5. 5
Preface
We live in exciting times . For the first time in the history of
mankind we have the economic and technological capacity to
allow everyone on the planet to live a life of dignity . Democracy
is spreading and an increasing number of companies are looking
for new ways to provide welfare to a wider constituency than their shareholders .
The rapid growth in countries like China and India does not only result in reduced
poverty, it can also trigger new and innovative urban solutions that are sustainable .
At the same time the challenges ahead of us, both in the world we live in is changing. Actors that never
Europe and on a global level, are frightening. Envi- talked with each other, until a few years ago, now
ronmental challenges such as global warming, loss work together in order to find ways to solve some of
of biodiversity and pollution forces us to question the biggest challenges of our time.
the direction of current development. Growing ineq-
uity and inability to provide citizens with fulfilment It is encouraging to see how these two very differ-
clearly encourage us to find new ways to organise ent organisations share a vision of a Europe where
society. sustainable development is a driver of innovation.
Today sustainable development is seen, all too of-
It is all too easy to withdraw into defensive posi- ten, as an obstacle for economic development. Here
tions - to use fear to build walls around the well is a report that challenges this notion. Many have
known, or try to dream of old times. But to put our talked about the Information Society; many about
heads in the sand and pretend that only the positive sustainable development. But not only have these
trends exist is not going to solve any problems. The groups often ignored each other, few attempts have
need for leadership is greater than it has been for been made to combine these discussions in a con-
a long time. crete way.
This report is inspiring on many levels. It shows This initiative is driven by the urge to find solutions,
how a changing world that can seem frightening recognising the need for new targets and incentive
also carries many new opportunities. It shows that structures. Let’s ensure this initiative gets a fair
old simplistic polarisations are no longer valid. It chance, and encourage other actors to participate
also shows that a new generation of entrepreneurs in both this and similar projects.
in Europe can provide more solutions than usually
expected. The challenges are huge but, as this report shows,
the opportunities are even greater.
Only a few years ago this report would have been
impossible, as neither of the two actors then had
any concrete work linking ICT to Climate Change.
WWF began its project with Information and Com-
munication Technology in 2002, when the book Margot Wallström,
«Sustainability at the Speed of Light» was released. Vice President
In the same year ETNO launched a project about of the European Commission
ICT’s effect on climate change. This shows how fast
6. 6
Executive summary
The world faces serious environmental challenges and problems . Solutions to
these are usually seen as being opposed to economic development . However,
new technologies and knowledge can ensure that sustainable resource use and
economic development is not only possible but mutually supportive . By approaching
the challenges from a new perspective, problems can turn into opportunities .
One of the world’s most pressing challenges is cli- In line with the outcome of the World Summit
mate change: the need to radically reduce green- on the Information Society, - “Government, civil
house gas emissions, while continuing to enable society and the private sector are encouraged to
economic development, both in the European Un- initiate actions… for sustainable production and
ion and worldwide is a combination that requires consumption” – ETNO and WWF embarked on a
innovative action. joint initiative, “Saving the climate @ the speed of
light”. This project rests on four assumptions: there
The EU, as one of the richest and most technologi- is a need to act now, a strategy is necessary to en-
cally advanced regions of the world, is already a sure that ICT can combat to reduce CO2, there is
leader in the field of sustainable development both a need for a clear focus and scale up those existing
within its borders and beyond. So far the leader- applications which are to delivering good results.
ship has been more one of words than of concrete
actions. But actions are needed if we are to reach Three goals were chosen for the strategy in order
the targets that have been discussed. The EU has to ensure the development of policy in Europe that
affirmed that at least a 15-30% cut in greenhouse supported sustainable utilisation of ICT services.
gas emissions by 2020 will be needed to keep the The goals are meant to provide guidance for the
temperature increase under 2 °C, and a deeper re- work and provide a framework for the discussions
duction by 60-80% may be needed by 2050. with relevant decision makers in the EU.
To achieve these reductions it will be necessary to 1. ICT is recognised as an important part
go beyond incremental improvements in energy ef- of the solution for combating climate change
ficiency, current life-styles and business practices. in Europe
Improved energy efficiency for existing lifestyles, 2. Key actors have a climate change strategy
cars and domestic appliances may be enough to for ICT
reach the initial Kyoto targets in 2012, but they 3. Concrete “ICT-Climate change” programmes
will not be enough for deeper reductions.To achieve are initiated in Europe by 2007.
dramatic reductions of CO2 additional structural
changes in infrastructure, lifestyles and business To be able to take the initial steps we prepared
practice are necessary. our first roadmap to support the major structural
contributions where ICT can break the current
As demonstrated in this document, there is a po- emission trends. The concrete cases provided in
tential to allow the ICT sector to provide leader- this study are based on existing and implemented
ship. This is a sector that is used to rapid changes ICT solutions. They offer a new way for finding
and has many of the most innovative people in the solutions, and show that: “telcos [Telecom opera-
business sector, and a unique service focus: it can tors]… can be part of the solution rather than part
become an important part of the solutions needed of the problem” (Ovum, 2005).
to combat climate change.
To allow the ICT sector an important role in reduc-
The strategic use of ICT can contribute signifi- ing CO2 and scale up existing solutions an e-strat-
cantly to energy efficiency, sustainable economic egy for CO2 reductions is necessary. This strategy
growth as well as job creation. ICT can reduce should include targets, based on already imple-
the need of travel and transportation of goods by mented ICT services, science and on the precau-
bridging distance problems. It can increase effi- tionary principle. Europe’s international footprint
ciency and innovation by allowing people to work and export opportunities should also be considered
in more flexible ways. It can also ensure a shift in the strategy.
from products to services and allow for demateri-
alisation of the economy.
