The concept of the digital carbon footprint has become an urgent concern in design, as the environmental consequences of digital products, services, experiences, and consumption continue to escalate at an alarming rate. Digital carbon footprint encapsulates the often-hidden ecological costs of our digitally mediated lives - including the energy-intensive operations of data centres, the resource-heavy processes behind AI models, and the extraction of rare earth elements for hardware manufacturing. As the digital economy expands, its environmental impact remains both profound and rapidly growing.

This interdisciplinary volume critically examines the complex and often-overlooked relationship between digital design, consumption, and environmental sustainability. Drawing on insights from diverse fields, From Bytes to Planet is a collection of essays by international scholars and designers spanning across design theory and practice, environmental humanities, social sciences, science and technology studies, and economics.

Divided into three sections, the book fosters an interdisciplinary dialogue on themes such as the environmental toll of the digital economy, the implications of digital growth (section one), design and consumption practices, the challenge of e-waste (section two), and emerging design approaches that address the ecological impact of digital technologies (section three). By advocating for more sustainable approaches to designing digital products, services, experiences, and consumption, From Bytes to Planet aims to inspire both critical reflection and tangible change among design researchers, students, practitioners, scholars with a broader interest in design, as well as consumers and informed citizens.

Ultimately, From Bytes to Planet calls for a paradigm shift in the way we design and engage with digital technologies. Rather than pursuing technological progress at the expense of the environment, this book argues for an approach rooted in sustainability, equity, and ecological responsibility.