improving disclosure from cloud and CDN providers, while identifying ongoing gaps around embodied emissions and life‑cycle impacts of servers and data‑centre infrastructure.

Clarifying the relationship between traffic and energy use

• The group reaffirmed evidence showing no direct correlation between data traffic and energy consumption in fixed‑line networks, while identifying mobile networks, peak demand and infrastructure build‑out as key open questions.

Focus on practical decarbonisation levers

• Discussion centred on distinguishing what media companies can influence directly versus where outcomes depend on wider network and provider decisions.

Tools and data consistency challenges

• Participants highlighted limitations in existing cloud sustainability tools, particularly around location‑based data, and supported comparing native and third‑party tools to identify gaps and best practice.

Embodied emissions as an emerging topic

• While downstream use‑phase emissions remain dominant, there was shared interest in better understanding embodied impacts, with agreement to approach this pragmatically using available case studies rather than pursuing perfect data.

Live broadcast to IP transition

• The sustainability implications of moving live linear television from broadcast to internet delivery were flagged as a priority area for further research and shared understanding.

Structured approach to industry engagement

• The group agreed to engage CDNs initially as guest speakers rather than full members, preserving space for open discussion among media and publishing organisations.

Collaboration with external bodies

• Initial exploration was agreed with relevant industry organisations to support knowledge‑sharing and collective advocacy where appropriate.

Shared evidence base

• DIMPACT will compile comparative resources on provider transparency, network emissions research and allocation approaches to support consistent understanding across participants.

The session established a strong foundation for collaborative, evidence‑led work on digital infrastructure emissions, with an emphasis on transparency, realism and collective progress across the value chain.