7. 7
d of light
spee
15-30% cut in
greenhouse gas
the
emissions
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Reducing 50M t
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CO2 with ICT
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i t
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ion
2. Innovation
nd ans tion re cie
r t a Tr va ocu oli ies
po no pr p ic s
Ex In lic ency pol licie s 3. Entrepreneurs
ub fici rgy po icie
P f ne x 1. Communication
E e ta pol
l
ra eral ent of a European vision
ne n m
Ge Ge vest 6. Welfare 4. Resource
In
Growth efficiency
ICT 5. Export
climate change opportunities
programmes
2006 2007 2010 2020
The roadmap outlines two phases for actions:
• The first phase is a concrete (numerical) target This document is obviously not meant as a one-
for 2010 of 50 million tonnes CO2 annually. This stop-shop to sustainable ICT use. The main pur-
target is based on the implementation of several pose is to inspire action that can support the devel-
strategic ICT applications, e.g. virtual meetings, opment of an ICT-strategy for combating climate
e-dematerialisation and flexi-work. This also in- change. A number of things are needed to make
cludes some additional tasks like policy revision this happen. A high-level decision is necessary in
(e.g. energy, tax, transport, innovation, etc.) and the European Commission, there is a need for fur-
supplementary, parallel actions. ther dialogues that develop the details around the
targets in this report, there is a need to involve ICT
• The second phase is a target for 2020. This solutions in policies related to sustainable devel-
target should be set before 2010 and should in- opment. As we don’t have much time there is an
clude more services and system solutions, where urgent need for a decision that clearly states the
a number of services are combined, as well as a need for a ICT-strategy.
more ambitious target for CO2 reduction. Possi-
ble focus areas for the second phase are sustain- There will never be a time where all facts are on
able consumption, production, city planning and the table, but every day without an e-strategy is a
community development. day of lost opportunities. The time to act is now.
This report hopefully provides a guide to what
could be done in the short term, for a more com-
petitive, innovative, resource-efficient and globally
responsible Europe.
8. 8
1. Introduction
The world faces a number of challenges . Economic globalisation, the depletion of natural
resources, demographic changes and the rise of new large economies will profoundly
affect many things we take for granted . The challenges that need to be addressed will be
geopolitical, technical, environmental, economic, and they are interacting at a pace that
is triggering different kinds of tensions . These tensions will present unique opportunities
for proactive actors to show how they can provide welfare in a sustainable way .
The EU is one of the most affluent, technologically The EU has been one of the first to acknowledge
advanced regions of the world and as a leader in the need to act. It concluded that at least a 15-
the field of sustainable development the EU has an 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions should be
important role to play both within its borders and considered for rich countries by 2020 and reduc-
beyond. The Lisbon agenda as well as the Sustain- tions by 60-80 percent until 2050 have been dis-
able Development Strategy could encourage a pos- cussed3. An unprecedented joint statement from
itive development if they are implemented in the the world’s main national scientific academies
right way, as they are meant to support innovation (France, Russia, Germany, United States, Japan,
and a Europe that acts instead of just reacting. Italy, Canada, Brazil, China, and India) in June
2005 urged the leaders of the G8 summit to com-
A great deal of creativity and willingness to think mit to taking prompt action to reduce emissions of
of completely new approaches to solve these chal- green-house gases, based on the principles of the
lenges will be crucial. We must ensure that we UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention
mainstream sustainability responses into the pri- on Climate Change)4. To reach these reductions it
vate and public sectors’ core strategic planning, is necessary to move beyond marginal improve-
rather than continuing with ‘business as usual’ or ments.
creating limited ‘end-of-pipe’ solutions.
So far most of the focus has been on the supply
One of the most pressing challenges is climate side and energy efficiency in existing appliances.
change and the need to provide energy in a sus- While this is enough to reach the Kyoto target it is
tainable way to meet the continuously increasing not enough to reach the reductions necessary for
demand due to growth in the world population and keeping the temperature increase below 2 degrees
rapid industrialisation in developing countries in Celsius in a situation where emerging economies
particular. like China and India will become leading global
economies. To provide global welfare with dramat-
The scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental ic reductions of CO2 there is a need to look beyond
Panel on Climate Change project an increase in marginal reductions. The inability to reach the nec-
global mean surface temperature of 2.0–6.4 de- essary long-term reductions with the current focus
grees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, in the EU is something that many experts have
increased incidence of floods and droughts, and a highlighted.5
rise in sea level of up to 88 centimetres between
1990 and 2100.1 The possibility to move beyond marginal changes
is greatly enhanced by the increased use of Infor-
Not only are the potential impacts of climate mation and Communication Technology (ICT) in
change under business as usual scenarios frighten- society. The move beyond marginal changes could
ing, the use of fossil fuel is also related to a number however result in a move in both directions as ICT
of other challenges that are of key importance for to a large extent can be viewed as a catalyst. ICT
the future. Reducing carbon emissions is linked to can contribute to the acceleration of the current
higher resource efficiency that often results in a trends, through everything from increased explora-
general reduction of resource use and thereby giv- tion of fossil fuel and more wasteful consumption
ing a broader contribution to other environmen- through new marketing to more transportation due
tal goals. A solution to climate change will also to ICT driven just-in-time-systems. The increased
address a chain of other important issues such as use of ICT solutions in the financial sector has
oil spills, oil/coal exploration in sensitive areas, shortened the decision making process, mean-
international conflicts to secure energy demands, ing that long-term issues may not always receive
and even terrorism. As senior officials in the EU enough consideration.
have stressed, “smart development” is more im-
portant than “smart bombs” for sustainable de-
velopment.2
9. 9
A more strategic focus on ICT could however give The EU could support this as a unique opportu-
a significant and sustainable contribution to the nity to combine innovation, competitiveness and
broader economic challenges that the EU is facing. climate action.
