On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030

Andrae, Anders; Edler, Tomas

doi:10.3390/challe6010117

Cited by 822 publications

(487 citation statements)

References 135 publications

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“…With sales of around 400 million worldwide in 2015, laptops are produced in a wide range of designs and materials (Andrae and Edler 2015). The extent to which FRs are used in laptops can vary as well.…”

Section: Production Of a Laptopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of flame retardants in an electronics application

Jonkers

Krop

Ewijk

et al. 2015

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Section: Production Of a Laptopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of flame retardants in an electronics application

Jonkers

Krop

Ewijk

et al. 2015

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…Presently the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector currently represents around 8% of the global electricity consumption and about 2% of the global carbon emissions [1]. The production of ICT devices is expected to escalate in the next decade [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The production of ICT devices is expected to escalate in the next decade [1]. This may lead to additional energy consumption and carbon emissions, especially in areas with high carbon intensity electricity grids [1]. Worldwide, research is being carried out to reduce CO 2 emissions-and other greenhouse gases-and increase CO 2 sequestration [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Delivering Tangible Carbon Emission and Cost Reduction through the ICT Supply Chain

Andrae¹,

Ab²

2018

Int. J. Green Technol.

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Abstract:Actual commitments by suppliers-in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supply chain-to reduce their energy use are rare. The upstream supply chain is also very complex for electronic/ICT products and therefore challenging to control and measure for use by Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of products and upstream Scope 3 footprints of companies. In LCAs primary measured data over time are rarely used. The purpose of this research is to propose a method for identification, measurement and analysis of specific energy (electric power) and CO2-eq. savings in the supply chain of an ICT Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). The aim is also to find the share of the supply chain savings-of energy use and CO2-eq. emissions-compared with a telecom carriers' total supply chain spend for an identified contract. It is described how three suppliers of a large ICT OEM are engaged-via a contractual requirement-to identify and commit to substantial energy, cost and CO2-eq. savings. First streamlined LCAs are performed-of four specific products-identifying the most impacting parts from a CO2-eq. perspective. Second specific suppliers and factories are identified. Third visits are done in which energy assessments are made, savings identified, implementation costs quantified, and net cost saving opportunities are calculated. The suppliers are also trained in the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). The last steps include quantifications and analyses of Energy and Conservation Measures (ECMs), final agreement of net CO2-eq. and cost savings followed by actual implementation and monitoring with IPMVP. All in all these efforts are estimated to help save around 27,000 MWh energy and around 25,700 tonnes CO2-eq. annually. For a five-year rollout contract around 1.5 times more CO2-eq. can be saved than emitted. More than 1% of the telecom carrier's annual energy consumption and Scope 3 'Purchased goods and services' emissions can be saved. This shows a clear indication of the possibilities of the proposed approach. Broadly speaking, the methodology presented is a potentially replicable model that can be used by ICT OEMs to make significant cuts within their supply chain, while lowering their suppliers' operational cost base. By using the proposed methodology it is possible to address specific suppliers and engage them via a contractual requirement to identify and commit to specific savings to the benefit of ICT OEMs and telecom carriers both. In order to improve the current practice, the next step is to integrate the savings framework into an end-to-end dynamic framework based on LCA.

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“…Information and Communication Technology and 'Entertainment and Media' are two of the fastest growing industries and a future is foreseen where almost all electronic devices are connected [1,2]. The annually shipped number of mobile devices can be counted in billions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision of a Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment Approach Used in Eco-Rating of Mobile Phones

Andrae

Vaija

2017

Challenges

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Abstract:There is a lack of prescribed databases and approaches in place for performing comparable Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of smartphones and other electronic devices in a coherent manner. Hence there is a need within certain eco-rating initiatives for simplified, yet still precise enough, approaches that are expert independent. Here, five independently published Full LCAs (FLCA) of smartphones-and a metal content declaration of a tablet-are analyzed and compared with the simplified LCA method (Open Eco Rating LCA, OLCA) used by the open eco rating (OER) sustainability assessment. OLCA is described in detail. The comparisons use the same characterization factors that are used for climate change and abiotic resource depletion (ARD) midpoint impact categories. The tablet is only analyzed for the ARD indicator (ARDI). The results show that the difference between the FLCAs and the OLCA is up to 20% for the Global Warming Potential indicator (GWPI). The difference is explained by significantly different emission intensities used in FLCAs and OLCA, especially for integrated circuit and screen production. The life cycle use of metals relevant for ARDI is identified in one of the FLCAs of mobile phones, and used in OLCA and compared with the corresponding FLCA ARDI score. The total FLCA ARDI score is 67% (2.0 vs. 1.2 grams Sb-eq.) and 32% (4.98 vs. 3.76 grams Sb-eq.) higher than OLCA ARDI for the mobile phone and the tablet, respectively. The reason is that OLCA only captures a few of the most relevant metals (gold, silver, tin, indium, and tantalum) for the ARDI. However, cobalt-and to some degree copper and lithium-are significant gaps in the OLCA. The conclusion is that OLCA is an efficient and fair approach for LCAs that are focused on the GWPI of smartphones as the divergence to FLCA can easily be explained. However, the circular footprint formulae, renewable electricity options, and ARD characterization indices for cobalt, copper and lithium should be added to OLCA for further precision. The next step is to compare the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) FLCA method with OLCA for GWPI and ARDI evaluations of new smartphones. Moreover, the effect of adding more midpoint or single score indicators could be tested in OLCA.

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On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030

Cited by 822 publications

References 135 publications

Life cycle assessment of flame retardants in an electronics application

Life cycle assessment of flame retardants in an electronics application

Delivering Tangible Carbon Emission and Cost Reduction through the ICT Supply Chain

Precision of a Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment Approach Used in Eco-Rating of Mobile Phones

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