Ericsson is collaborating with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Sweden to encourage the smart use of telecom solutions across industries to reduce global CO2 emissions. To achieve this, they will work together to promote climate-smart telecom solutions, and introduce the concept of being “climate-positive” to solution-driven companies in the ICT sector.
The partnership covers three key areas: a methodology for calculating CO2 savings from emission avoidance; the integration of low-carbon telecommunication solutions in climate strategies for cities; and a support platform for partnerships that promote a low-carbon economy.
While the information and communications technology (ICT) industry is responsible for approximately 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, Ericsson and WWF Sweden believe it has the potential to help reduce more than 15 percent of the remaining 98 percent emitted by non-ICT industries and the public. The partnership aims to encourage other sectors, such as transport, buildings and energy, to better utilize ICT infrastructure and thereby reduce overall CO2 emissions.
“Society faces a huge challenge to drastically reduce CO2 emissions by 2050, while the world economy will as much as triple. Ericsson has a vision of using telecommunications to foster a more carbon-lean society, and we would like to see ICT and telecom on the agenda for the global climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year, as a viable means of helping policy makers and governments when it comes to reaching their carbon emission targets. The opportunities for broadband to dematerialize and streamline the economy are almost unlimited,” stated Elaine Weidman, Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson.
Ericsson and WWF Sweden estimate that smart use of broadband-enabled services can reduce CO2 emissions by a factor of 10-100, i.e. the use of a telecom service that emits 1kg of CO2 may enable a reduction of 10-100kg of CO2. http://www.ericsson.com