The “Kok Report”, of the High Level Group on the
Lisbon strategy, highlighted that the possibilities Telcos are punching below their weight in the
for wider economic structures which can create a climate change arena - they can be part of the
network economy and society and a fundamental solution rather than part of the problem. Telcos
re-engineering of business processes can be opened will find it hard to avoid being victims of climate
up by ICT. Opportunities exist for new business- change, but they can reduce their role as villains;
to-business or business-to-consumer relationships; and they might even turn out to be heroes.8
companies can become more networked, customer
focused and agile. In a service-based society more To encourage technology development and in-
value generation lies in research, innovation, dis- creased innovation in Europe the strategy for CO2
tribution, financing, marketing and service rather reduction should not ignore one of the most rap-
than manufacturing the physical product. Knowl- idly changing sectors. A serious EU strategy must
edge and the potential of ICT penetration can en- put technological development at the heart of any
able this economic shift. policy formulation; not only in traditional areas,
but also in new areas where investment in research
The Kok Report also concluded that neither Eu- is among the highest.
rope’s knowledge society in general, nor the ICT
sector, are as strong as they should be in order This roadmap will not focus on the problems with a
to achieve the Lisbon Strategy’s vision. In patent “business as usual” scenario; it will focus on what
applications, numbers of scientific researchers, is needed to support the really interesting contri-
universities’ standing in international rankings, butions where ICT can enable a break of current
numbers of Nobel Prize winners or references in trends. Replacement of significant amounts of
scientific papers, Europe trails the US. transportation, increased efficiency, demateriali-
sation, better understanding of different choices
“The European IT sector represents 6 % of Eu- etc. are all important parts in a resource-efficient
ropean GDP compared with 7.3 % in the US6, knowledge society. The roadmap is an outline and
while European investment in IT capital goods is meant as inspiration for further discussions
has consistently lagged behind the US by around where all relevant stakeholders obviously will be
1.6 % of GDP in the recent past7” involved.
Kok Report, 2004, p. 19
What role ICT will play depends on the choices we
So far the ICT sector and all the innovative peo- make. Today no strategy to support the use of ICT
ple working in it have been almost totally excluded to reduce CO2 emissions exists on the EU-level, or
from the discussions about resource savings and anywhere else for that matter9. This roadmap will
CO2 reductions. There is a huge opportunity to en- make the case that such a strategy is necessary
gage a sector that is used to rapid changes and and hopefully inspire the creation and implementa-
employs many creative people. Given the right tion of such a policy. The concrete cases described
incentive structure this sector could become an in this roadmap are based on already existing ICT
important part in combating climate change. This solutions10. These cases clearly show that it is time
is something that consultants in the sector have to the ICT begin to act in order to realise this po-
begun to realise. tential.
10. 0
2. The project:
“saving the climate @ the speed of light”
”The private sector and civil society, in dialogue with governments, have
an important consultative role to play in devising national e-strategies…
Government, civil society and the private sector are encouraged to initiate
actions and implement projects and programmes for sustainable production
and consumption…”
World Summit on the Information Society, WSIS
11.
2.1. Background Direct-, Indirect- and systemic Effects
The project “Saving the climate @ the speed of The fact that ICT can significantly reduce CO2
light” is a joint ETNO-WWF initiative. It began in emissions in many different ways is something that
Budapest after the First European Conference on has created confusion. To understand the different
Telecommunications and Sustainability on 25-26 ways ICT can contribute to reduced CO2 emissions,
November 2004. During the conference it became and sustainable development, is important. The
obvious there existed many overlaps and interest- fact is that the biggest savings and most important
ing synergies between ETNO’s and WWF’s agen- contribution of ICT exist in areas where the least
das for the sustainable use of ICT. information is available. Using the GRI11 language
for the telecom sectors the effects of ICT can be
Encouraged by the support for joint initiatives divided into three different groups: direct, indirect
that governments have shown in processes like and systemic (see Figure 1).12
the World Summit on the Information Society, a
project for sustainable use of ICT was developed Direct effects refer to those caused by ICT infra-
with a focus on reducing CO2 emissions. structure and equipment, e.g. the resource con-
sumption (including materials and energy) when
As many studies about ICT and sustainable devel- producing ICT equipment, the energy consumption
opment have been written and a number of actors when using ICT, and the effects of the resulting
talked about the potential, the project first did an electronic waste. In order to have a credible strat-
overview of the progress so far. It soon became egy resulting in increased use of ICT, the direct
obvious that there was a significant gap between effects must be addressed13.
the academic studies and the policymaking. The
studies generally discuss theoretical potentials and Indirect effects derive from the existing use and
use unclear timescales. At the same time the policy habits that are fulfilled through communication-
makers need a clear focus, concrete examples and based applications. These can be both positive and
specific information a what needs to be done. This negative. For example, the reduced need for trans-
roadmap is to a large extent an attempt to over- portation as a result of teleconferencing, or the
come this gap. increase transportation in just-in-time deliveries
due to B2B applications, are examples of second-
ary effects.
FIG.1
Impact Information available
Direct effects Small impact Easy to measure
Indirect effects Significant impact Hard to measure
systemic effects Very big impact Mainly Theories
12.
Systemic effects link performance at the micro- seen as a risk related to the products that must
level (e.g. organisational level) with economic, be managed.
environmental, or social conditions at the macro-
level (e.g. regional, national, or global level). They As ICT can also contribute to sustainable develop-
stem from new habits, social structures and con- ment in different ways the picture becomes even
sumption patterns that arise through the use of more complex. While the direct impact is simple,
communication products, applications and services the indirect and systemic effects will result from
when they are used in society, such as the change the implementation of very many different appli-
in commuting distances and times due to potential cations.
mobile communication, access to information and
the speed of technological development. Travel replacement, De-materialisation and
New Combined services
The problem indicated by Figure 1 is that two
forces are pulling in different directions. The first The most obvious way ICT can reduce CO2 emis-
force relate to the future and the search for the sions is the potential to reduce the need to travel
most important ICT contributions. This search for and the transportation of goods. The use of video-
solutions, that can give significant contributions, and teleconferencing can dramatically decrease
has led actors to look for services with positive the need for flying and travel by car. E-commerce
indirect effects that can contribute to significant can reduce the need for transportation, if com-
systemic effects. The second force concerns to the bined with a sustainable logistic system, especially
unwillingness and inability to deal with complex with a system that allows instructions/information
issues among many actors. The current research to be sent to high-technology decentralised facili-
structure has for example resulted in a lot of re- ties where the goods are produced locally instead
ports and projects that look into the direct effects, of transporting them all over the world, etc.15
but very few dealing with the systemic effects.
