Telecommunications
For the telecommunications industry, the issue of sustainability has become urgent in recent years. The unprecedented demand for digital communications during the pandemic has forced telco operators to consume more energy than ever, expanding their carbon footprint.
According to recent data1, the telecoms industry generates 1.6% of all carbon emissions, and the overall ICT sector is responsible for 3-4% of all global emissions - twice the levels of the aviation industry. If left unmanaged, the telecoms industry could be responsible for up to 14% of global CO2 emissions by 2040. This will only grow as data demands increase and as organisations make remote working a permanent part of their corporate strategy.
5G is likely to be a major contributor to the carbon emissions, with research suggesting that as it finds more applications in both industrial and consumer settings will lead to 160% increase in power demands by 20302.
However, according to the International Telecommunication Union, the IT industry will have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% between 2020 and 2030 if it is going to comply with the Paris Agreement3.
Thankfully, the industry is starting to take action. In an attempt to reduce the impact that telecoms have on our planet, the industry — led by the GSM Association (GSMA) — has set ambitions to transform itself to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The GSMA is also encouraging the industry to think about how operators can support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by embedding these into their overall corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and prioritising goals that will have the greatest impact.
As of 2022, 50 global operators have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint over the next decade – up from 19 pledges in 2021, GSMA said in its 2022 "Mobile Net Zero" report4. Additionally, operators making up 44% of global telecom revenue committed to net-zero targets by 2050.
A major component of reducing carbon footprint is optimising energy consumption, a goal seemingly at odds with operators' needs to provide network infrastructure that delivers data at high speeds. But, while data traffic increased 31% in 2021, GSMA said electricity and associated carbon emissions increased only 5% and 2%, respectively.
Technology will be key in order for the telecommunications industry to make progress on sustainability initiatives. The use of new technologies to modernise infrastructure and make it more efficient must be high on every CIO’s agenda, as will the use of digital reporting technologies to carry out tasks such as assessing network energy consumption and implementing power savings during hours of low usage.
Tackling “Scope 3” emissions - emissions that are not produced by the company itself and are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by them - will also need to take priority, as these account for more than 85% of the emissions generated by the telecoms industry. According to Vodafone, its suppliers’ emissions in producing the goods and services such as IT equipment, handsets and other devices, were estimated to be 3.9 million tonnes of CO2e5.
This means CIOs must look closely at their supply chain and work collaboratively with the industry to ensure an increase in network equipment reuse and recycling and implementing shared technology standards that allow for software upgrades to extend equipment life cycles.
Embracing circularity: Circularity is becoming a hot topic for the telecommunications industry as well as for network equipment6. Organisations within this industry should set an example by embracing circularity within their business, whereby they reduce the amount of e-waste they produce by reusing, repairing, upgrading, recycling and recovering devices, rather than throwing them into landfill. Introducing recycled materials into networks is another key factor. HP, for example, endeavours to use recycled and recyclable materials in its devices and are already halfway to its goal of using 30% post-consumer recycled plastic across its fleets by 2025.
Shift to a service-based model: For CIOs within the telecoms industry, complex supply chains and legacy technologies make becoming more sustainable a daunting task. Shifting to a service-based model within the organisation, whereby you allow a third-party OEM to actively manage your IT fleet, can take some of the stress away. HP Managed Service, for example, can even proactively detect faults that are likely to occur and help you to ethically recycle devices that have reached the end of their lifespan.
1 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/building-sustainable-telecommunications-companies2 https://www.datacenter-forum.com/datacenter-forum/5g-will-prompt-energy-consumption-to-grow-by-staggering-160-in-10-years3 https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR04-2020-ICT-industry-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-45-percent-by-2030.aspx4 https://www.gsma.com/betterfuture/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Moble-Net-Zero-State-of-the-Industry-on-Climate-Action-2022.pdf5 https://www.vodafone.com/sustainable-business/our-purpose-pillars/planet/reducing-scope-3-emissions6 https://www.statista.com/statistics/499891/projection-ewaste-generation-worldwide/
