[E-impact] French regulator publishes 2024 report on “Achieving digital sustainability”

[Rudolf van der Berg <[e-mail]>]

The French regulator is a positive example in how it collects data on the
sustainability of the digital sector. Last week it published its 2024
report. I copied the English press release below. I attach the infographics
in French. The full report is available online:


   - English press release
   https://en.arcep.fr/news/press-releases/view/n/the-environement-210324.html

   - French press release
   https://www.arcep.fr/actualites/actualites-et-communiques/detail/n/numerique-040723.html
   - French infographics (attached)
   - French webpage about the report
   https://www.arcep.fr/cartes-et-donnees/nos-publications-chiffrees/impact-environnemental/derniers-chiffres.html
   - French report in full
   https://www.arcep.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/observatoire/enquete-pns/edition-2024/enquete-annuelle-pour-un-numerique-soutenable_edition2024.pdf

To track information and communication technologies’ impact on the
environment, Arcep has been collecting indicators from France’s four main
telecoms operators since 2020, and delivering its findings in an annual
publication: its “achieving digital sustainability” inquiry, along with an
infographics-based summary. This third edition has been expanded to include
indicators on two new stakeholder categories: data centre operators and
device manufacturers.

Massively energy hungry internet and set-top boxes: their annual power
consumption represents 0.7% of total power consumption in France in 2022
and is three times that of fixed networks*.
[image: Infographic showing the power consumption of boxes]Click to enlarge
<https://en.arcep.fr/fileadmin/cru-1677573101/reprise/communiques/communiques/2024/11-24_infographie_01_ENG.png>

In 2022 in France, internet and set-top boxes together consumed 3.3 TWh, or
three times the amount of electricity consumed by fixed networks.
Consumption levels varied considerably amongst the 38 models of internet
boxes (aka routers) and 23 models of STBs that were studied, but depended
very little on how much the devices were used or how much data traffic they
generated: 95% of their consumption does not vary, regardless of whether
the box is being solicited by the user.

There is therefore room to reduce these devices’ power consumption, thanks
to sustainable design and the development of features that make it possible
to put internet and set-top boxes into deep sleep mode automatically.

*by definition, fixed networks here include all of an operator’s equipment
used to provide telephone services or internet access over a wireline
connection, up to the operator’s network termination point in the
customer’s premises.

Telecoms operators’ greenhouse gas emissions and networks’ power
consumption is increasing, driven by growing use

At a time when greenhouse gas emissions in France are decreasing by 2.7%
YoY, the country’s four main electronic communications operators’ emissions
increased by 2% for the second year in a row, to reach 382,000 tonnes
of CO2 equivalent
in 2022.
[image: Infographic showing operators' greenhouse gas emissions between
2017 and 2022]Click to enlarge
<https://en.arcep.fr/fileadmin/cru-1677573101/reprise/communiques/communiques/2024/11-24_infographie_02_ENG.png>

With the increase in mobile data traffic and ongoing mobile network
rollouts, mobile networks’ energy consumption grew substantially in in
2022: its rate of increase more than doubled between 2021 and 2022 (+ 14%
in 2022 vs. + 6% in 2021). Meanwhile, fixed networks’ power consumption
decreased by 14% YoY, in particular due to the ongoing transition from
copper to the far more energy-efficient optical fibre. This decrease is
not, however, enough to offset mobile networks’ increasing energy
consumption.

As a result, fixed and mobile networks’ power consumption[1]
<https://en.arcep.fr/news/press-releases/view.html#_ftn1> rose by 7% in
2022 to reach 4.1 TWh, whereas overall power consumption in France
decreased by 4%, as the energy crisis continued.

Very small percentage of operators’ handset sales are refurbished phones

Mobile phone sales decreased in 2022, both in the French retail market and
for telecoms operators. Operators’ refurbished handset sales decreased
dramatically, however (- 9% in 2022 versus + 11% one year earlier) while
continuing to increase in the market as a whole. They continue to represent
only a small fraction of operators’ handset sales: 4%, compared to 25% on
all other sales channels.