Then it becomes more challenging as a large group
To make things even more complicated, current of potential savings are more complex. We can talk
vested interest, e.g. those responsible for transpor- about different ways to dematerialise the economy
tation policy both public and private, have often and focus on the service instead of the product.
tried to downplay the potential for ICT. It contrib- ”Bits instead of Atoms” was coined by Negro-
uted to a situation where most of the discussion is ponte in the mid 90’s but never got much beyond
circulating around the direct effects.14 academia. Sustainable consumption where we get
increased welfare but with reduced material con-
Unfortunately these two forces have created a situ- sumption is still a concept that is neither integrat-
ation where most discussions and initiatives have ed into business strategies nor policymaking.16
gravitated toward the simple end of the spectra.
Existing research methodology is easy to apply We can also see how ICT can allow us to build our
and media can understand and communicate these societies in more sustainable ways. Flexible work,
issues easily. As a result sophisticated approaches decentralised production of goods and videocon-
get very little attention. ferencing are just three applications that could
help us build sustainable cities.17 Sustainable cities
This is especially serious as it seems to have con- will be a high global priority given that two billion
tributed to a situation where many ICT actors are people move into cities until 2030 and that for the
reactive instead of proactive when it comes to en- first time in history more people will live in urban
vironmental issues. It has also resulted in a strong than rural areas. 18-19
focus on the products instead of the services. In-
stead of providing solutions through services and Both production and consumption patterns as
considering environmental challenges as an oppor- well as urban solutions require us to think be-
tunity, ICT’s effect on the environment has been yond single solutions. We must start to think how
13. 3
different solutions interact. Without a clear vi- Climate change21 is one of the most serious envi-
sion, such as targets for reduced material con- ronmental challenges and action is needed now in
sumption and CO2 emissions, it is hard to see how order to avoid dangerous consequences. Until now
this will ever happen. almost all the measures to reduce CO2 have fo-
cused on incremental improvements in existing sys-
On an even larger and more complicated scale ICT tems. To make things worse these measures have
will interact with other technologies and enable often been perceived as a problem for economic
new solutions that only exist in laboratories in the development and not as the investments they actu-
world, or even in someone’s head somewhere on ally are.
the planet, maybe in Europe or maybe in China or
India.20 The introduction of ICT as a part of the solution
challenges many of the old objections against cli-
We must find options that are concrete we should mate action. Not only can these measures reduce
enough to deliver direct results. At the same time CO2, they can do so almost as a side-effect while
open up new solutions and synergies with other increasing innovation, welfare, equity and competi-
initiatives that lead to further reduction by ena- tiveness. But only if a strategy exists.
bling new ICT services that can contribute to more
substantial reductions both through indirect and
systemic effects.
14. 4
2.2. The assumptions
for the project The need for a clear focus
The project rests on four assumptions: there is a We cannot continue promoting different ICT so-
need to act now, a strategy is necessary to ensure lutions for reduced CO2 emissions randomly. Fur-
that ICT will help to reduce CO2, we must have a thermore, certain infrastructures and services need
clear focus and we need to scale up those exist- to be in place before truly substantial emission re-
ing applications which are already delivering good ductions can be realised. Instead of hoping this will
results. happen, parties must focus on strategies to ensure
these infrastructures, services and applications be-
The need to act come reality. Then it would be possible to reach a
sustainable critical mass and get the multiplica-
There is a growing consensus that temperature tion effects needed.
increases due to global warming must stay below
2°C. This implies a reduction of greenhouse gas The need to scale up
emissions for the group of developed countries in
the order of 15-30% by 2020 and 60-80% by Small demonstration projects are important, but it
2050. is time to multiply resulting best practice on a Eu-
ropean scale. These ICT applications that are mul-
It should be noted that the 2°C level is a com- tiplied should be chosen strategically. Such servic-
promise reflecting a lack of leadership in politics es should result not only in reduced CO2 emissions;
and business. If we look at new research, includ- they should lead to further reductions by enabling
ing findings about thresholds, we might even need other ICT solutions that can contribute to more
deeper cuts to avoid dangerous climate change. substantial reductions.
Regardless of the conditions for these targets, the
fact is that most current emission trends are still
increasing. If these targets are to be met, the time
to act is now.
The need for a strategy
Without an effective strategy we will not only risk
our climate, but also waste time and money. If the
developed world is serious about its targets, it must
create a structured opportunity for ICT to contrib-
ute to CO2 emission reduction. In the European
Union this means that a concrete strategy should
be devised with goals, responsibility and budgets.
15. 5
2.3. The goals of the project Indicator 3
Three goals were chosen for the strategy in order Incentives (e.g. tax incentives, grants, loans with
to ensure the development of policy in Europe that favourable interest rates, procurement strategies,
supported sustainable utilisation of ICT services. RD support) for a limited number of strategic
The goals are meant to provide guidance for the applications will have been explored, and imple-
work and provide a framework for the discussions mented by appropriate bodies. Effective incen-
with relevant decision makers in the EU. tive structures will often require a dialogue with
member countries as many of the regulations are
Goal 1: ICT is recognised as an important national or local.
part of the solution for combating
climate change in Europe Indicator 4
Goal 2: Key actors have a climate change Relevant EU bodies will have set measurable
strategy for ICT targets for CO2 reducing ICT applications. These
Goal 3: Concrete “ICT-Climate change” targets could be both in relative terms, e.g. of a
programmes are initiated in Europe 30% reduction for 2010 (compared with 1990
by 2007 emissions) a number of specified ICT solutions
will contribute to 5%, or it could be in relation to
To provide further guidance the following prelimi- the current situation, e.g. that videoconferencing
nary indicators for these goals were chosen as a will replace 20% of internal EU business travels
basis for discussion with decision makers. These by 2010. Linked to this could also be more tech-
might change by 2007, but then the project will nical targets, e.g. the most travelled destinations
explain why that happened and why the new indi- inside the EU could all have an ICT infrastructure
cator is better. that allows high quality videoconferencing to take
place. Obviously the different EU bodies should re-
Indicator 1 port their use of ICT and how they have used it to
increase efficiency and reduce environmental pres-
There exists a written strategy for ICT and climate sure. The important thing is to set a clear target
change on the EU level. This could be either an for sustainable ICT applications on a European
overall strategy, or individual strategies linked to level. Experience shows that clear targets trigger
key areas, such as energy, transportation, infra- innovation and we have seen that even discussions
structure and processes, such as the Lisbon and about a target have triggered interesting responses
the Sustainable Development Strategy. with concrete suggestions such as the possibility
for the European Investment Bank (EIB) to pro-
Indicator 2 vide credit lines for ICT applications that reduce
CO2 emissions.
