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

[Hesham ElBakoury <[e-mail]>]

Thanks Rudolf!
Good info.
I notice that the link [1] and [2] are broken.

Hesham

On Wed, Mar 27, 2024, 5:33 AM Rudolf van der Berg <
[e-mail]> wrote:

> 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 CO
> 2 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>
>
>
>
>
>
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