Laptop computers, computer displays, tablets, smartphones and televisions:
the volume of digital devices being put on the market is decreasing, but
screen sizes are increasing
[image: Infographic showing market launches by type of equipment in 2022]Click
to enlarge
<https://en.arcep.fr/fileadmin/cru-1677573101/reprise/communiques/communiques/2024/11-24_infographie_03_ENG.png>

This decreased volume of devices being put on the market is in part
situational: for laptop computers, computer displays and tablets, whose
sales increased significantly with the rise of remote working. For
smartphones and televisions, this downwards trend has been ongoing for
several years.

The smaller number of devices released onto the market in 2022 should help
reduce device manufacturers’ carbon footprint. But this decrease could be
counterbalanced by devices’ increasingly large screens, which have a larger
footprint. The inquiry revealed that the proportion of digital devices with
large displays is increasing for virtually every type of device.
[image: Infographic showing greenhouse gas emissions and electricity and
water consumption by data centre operators]Click to enlarge
<https://en.arcep.fr/fileadmin/cru-1677573101/reprise/communiques/communiques/2024/11-24_infographie_04_ENG.png>

Data centre operators’[2]
<https://en.arcep.fr/news/press-releases/view.html#_ftn2> greenhouse gas
emissions and energy and water consumption increased by more than 10% in
2022

As the use of digital technology continues to grow, and with the increased
outsourcing of IT services, there was a rise in 2021 and 2022 in the number
of new data centres that analysed data centre operators began operating,
and these players’ greenhouse gas emissions reached 95,000 tonnes eq. CO2 in
2022, which marks a 14% increase YoY.

This increase can be attributed to the sizeable rise in indirect emissions
tied to energy consumption, which represent more than 90% of data centre
operators’ total emissions: their energy consumption stood at 2.1 TWh in
2022 and increased by 15% YoY, compared to unchanged consumption levels in
2022 for the tertiary sector (which owns the data centres). Some data
centres are nevertheless more energy efficient than others: on average, the
newest ones and those with large computing capacity are the most energy
efficient.

With global warming, monitoring the withdrawals of water, which can become
a scarce resource in times of drought, becomes vital. The volume of water
withdrawn by data centre operators totalled 482,000 m3 in 2022, a level
that remains modest (only 0.02% of all water withdrawn for economic
activities in 2021) compared to the volumes employed for economic
activities’ other uses. This volume did nonetheless increase by 20% YoY in
2022, thereby underscoring how important it will be to monitor this
indicator over the coming years.

Next year’s edition of the “achieving digital sustainability” inquiry will
be expanded to include new indicators and data collected from mobile
network equipment suppliers

As part of its commitment to steadily enhance the data collected to measure
digital technologies’ impact on the environment, in 2024 Arcep will collect
new indicators from the stakeholders who are already involved, and expand
the exercise to include mobile network equipment suppliers, in accordance
with its Decision on data collection dated 22 November 2023 (see the press
release
<https://en.arcep.fr/news/press-releases/view/n/the-environnement-220224.html>
).

Annual “Achieving digital sustainability” survey: a tool to inform public
debate and discussions over a low-carbon strategy for digital

There are four main objectives attached to Arcep’s annual “Achieving
digital sustainability” survey:

• Inform citizens, public sector players and all of the stakeholders on the
ICT sector’s environmental footprint;

• Identify economic players’ activities that are likely to have an impact
on the environment;

• Encourage stakeholders to take steps to achieve the most efficient
measurement possible of their environmental footprint;

• Monitor the progression of these indicators over time, creating the
ability to assess the impact of environmental protection actions put in
place by businesses, and to supply relevant information for evaluating
public policies on digital and the environment, and particularly the
Authority’s actions in this area.
Associated documents

   - “Achieving digital sustainability” inquiry – 2024 edition
   <https://www.arcep.fr/cartes-et-donnees/nos-publications-chiffrees/impact-environnemental/derniers-chiffres.html>
   - Executive summary in infographics
   <https://www.arcep.fr/uploads/tx_gspublication/EAPNS2024-infographies.pdf>