Different relevant Directorate Generals (DGs) in
the European Commission will have developed a In this document a number of targets are suggest-
joint paper, including an action plan that supports ed. As reducing CO2 emission with ICT is a new
the use of ICT through key applications as a way area these targets might be either too low or too
of reducing CO2. This joint paper would ensure that high. They are however based on measures on sav-
the cross-cutting nature of ICT is captured and ings in already existing and implemented solutions,
that the more significant contributions that cannot so the savings potential should be in the right or-
be achieved within existing structures are not lost. der of magnitude. Even if the targets would be off
It is also important to ensure that the work with base, their assessment would make it possible to
sustainable ICT solutions do not fall between dif- set more adequate targets based on deeper under-
ferent areas of responsibility. Co-ordinated actions standing of the role of ICT. The EU can no longer
will be needed in areas such as industrial devel- afford to ignore the important role that ICT will
opment, trade, transportation, energy and environ- have, either positive or negative.
ment.
16. 6
3. The opportunity of ICT services
to reduce CO2 emissions
17. 7
To grasp the opportunities that ICT services offer, we must start to think in new ways . We must
focus on the service we want, not the product we use right now to provide this service . We are
often stuck in traditional thinking and if cars contribute to C02 emissions we usually spend most
of our resources on how we can make the engines more efficient, maybe we are also looking into
new fuels . But we need to ask why people use the car? Is there a better way to reach the same
goal with a different service? Would a a working public transport system that is flexible and well
working due to ICT be better . Sometimes getting to the office or to a business meeting is just a
habit, but for doing the job it may be unnecessary if the person has access to a connected computer .
Below are concrete examples of services that are We have sorted the different solutions in three
available today and that have been implemented categories .
on a small scale. Each of the examples is briefly
described and for each we have graphically shown First those services which are usually be discussed.
what could happen regarding CO2 emissions if we These solutions usually make work more efficient,
scaled up the use of these applications. reducing costs as well as travel and CO2 emis-
sions.
It should be stressed that these applications are
actual services that were implemented in reality The second are solutions where people get a simi-
and therefore in non-optimal situations. Obviously lar service, but dematerialised and usually with
it is never possible to reach the theoretical poten- improved quality. So instead of something physi-
tials but the reduction could be bigger given more cal the service depends on the existing digital net-
favourable flanking measures, such as better infor- work.
mation and economic incentives.
Finally third category offers solutions which are
These reductions should be seen only as the begin- more complex and have many different positive
ning. If we start to scale up these applications, the implications. These solutions not only replace an
it could lead the way to new and more significant old service by a more efficient one; they create new
reductions as urban planning starts to as integrate kinds of systems that in turn create new and added
them from the beginning and as companies start to value. When we moved from oxen to a mechanic
integrate sustainable ICT use in order to provide agricultural system, we obviously got much more
sustainable welfare. than a reduction of oxen. The increased capacity in
the agricultural society was part of a change that
As many of these solutions depend on individual brought us the industrial society. No one would
choices it is important to introduce them in a way talk about «de-oxification» today, but for people
where there is a dialogue, so people and companies who saw the ox as the reference this might have
are not forced to do things they don’t like. Instead been a way to describe the situation. Even if we are
they should be informed about the potentials. To used to the industrial society today, we must look
ensure this, resources must be provided for aware- beyond what ICT can replace and see what new
ness raising. Furthermore, studies on what incen- opportunities, but also challenges, a more resource
tive schemes that people see as the best will play efficient society will bring.
an important role.
18. 8
3.1 A new and more efficient
meeting culture: Travel
replacement22
The case studies included in this roadmap were se- The first two applications relate to reduced travel.
lected because they are real-world examples, not This potential is probably the most obvious way
simple ideas about what kind of technologies and that ICT can contribute to environmental gains, in-
solutions might be available in the future, and as cluding CO2 reductions. Often the service required
such they can be implemented immediately. All is not to move someone from one place to another,
cases have also been through third party verifica- but to enable people to meet for a specific reason.
tion. They were selected because of their simplic- Of course people need to meet in person from time
ity in that they can be easily integrated straight to time, but often, especially in case of routine
into existing systems without additional supporting meetings, physical meetings can be substituted by
structures (neither technical nor administrative). virtual meetings. In other words no one argues for
Additionally, many people can already associate the substitution of all existing meetings with vir-
with them intuitively, recognising that these solu- tual meetings, but for a system where the actual
tions can save resources. Finally, despite being sim- need, improved efficiency and better quality are
ple, they are able to ‘open the door’ to other more achieved. In such a system the number of physical
sophisticated solutions. The fact is that if ICT ap- trips can be reduced significantly.
plications are more closely aligned to CO2 reduc-
tions, customers or society, business and industry While the dematerialisation of goods and promo-
and politics will look for more, thus opening up the tion of local production differs between sectors
market for more applications – such as intelligent and the services they provide, meetings between
heating, production on demand, etc. people are quite similar in different sectors. This
can be seen on the broad, but still small use of
virtual meetings that now happens. The use has not
been primarily driven by environmental concerns,
and will likely never be. The reason companies use
virtual meetings today is often because it can help
them saving money, increasing efficiency and re-
ducing many risks associated with travel.
