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Telenor environmental report 2000 > Examples > Sustainable ICT



Sustainable ICT



The net effect on the environment of the use of information and communication

technology (ICT) is by no means fully clarified. ICT products and services can

represent an environmental impact in terms of the way in which they affect the

environment today. The aim must be to reduce the need for raw materials and

energy consumption whilst increasing the degree of recycling of ICT products.



Moreover, there is considerable potential for ICT services to contribute to a more

sustainable development in the years to come. We can for example replace

materials and transportation needs with computer based services ("Bits instead of

atoms"). The presupposition is that consciousness, fundamental conditions and

methods which stimulate this kind of development are in existence.



ICT and environmental challenges in general

ICT products and services are electronic products which show considerable

variation as regards production conditions, areas of use and environmental

impact, and include everything from communications satellites to Tamagotchi. As

a result of the considerable spread of ICT services and products in recent years,

attention has been focused on several aspects of information and communications

technology.



Increased interest has also been shown in the environmental challenges

connected with the manufacture, use, re-use and disposal of ICT products, both

in Norway and in the rest of the world. As regards knowledge of the

environmental impacts of ICT products and services, a certain amount of know-

how exists nationally and internationally, but in relation to the majority of ICT

services, this is inadequate and too fragmentary to enable any clear conclusion to

be drawn. To sum up, the most important environmental impacts with regard to

ICT products and services, in all phases of their life-cycle, can be considered to

be:



 Consumption of large amounts of raw materials and chemicals in

manufacture

The results are a large demand for raw materials as well as considerable

emissions to air, water and soil.

 A strongly growing energy requirement

Strong growth in the number of products/units reduces the effect of the

reduction in the amount of energy used by each unit.

 Inadequate re-use and recycling

Only a modest proportion of equipment and materials is re-used or

recycled.



In the table below, an attempt has been made to provide a very rough estimate

of the possible environmental impacts of different ICT services, making certain

specific assumptions.

ICT service Environmental impact

Positive environmental Negative environmental

impact impact

Tran- Raw Energy Inc- Inc- Inc-

sport material reduc- reased reased reased

reduc- reduc- tion tran- material energy

tion tion sport consum- consum-

ption ption

Telephone x x x

calls

Tele- x x

conference

Teleworking x? x?

Telefax x x x

E-mail x x x

Distance x x x

learning

-business B2B x ? ?

(Business to

business)

E-business ? ? x

B2C (Business

to consumer)

Video x x x

conference

Telemedicine x x x

Electronic x x

conferences

Electronic x x

publishing

"Music, video, x x

print on

demand"

Transport x x

telematics





ICT and transport reduction

Global statistics show a steep increase in both passenger and goods transport,

and particularly in the use of those means of transport which place the greatest

demands on resources and the environment (road and air transport).

Transport, both of passengers and goods, involves considerable environmental

drawbacks connected with energy consumption, emissions to the air, climate

change, raw material consumption, etc. Both the authorities and the business

community face considerable challenges as regards reducing the negative effects

of increased transport and exploiting the potential of new technology.

Various ICT services can represent a substitute for transport, especially in the

major urban areas. ICT supplements and reinforces, rather than replacing

physical transport. Some examples are:



 Intelligent transport systems (ITS)

which can contribute to a reduction in the environmental drawbacks

connected with traffic.

 Teleworking, distance learning and video conferences are initiatives which

can contribute to a reduction in traffic density, possibly reducing the rush

hour problem.

 Investments in electronic infrastructure It is unclear to what degree

investments in electronic infrastructure can be an alternative or

supplement to investments in physical infrastructure (roads).



ICT and reduction in raw materials (dematerialisation)

Possibilities for transforming physical products into services are a challenge with

regard to ICT and the environment. Dematerialisation through the use of

ecological design, industrial ecology and recycling of resources will be a

contribution in the work towards achieving Factor 10 (a 90% reduction in raw

material requirements). Life-cycle analyses (LCA) are also an important tool for

achieving high environmental efficiency.

In the production pattern of the future, a number of today's products will be

replaced by Internet based products or electronic products. For example, a video

player can be replaced by video viewed on the Internet.

In the future, value creation will be connected to a higher degree to service and

maintenance of the product, and less to its actual manufacture. In addition, the

need for new raw materials will be reduced through the increased use of recycled

materials and by "tailoring" the product for the individual consumer.

Some examples are:



 The environmental effect of Internet based answering services -

physical product and network service

Telia has carried out a life cycle analysis (LCA) of its Internet based answering

service, (Telesvar), compared with a physical answering machine. The way in

which the service is provided makes no difference to the consumer, but the study

shows that there is a big difference in the environmental impact of the two types.



Parameter Internet based answering Environmental impact/

service factor

Physical Internet

product service

Weight (kg) 1.2 0.06 20

Energy consumption 1308 5.7 230

(kWh)

CO2 emissions (gCO2 140.000 590 240

equiv.)





