Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012 METHODOLOGIES TO ASSESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ICT KEVIN J HOUSTON, CEO CARBON MASTERS Member of Independent Expert Panel advising the EU on ICT standardisation efforts Joint ITU-GISFI Workshop on “Bridging the Standardization Gap: Workshop on Sustainable Rural Communications” (Bangalore, India, December 2012)

Agenda 3 Recommendations published : L.1400 Overview and general principles, available L.1410 Environmental impact of ICT goods, networks and services, available L.1420 Environmental impact of ICT in organisations, available 3 Recommendations under preparation : L.1430 Environmental impact of ICT projects (consent expected in ) L.1440 Environmental impact of ICT in cities (consent expected in 2013) L.1450 Environmental impact of ICT in countries (consent expected in 2013) Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Questions on methodologies ITU, the UN agency responsible for ICT 193 Member States, more than 700 Sector Members and over 40 Academia Members Co-operations on methodologies with : Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Recommendation L.1400 General principles : Assessment of environmental impacts should be performed on a full life-cycle perspective for goods, networks and services Boundaries should be selected, quoted, documented and made available for verification Quantification methodologies should be selected, quoted, documented and made available for verification Reliable data should be researched. Used data should be quoted, documented and made available for verification Bias and uncertainties should be documented and reduced as far as it is practicable It should be noted that results of assessments may vary significantly depending upon the selection of boundaries, the quantification methodologies selected and data used Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

It is a Recommendation that complements ISO and ISO and provides guidance on how to assess environmental impacts of ICT Goods, Networks and Services built with a large number of representatives from the ICT sector and governments. built to be consistent with EC/JRC, ETSI, IEC and GHG Protocol ICT supplement initiatives It focuses on energy consumption and GHG emissions More than 100 contributions and inputs were received and taken into account. L.1410 : What is it ? Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

There are 2 Parts in the Recommendation: Part I : ICT Lifecycle assessment: framework and guidance Part II : Comparative analysis between ICT and baseline scenario : framework and guidance L.1410 : What is it ? L.1410 : What is it for ? identify what the major activities and life cycle stages impacting the environment, design and prepare action plans, prioritize actions with the rising costs of energy and introduction of carbon taxes, L.1410 aims to help : save costs retain customers in the future develop new opportunities

To provide an assessment of the environmental impact of a product system as a basis for improving it To understand the relative importance of different life cycle stages /activities - where to put best efforts for improvement To monitor performance improvements over time Benefits of an LCA approach RAW MATERIAL ACQUISITION PRODUCTIONUSEEND OF LIFE Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Complexity Hardware, software, networks and services Rapidly changing product specifications, and service offerings Multitude of components and subcomponents Long, complex and dynamically changing supply chains that span the globe Multitude of suppliers Second-order and third-order effects ICT LCA Challenges Data availability and data quality Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

 General requirements  Goal and scope definition  Functional unit definition  System boundaries definition  Cut-off rules  Data quality requirements  Life Cycle Inventory  Life Cycle impact assessment  Life cycle interpretation  Reporting L.1410 : What are the steps to follow ? N.b. For Part II which is a comparative analysis between an ICT system and a reference product system the above steps need to be carried out on BOTH the ICT system and the reference product system using the SAME functional unit Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

L.1410 Part I Reporting : example Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

L Part II, example of reporting Example of comparative evaluation between ICT and reference product system with categories of life cycle stages. Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Introduction : Questions on methodologies Recommendation L.1400 : General principles Recommendation L.1410 : ICT Goods, Networks and Services Recommendation L.1420 ICT in organisations Future Recommendations L. ICT in cities, ICT Projects Conclusions Agenda Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

What is L.1420 ? What is it for? Provides guidance on how to assess environmental impacts of ICT in organizations. Built with a large number of representatives from the ICT sector and governments. It deals with energy consumption and GHG emissions. It builds upon and complements ISO and the GHG Protocol. Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

This Recommendation covers: The assessment of the life cycle environmental impact of ICT Goods, Networks and Services used by an organization (“Non-ICT organizations”) The assessment of the environmental impact of an ICT organization (“ICT organizations”) The reporting of these impacts to ensure fair and transparent communications What is L.1420 ? What is it for?