The fact that reduced resource use is not the prime
driver makes it important for government agencies
to take on a special responsibility. As most market
actors are under economic pressure to deliver short
term profit to shareholders and not potential long
term gain, they tend to discount future costs. Many
market actors, ICT companies, financial companies
and others are unable to orientate their business
towards a situation in the future whereby we have
natural resource constraints. It is therefore impor-
tant that governments and/or not-for-profit actors
invest in infrastructures that ensure the delivery of
services that society needs, i.e. providing welfare
with greatly reduced resource consumption. It is
obvious that countries like China and India can not
follow the development path of Europe.
19. 9
Instead we must work together to support a new culture. Companies should be encouraged to limit
industrial development in the emerging economies business travel those cases that are essential for
at the same time as the EU makes a transition to a corporate needs and not use it as an incentive or
sustainable knowledge society. In this process Eu- bonus.
rope must ensure that it decreases its ecological There are also other issues that need to be ad-
footprint and increases its competitiveness at the dressed in order to enable a significant shift from
same time. physical to virtual meetings. Many people today
are used and educated to deal with physical meet-
To enable a new communication network to play ings, their negotiation skills and presentations
an important role it must reach a critical mass. are based on a physical meeting. A new genera-
The incentive to use it, also follows a logic differ- tion should be encouraged to develop similar skills
ent from that of the traditional industrial economy. using virtual meetings during their education and
The more people use video conferencing, the better within the companies. Finally the issue of security
for everyone since it increases the usefulness of the and quality needs to be addressed. People must be
service. This can be contrasted with road transport able to have meetings without other people being
where the increased use and number of cars result able to listen to conversations and it must be quick
in congestion and reduced welfare. and simple to get a high quality, if possible large
scale, projection that creates a feeling of joint par-
Reducing travel will imply changes in the business ticipation in the meeting.23
20. 0
Videoconference
The environmental impact of an international
conference […] is clearly dominated by the
“Videoconferencing is an interactive tool that travel activities of the participants. Among
incorporates audio, video, and computing, and travel activities, the long-range flights are the
communications technologies to allow people dominant element. Minimising air travel is thus
in different locations to electronically col- the only way to attain a significant reduction in
laborate face-to-face, in real time, and share environmental impact.27
all types of information including data, docu-
ments, sound and picture. In essence videocon- Today, many actors are offering different options
ferencing removes the barrier of distance that to reduce climate change. However, there should be
separates us.”24 a focus on solutions which allow a real change in
travel practices for example, rather than options,
For years and even decades the potential for video- such as forest plantations that are useful but may
conferencing has been discussed.Today however the not represent a long term solution.
bandwidth is available, technology to ensure secure
transmissions exists and prices make a commercial Until today no one has made the direct link to in-
break through possible.25 vestments in videoconferencing, even if that would
address the core problem instead of only postpone
An important trend that could enable a shift to- the need of a change in the travel patterns of today.
wards virtual meetings is the increasing number
of companies having meeting departments instead Existing videoconference solutions indicate that if
of travel departments in order to ensure that the 5 – 30% of business travels in Europe was sub-
most efficient way of meeting is ensured within the stituted by videoconferencing, more than 5.59
company. – 33.53 million tonnes of CO2 emission a would be
saved.28 Based on the German experiences, a 20%
As environmental aspects of videoconferencing are reduction of business travel in the EU through
almost never key to the decision to use it today, it video-conferencing could save 22 million tonnes of
is important to ensure that the factors guiding the CO2, that also could be a possible annual target
decisions to use videoconferencing are supported26. for 2010 if the right measures where to be put in
This implies that information about potential eco- place.
nomic savings, increased efficiency, the standard of
a new generation of equipment, etc. are communi-
cated and best practices spread.
CO2 savings by replacing business travels in Europe
33,53
35
CO2 savings (million tonnes)
27,94
30
22,35
25
16,76
20
15
11,18
10
5,59
5
0
5 10 15 20 25 30
replaced business travel (%)
21. It is time to stop opposing virtual meetings to
physical meetings, both have a role to play. What
we should do instead is to look at the efficiency,
cost, environmental improvements that new busi-
ness models as well as solutions can provide. One
interesting option is the use of decentralized con-
ferences, which take place at several locations and
which are connected to one another live by suit-
able telecommunication facilities and supported by
groupware that would make a face-to-face meet-
ing more efficient. This could result is significantly
reduced air travel.
Audio-conference
Based on existing and on used audio-conference
A conference call is a call in which three or more solutions, where the amount of travel replaced by
parties interact simultaneously. In the main, it audio conferences has been calculated, we can see
is a very cost effective way to reduce travel ex- that if 30 million audio conference calls were made
penses, and the emission related to it.29 it could save 661 500 tonnes of CO2 and if 130
million calls were made it could save 2 866 500
tonnes.30
Even if videoconferencing is what most people
think about when it comes to ICT’s potential to Based on the UK’s experience, a target for the
save travel, we should not forget audio-confer- number of audio-conference calls made to replace
encing. In many situations a simple and working a physical meeting could be set at 96.5 million by
audio-conference system can save travel. The bor- 2010. This would be the equivalent of having one
der between audio and videoconferencing is also (1) physical meeting per year replaced for 50%
increasingly blurred. By using new applications all of today’s employees in the EU-25 countries. This
participants in an “audio-conference” connected would result in savings of approximately 2.1 mil-
via the web can look at the same document on lion tonnes CO2 per year.
their screens simultaneously, for example.
CO2 savings according to the audioconference calls
2 646 000
3000000
2 205 000
CO2 savings (tonnes)
2500000
1 764 000
1 323 000
2000000
882 000
1500000
441 000
1000000
500000
0
20 40 60 80 100 120
number of calls (million)
22.
