Eco-friendly ICT }

Global Warming is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the planet

There is virtually no product sold around the world that does not contain technology, or is not produced by some form of technology. However, our reliance on ICT (Information and communications technology) comes at a price - an increasing demand for power and its generation of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2).

The ICT industry accounts for approximately 2% CO2 emissions, a figure equivalent to that of the aviation sector.  The 2% of global CO2 emissions that the ICT sector is responsible for includes the use of PCs, servers, cooling, fixed and mobile telephony, local area network (LAN), office telecommunications and printers. 

Although the overall emissions of ICT are relatively small compared to other industry sectors, they are probably the fastest growing sector in terms of CO2 emissions

If something is not done soon, the ICT industry within a couple of decades could be one of the larger industry sources of GHG emissions.  It is estimated that ICT industry consumes anywhere from 6-10% of the world's energy and as mentioned earlier is responsible for 2% of the world's GHG.

Approximately 40% of these emissions are from personal computers and cell phones, while the balance of the output comes from businesses, network operators, and application providers (In the average office, nearly 40% of emissions come from monitors).

The ICT industry is unique amongst industry sectors in that GHG emissions are not a direct outcome of its deployment and use as opposed to transportation, heating, power generation and other industrial processes.

The ICT industry contribution to GHG is indirect through the electrical power produced for the electricity to power the electronic equipment and keep it cool

As almost every watt consumed by electronics results in heat an almost equal or greater amount of electricity is required for cooling ICT equipment.  (It is estimated that for every dollar spent to power machines in data centers, nearly two or three times is spent on energy - on cooling devices to prevent overheating.)

The manufacture of one computer uses 75 times its weight in raw materials and water.

There needs to be a change in design so that hardware is easier to dismantle and re-use, in order to reduce the amount going to landfill, whether it is aluminum chips, plastic, cardboard, plastic or copper cables.

Another glaring and related issue prompting change in the ICT sector is cost

Energy reduction simply makes good business sense, efficiency and sustainability dovetail to being the same thing, given rising costs of energy.  The ICT has the tools at hand to reduce its direct CO2 output and has the additional capability of enabling other sectors of society to reduce their carbon foot print.

The ICT industry is probably one of the most creative forces in our economy and is use to dramatic changes and rapid adoption of new ideas and processes.  The strategic use of ICT can contribute significantly to energy efficiency, sustainable economic growth, job creation and is cost effective.

Please feel free to Contact Intrical for further information.