Setting the Organizational boundary Setting the Operational boundary Selection of quantification methodology Annual assessment/Establishment of a base year Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory (restatements) Uncertainties Reporting L-1420 for ICT – What are the steps to follow Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Emission sources Assessment and reporting for scope 1 and scope 2 emissions are mandatory. Assessment and reporting for scope 3 emissions are optional

Selection or development of GHG emission factors Calculation of GHG emissions as under Selection of quantification methodology GWP factors for GHG taken from IPCC Time frame of 100 years Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012 The results are expressed in Tons of CO 2 e

Assessments shall be carried out on an annual basis with the date of publication of L.1420 as a reference. However, a different base year could be chosen when: The organization estimates that the quantity and/or quality of available verifiable data for this particular year would guarantee a more accurate evaluation of its GHG emissions and energy consumption. The organization has already put in place an assessment and reporting process based on a different base year, compliant with this Recommendation. The activities carried out by the organization generate unusual fluctuations of GHG emissions and/or energy consumption in such a way that the base year might not be significant. Any choice of a different base year shall be documented Annual assessment / Base year Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

Applies under 2 circumstances: Structural changes which include mergers, acquisitions and divestments and/or outsourcing or in-sourcing of GHG emitting activities. Discovery of significant errors contained within the base year emission calculations which can necessitate a change in the emissions inventory. L.1420 makes no recommendations as to what constitutes a “significant” change and thus the need to adjust base year emissions Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

This Recommendation will specify principles, requirements and methods in order to quantify, monitor and report GHG emission reductions, energy consumption savings, energy efficiency improvements resulting from ICT projects, in complement to ISO and GHG Protocol. It is built with a large number of representatives from the ICT sector and governments and in relationship with the UNFCCC. It is expected that L.1430 will provide requirements and guidance for : planning an ICT project and its baseline scenario; identifying and selecting GHG sources, sinks and storages relevant to the ICT project and baseline scenario; identifying and selecting energy consumption sources, generators and storages relevant to the ICT project and baseline scenario; managing data quality; monitoring, quantifying, documenting and reporting ICT project performance; and validating and/or verifying the ICT project plan or report. L.ICT projects (to become L.1430), under preparation Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

This Recommendation will present general principles on how to evaluate the environmental impact of Information communication technologies (ICT) in cities, or other urban areas with a focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions It is built with a large number of representatives from the ICT sector and governments and in relationship with UNEP and UN-HABITAT. It is expected that L.1440 will cover the following : aggregation of impacts at cities level of ICT organizations Impacts of ICT projects in cities, for instance in the construction sector, the energy sector, the transport sector It is expected that L.1440 will in particular cover how to assess the impacts of the use of ICT in cities to reduce the GHG emissions of other sectors L.ICT in cities (to become L.1440), under preparation Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012

ITU-T Recommendation L.1400 provides general principles ITU-T Recommendation L.1410 complements ISO and for Life Cycle Assessment of ICT Goods, Networks and Services. ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 complements ISO part 1 and GHGP !410 covers both ICT Lifecycle assessment and Comparative analysis between ICT and a baseline scenario.1420 covers environmental impact of ICT in organisations They are currently being used by several organisations in particular in the frame of European Commission pilots It is expected that L.1410/20 will be revised taking into account the results of the European pilots and other inputs Further suggestions for improvements are welcome ITU-T Recommendations L.ICT projects and ICT in cities are under development Suggestions and contributions are welcome. Next meeting to discuss contributions will take place in Geneva on January 29 to February 7th, 2013 Conclusions Bangalore, India,17-18 December 2012