 Environmental savings resulting from digital radiography

A Swedish study carried out in 1999 shows that the change to digital radiography

equipment in hospitals in Stockholm has given the following annual

environmental savings:



 Reduction in consumption of film for X-rays: 230 000 m2

 Reduction in consumption of X-ray contrast fluid: 100 000 litres

 Reduction in consumption of photographic processing chemicals: 120 000

litres



In addition, digital radiography subjects both patient and personnel to lower

radiation doses.



 Individually adapted mass production (as at Dell computers)



 just in time (reduces the need for storage space - hence reduced energy

and raw material consumption)

 just for you (individually adapted textbooks)

 just enough (products adapted to individual businesses)

 Re-use



 use of surplus materials (as by the company Inverse AS, which makes use

of the Internet in its trade in surplus material).

 increase the percentage of re-useable materials

 avoid random spreading and disposal of chemicals representing a health or

environmental hazard



 Fewer shops and department stores



 smaller area occupied by new buildings

 lower consumption of natural resources and energy in building and

operation



 Other examples



 "from books to bytes" (Internet versions of telephone directories, novels,

etc.)

 from CD to MP3 (downloading music from the Internet)

 from photographs to electronic images

 from cheques to smart cards

 marketing by means of electronic images on PC and TV instead of

packaging and display.



Case: Non-sustainable material consumption

In connection with life-cycle analyses of the manufacture of PCs

carried out by Wuppertal Institute in 1997/1998, the

consumption of raw materials in the production of 486 PCs

(each weighing 22 kg) was studied.



The following results were obtained:

-The consumption of raw materials per PC was between 16 and

19 tonnes (depending on the degree of utilisation), and the

conclusion was that only about 0.1% of the physical mass which

is involved in the manufacture of a PC is used in the actual

product. A similar study carried out by IBM concluded with a

figure of 1.4%.



The studies emphasise the following central challenges:



 The material consumption in the manufacture of PCs

 The need for ecodesign and incentives which make

recycling worthwhile.







ICT products and sustainable development

It is important to emphasise that in spite of the major challenges faced by the

ICT industry in the environmental field, the ICT services also have considerable

potential to be an important contributor in relation to sustainable development.

Sustainable development is an important, international political objective. The

table below shows some of the most important elements in sustainable

development and the way in which ICT services can contribute to the

achievement of objectives with respect to these elements.

Sustainable development - elements ICT services

Reduced energy consumption and  E-mail

transport requirements  Telefax

 Telephone calls

 Teleconferences

 Video conferences

 Teleworking

 E-business

 Telemedicine

 Telebanking

 Transport telematics

Reduced material consumption  E-mail "Bits instead of atoms"

 E-marketing/e-brochures

 Portable PCs

 Print, music and video on

demand

Reduced emissions to air, water and soil  Environmental

monitoring/control

 Transport telematics

Reduced waste  Electronic process control in

industry

 E-mail

Reduced space requirements (e.g.  E-business

storage space)

Strict awareness requirements  ICT based environmental

accounting

 Internet based environmental

accounting

Information requirements  Electronic information

 Internet based annual reports

 E-marketing/e-brochures

Acquisition of knowledge  Distance learning

Democracy - involvement  Electronic information





ICT services and the potential for environmental improvement?

The International Environmental Institute at Lund University in Sweden has

carried out a comparison of some of the most frequently used ICT services in

terms of their potential for environmental improvement (Arnfalk, 1998).

The following criteria were used:



 Potential

The ICT service's potential for affecting the environment, based on

possible positive effects.

 Realistic result

An assessment of the ICT service's actual and probable environmental

impact, including both positive and negative environmental aspects as well

as any possible hindrances

 Association and measurability

The positive environmental impact must be directly associated with the

service and shall be measurable.

ICT products and Potential Realistic Association and TOTAL

services result measurability

E-business (B2B) 3 2 3 8

Teleworking 3 3 2 8

E-mail 3 2 2.5 7.5

E-learning 2.5 2 2.5 7

Video conferences 3 2 2 7

Telephone 2 2 2 6

conferences

E-business (B2C) 1.5 2.5 2 6

Telefax 1.5 2 1.5 5

Telephone calls 1.5 2 1 4.5





Amongst the ICT services which were studied, the results show that teleworking

and e-business are considered to have the greatest potential for environmental

improvement. The environmental potential of the following additional ICT services

has also been assessed:



 Transport telematics

 Telemedicine

 Electronic conferences

 Electronic marketing

 Print, music and video on demand



The environmental potential of these is considered to be lower than for the

services encompassed by the table above.



The use of ICT as an environmental tool

A range of ICT services can represent important tools in the work of reducing

environmental impact.

For example, environmental monitoring can provide research establishments with

increasingly better tools for assessing the environmental situation, whilst public

administration acquires knowledge which can form the basis for shaping

important fundamental conditions and agencies.

The following environmental tools are of interest:



 environmental monitoring by satellite

 remote control of energy consumption

 route planning/logistics

 correlation of environmental data

 dissemination of information (Internet), etc.