Other areas
By setting targets and promoting video and audio For equity as well as innovation, solutions could be
conferencing opportunities, other gains could also provided that allow children living in rural areas to
become possible. By motivating a shift in thinking, have the same quality of education as children in
from the traditional ways of providing meetings to urban areas. Simple things like language lessons
new services that enable increased efficiency and could be more easily solved, especially if schools in
effectiveness, plus reduced costs and environmen- different countries would be contacted in this type
tal impact, companies will start to look at other of cheap solution regularly. Though less the oppor-
solutions that are able to replace the traditional tunities in tele-education are high and not utilised,
forms of transportation. Future targets for the use the topic of urbanisation is already on the table.
of ICT could then include incentives that encour-
age companies to use for example telemonitoring. One important area in an aging Europe is the use
of different kinds of tele-medicine, tele-care/remote
Tele-education is also an area that could grow rap- assistance services. Safety and health will always
idly, not as a substitute for traditional education, be the first priority in health care but by provid-
but as a complement to it. It could improve the ing new ICT based working infrastructures, once
quality of learning especially in more specialised people get used to the new technology, new solu-
and advanced subjects. Lectures in these fields tions will be possible. The reduced need to travel,
could be provided to those who, due to existing plus overcoming the reluctance to go to the doctor
infrastructure, are physically isolated today. Post- that many people have today when they have to
graduate studies in parallel with a career could take time off could open up doors to preventive
provide people with life-long learning without hav- care that could reduce unnecessary suffering and
ing to travel. waste of resources. This could also help to reduced
inequity between urban and rural areas.
23. 3
3.2 sustainable consumption: Virtual answering
De-materialisation31 machine
If we move one step away from the most obvious
savings in travel and examine how ICT can pro- Virtual answering machines provide the op-
vide higher welfare with a smaller ecological foot- portunity for the customer to receive mes-
print, we come to sustainable consumption. Much sages when not available, but the messages
are not recorded by physical additional equip-
of what we, in the industrialised world, need and
ment, but by the operator. Usually it is also
enjoy has a large ecological footprint. If the world
able for fax services.
over the next decades increases its population by
around 50% from its current six billion to nine
billion, and if we succeed in lifting people out of An example of dematerialisation is the virtual an-
poverty, we need to think about new ways to pro- swering machine. In large parts of the world peo-
vide welfare using natural resources. ple will never see an answering machine. The mo-
bile revolution has helped people to move straight
Below are three concrete examples where equal to dematerialisation and increased resource effi-
or better services are provided with dramatically ciency in many ways.
reduced environmental impact. The last two are
relevant to the ongoing transformation to e-gov- Existing and implemented virtual answering ma-
ernance, something that so far has hardly been dis- chines indicate that if 10 million customers shifted
cussed from an environmental perspective. Each from traditional to virtual answering machines,
of them will obviously not provide any significant then 330 000 tonnes of CO2 could be saved, 90
contribution to the CO2 reductions. Instead they million customers could achieve 2 640 000 tonnes
should be seen as indicators of the ability to pro- CO2 emission reductions.33
mote a broader development where dematerialisa-
tion is encouraged. Incentives that encourage such Based on the success with virtual answering ma-
development should be a cornerstone in any policy chines a target could be set that 20% of households
for a sustainable competitiveness that allows com- in EU-15 countries (31 million) should have one
panies in Europe to develop worldwide solutions. physical product replaced by a virtual solution (in
In this way, Europe can become more competitive, case of virtual answering machine this would mean
move into new emerging business areas, reduce its more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 reduction). This
own footprint and build an export industry that target would include industries that sell customer
contributes to sustainable development in other goods and encourage them to dematerialise. The
countries instead of undermining it.32 target should also be accompanied by a campaign
showing how to protect the planet through new so-
lutions that increase the welfare if we have an intel-
ligent development of our technology.
CO2 savings : virtual vs. physical answering machine
3 000 000
2 640 000
CO2 savings (tonnes)
2 500 000 2 310 000 2 640 000
1 980 000 2 310 000
2 000 000
1 650 000 1 980 000
1 500 000 1 320 000 1 650 000
990 000 1 320 000
1 000 000
660 000 990 000
330 000 660 000
500 000
330 000
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
number of customers (million)
24. 4
Online phone billing
Online billing is a service when the customer
receives the bill electronically over the web
instead of printed on paper and dispatched by
ordinary mail service. This enables people pay
their bills over the net.
Online billing is increasingly popular. It is a good
example of the positive effects dematerialisation
can have. Not only does it make companies more
cost efficient, there are also many savings for the
environment. Less paper, less transportation, less
energy use, and less physical infrastructure are
needed to deal with the distribution of the bills.
Existing and implemented online phone bill serv-
ices indicate that 10 million customers could save
10 943 tonnes CO2 and 90 million customers could bills. When bills are moved to the web, people can
save almost 100 000 tonnes.34 manage them from any place.
These calculations take into consideration only the To contribute to a more resource-efficient soci-
phone bills, but people also have electricity bills, ety, a dematerialisation target should be set. One
water bills, subscriptions, etc. Most of these could concrete target could be that 20 % of companies
be moved to online billing. that send out bills to more than 100 000 custom-
ers should offer these customers the option to pay
Supported with the right incentives, a shift towards their bills over the web or through their mobile
online billing could be a part of a more general phones. The companies should also be encouraged
development towards a more resource efficient so- to find new ways of dematerialising their services.
ciety. Not only does online billing save transporta-
tion of the bills to your home, but it also allows At least 500 000 tonnes of CO2 should be saved
companies to reduce cost related to storage of the through these ICT measures.
Possible CO2 savings by online billing
142 262
131 318
150000
120 375
109 432
CO2 savings (tonnes)
98 489
120000
87 546
76 602
90000
65 659
54 716
43 773
60000
32 830
21 886
10 943
30000
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
number of customers (million)
25. 5
Web-taxation
emissions in their e-governance, a target should
Web-taxation is a system where citizens are be set that 100 million citizens in Europe are
given the opportunity to report on their tax given the opportunity to take advantage of e-gov-
affairs via the web. ernance in a way that improves the service and
saves CO2 at the same time. At least 500 000
Web-taxation is another example on how paper, tonnes of CO2 could be saved through these meas-
transportation, office as well as storage space cost ures. This requires more measures than web-taxa-
can be reduced. Many countries set the same dead- tion, but with the increased commercial use of ICT
line to hand in the tax declaration, which can con- to deal with payments, reporting and transactions
tribute heavily to congestion. this goal can be easily reached.
Web-taxation is interesting as it can be seen as Other areas
a way of introducing environmental resource ef-
ficiency onto the e-governance discussions. A lot of By setting targets for dematerialisation the incen-
papers that are currently mailed could be moved to tives to move the focus from products to services,
the web. People should also be able to get help over from such easy solutions like video on demand
the phone or through the internet. The responsibil- (online downloadable films) instead of VCR-s and
ity of governments to build resource-efficient solu- DVDs, or music on demand services (online down-
tions and contribute to reduction of CO2 emissions loadable music, albums) would increase. While
have so far been almost totally ignored. Informa- these measures could help us to reach a reduction
tion, clear targets as well as incentives are neces- of 500 000 tonnes of CO2, significant reductions
sary to drive this change. are around the corner with existing technologies
such as electronic paper.36 The European initiative,
Existing and implemented use of web-taxation in- Illiad, is interesting and the potential to save sig-
dicates that if 10 million customers shifted from nificant amount of resources should be explored37.
traditional taxation to web-taxation once a year, With the experience of the failure of the paper-
then 10 143 tonnes CO2 emission could be saved; less office, increased pressure on the world’s for-
90 million customers could achieve 91 287 tonnes ests and the growing understanding that innova-
CO2 emission reductions.35 tive solutions are needed to allow China and India
grow to high income countries, better supporting
To encourage more environmentally friendly de- measures should be implemented to ensure dema-
velopment of e-governance and support authori- terialisation.
ties and governments to contribute to reduced CO2
CO2 savings by web-based taxation
91 287
100000
81 144
CO2 savings (tonnes)
71 001
80000
60 858
50 715
60000
40 572
30 429
40000
20 200
10 143
20000
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
number of users (million)
26. 6
3.3 sustainable Community/City
planning: Combined measures38
While environmental gains related to transpor- If we look at Europe, the employment ratio in ur-
tation and dematerialisation are relatively easy ban and rural areas, the overcrowded traffic and
to understand and envisage, the more significant infrastructural problems in the cities, flexi-work
reductions will come from solutions that combine should be considered. There are many good rea-
different kinds of saving. The case of flexi-work is sons to rethink current forms of employment, and
one that, in a quite simple way, indicates the kind question model of building cities that focuses on
of multidimensional savings that future ICT serv- the construction on roads, parking spots and other
ices can bring. infrastructure related to car transport.
Flexi-work If we had the possibility to work from home 1 or
2 days per week in cities, or just start working at
Flexi-work (also called telecommuting or tel- different times, we could definitely decrease the
ework) is the ability to do work at a location rush hours which result in unnecessary emissions
other than the work office. in most major cities around the world.
Existing and implemented use of flexi-work indi-
The obvious saving due to flexi-work is through re- cate that 10 million flexi-workers could result in
duced travel. However, the savings from flexi-work savings of more than 11 million tonnes CO2 emis-
are not only related to the reduced work-related sion, while with 30 million flexi-workers it is possi-
travel. Most studies actually indicate that reduced ble to achieve more than 34 million tonnes of CO2
need for office space will yield the biggest sav- savings.40
ings.39
Looking at long term consequences we can see
that this can lead to the development of new ur-
ban solutions based on reduced need for physi-
cal transport and significantly less office space.
In Europe this will take time as much of the old
infrastructure already exists, but for rapidly grow-
ing economies such as China and India this could
lead to dramatic savings compared to traditional
industrialisation, especially if these measures are
combined with highly efficient buildings or even
buildings that are net energy producers.
Annual CO2 savings by flexiworkers
57 426 000
45 940 800
60000000
CO2 savings (tonnes)
34 455 600
50000000
22 970 400
40000000
30000000
11 485 200
20000000
10000000
0
10 20 30 40 50
Number of flexiworkers (million)
27. 7
To encourage more flexi-workers a target could be system whereby ICT can be used to balance locally
set that 10% (19.3 million) of EU-25 countries’ produced energy outputs (wind, solar, bio and fuel
employees became flexi-workers by 2010. This cells) that are fed into national grids. The mobile
would result in approximately 22 million tonnes of phone can provide recipes that are based on what
CO2 reductions. This is a very ambitious target, but is available at home and recommend those grocer-
a move towards a knowledge society with improved ies that are fresh and are locally produced in order
life quality should make this possible. Many people to minimize transportation by checking barcodes
in sectors that do not traditionally see themselves or RFID tags on them.
as suitable for flexi-work are in a transition period
and need further education. This education could Innovation will play a key role in achieving an equi-
take place at home or close to the home in order to table and environmentally sustainable development
reduce the travelling, especially at peak hours. in Europe and globally. Without ICT it is very hard
to see how this will happen, because it implies a
Other areas dramatically reduced material demand. With ICT
the work for sustainable development can be as ex-
In this area the opportunities are almost unlimited citing and inspiring as it has the potential to be.
and many times it gets easier and easier to add Sustainable development has been seen as some-
savings and new solutions to each other as people thing that is separate from business development
get used to “living intelligent” and as infrastruc- and innovation for too long. The role ICT can play
ture is in place. The new solutions span over many in combating climate change shows how outdated
different areas that will open up new business op- such a perspective is. In order to make this happen
portunities: flexible car ownership, e-commerce, in- leadership is however necessary to ensure that cur-
telligent heating of buildings, e-business are only a rent structures are able to grasp the opportunity.
few fields that have great potential and that will be
explored in the second roadmap of ETNO - WWF
joint initiative. These opportunities will play an
important role in increasing welfare while at the
same time contributing to significant CO2 reduc-
tions and increased competitiveness in the business
sector.
Much of the savings will also be related to things
that most people will never need to think much
about. Intelligent houses where the architects have
planned windows and local trees to make sure that
they contribute to an optimal temperature all year
around. Then the actual heating/cooling system is
connected to the weather forecast system and is
working together in order to reduce the need of
cooling and heating. Not only the energy consump-
tion can be reduced, peak demand can also be re-
duced. It is also possible to combine this with a
28. 8
4. An e-strategy for CO2 reductions in Europe
