Opportunities and Risks of Digitalization for Climate Protection in Switzerland

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an important enabler for a low-carbon economy in Switzerland. ICT has the potential to avoid up to 3.37 times more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the amount of emissions caused by the production, operation and disposal of ICT devices and infrastructures used in Switzerland in 2025. In absolute terms, ICT will enable the Swiss economy to save up to 6.99 Mt CO2-equivalents (CO2e) per year, with an own carbon footprint of 2.08 Mt CO2e per year. This opportunity for the ICT sector to contribute to climate protection, however, can only be realized under optimistic assumptions. In particular, it is necessary that the existing technological and economic potentials are systematically exploited by taking ambitious and targeted actions. Such actions can be especially effective in the transportation, building and energy sectors, which have the highest potential for ICT-enabled (“smart”) solutions to reduce GHG emissions. At the same time, the carbon footprint of the ICT sector itself must be reduced by 17%, which is technologically and economically feasible due to efficiency gains

Opportunities of 5G Mobile Technology for Climate Protection in Switzerland

5G mobile networks are intended to meet the increasing requirements placed on mobile communications. Producing and operating 5G infrastructure causes direct effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meanwhile, 5G is expected to support applications that contribute to GHG abatement. We investigated (i) the GHG footprint of 5G infrastructure, and (ii) the GHG abatement potential of four 5G-supported use cases (i.e., flexible work, smart grids, automated driving and precision farming) for Switzerland in 2030. Our results show that 5G infrastructure is expected to cause 0.018 Mt CO2 e/year. Per unit of data transmitted, 5G is expected to cause 85% less GHG emissions in 2030 than today’s 2G/3G/4G network mix. The four 5G-supported use cases have the potential to avoid up to 2.1 Mt CO2 e/year; clearly more than the predicted GHG footprint of 5G infrastructure. The use cases benefit especially from ultra-low latency, the possibility to connect many devices, high reliability, mobility, availability and security provided by 5G. To put 5G at the service of climate protection, measures should be taken in two fields. First, the GHG footprint of 5G should be kept small, by installing only as much 5G infrastructure as required, running 5G with electricity from renewable energy sources, and decommissioning older network technologies once 5G is widely available. Second, the GHG abatements enabled by 5G-supported use cases should be unleashed by creating conditions that target GHG reductions and mitigate rebound effects. The final outcome depends largely on the political will to steer the development into the direction of a net GHG reduction

A Socio-Ecological-Technical Perspective: How has Information Systems Contributed to Solving the Sustainability Problem

This literature review extends the dominant view of Information Systems (IS) as socio-technical. We establish a novel view of IS as socio-ecological-technical systems to steer and unite IS research and scholarship to co-create digitally transformed sustainable futures. Without a commitment to reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e), we will reach a tipping point leading to large-scale, dangerous, and irreversible impacts on climate, human liveability, and survivability. Digital technology can potentially mediate human activities to reduce CO2e, but its production, utilisation, and disposal are multiple sources of CO2e. In response to the conference theme “Co-creating Sustainable Digital Futures”, this paper systematically reviews the IS research over the last twelve years from the socioecological- technical and Environmentally Sustainable Digital Transformation frameworks, with a focus on CO2e. Our holistic approach reveals emerging themes, current gaps and research opportunities, thus contributing to IS knowledge building and proposing future studies in this socio-ecological-technical domain

Urban Goods Movement and Local Climate Action Plans: Assessing Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Freight Transportation

This report examines how freight transport/goods movement has been addressed in U.S. city climate action planning. Transportation generally is a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and freight transport represents a growing component of transportation’s share. Almost all climate action plans (CAPs) address transportation generally, but we wished to focus on efforts to reduce GHG emissions from freight transport specifically. We analyzed 27 advanced local CAPs to determine the degree to which freight transport was targeted in goals and strategies to reduce GHG emissions. We found only six CAPs that included direct measures or programs to reduce freight emissions. Many of the CAPs mentioned general transportation objectives such as lowering vehicle miles traveled or reducing emissions from city-owned vehicle fleets, but most did not include strategies or actions that explicitly targeted freight transport. We identified the specific strategies and actions that cities are taking to address GHG emissions from freight transport, such as working with the freight community to promote anti-idling and encourage transitions to electric and alternative fuel delivery vehicles. We also analyzed freight transport plans relevant for the same cities, and found that most do not explicitly mention reducing GHG emissions. Most of the freight plans are focused on improving reliability and efficiency of freight movement, which would likely have the ancillary benefit of reducing GHG emissions, but that goal was not explicitly targeted in most of these plans. Based on our findings, we recommend that cities specifically target freight transport goals and strategies in their CAPs and better coordinate with planners developing freight transport plans to identify GHG emission reduction approaches

Systems thinking and efficiency under emissions constraints: Addressing rebound effects in digital innovation and policy

Innovations and efficiencies in digital technology have lately been depicted as paramount in the green transition to enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the wider economy. This, however, fails to adequately account for rebound effects that can offset emission savings and, in the worst case, increase emissions. In this perspective, we draw on a transdisciplinary workshop with 19 experts from carbon accounting, digital sustainability research, ethics, sociology, public policy, and sustainable business to expose the challenges of addressing rebound effects in digital innovation processes and associated policy. We utilize a responsible innovation approach to uncover potential ways forward for incorporating rebound effects in these domains, concluding that addressing ICT-related rebound effects ultimately requires a shift from an ICT efficiency-centered perspective to a “systems thinking” model, which aims to understand efficiency as one solution among others that requires constraints on emissions for ICT environmental savings to be realized

Sustainable Freight Transport

This Special Issue of Sustainability reports on recent research aiming to make the freight transport sector more sustainable. The sector faces significant challenges in different domains of sustainability, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the management of health and safety impacts. In particular, the intention to decarbonise the sector’s activities has led to a strong increase in research efforts—this is also the main focus of the Special Issue. Sustainable freight transport operations represent a significant challenge with multiple technical, operational, and political aspects. The design, testing, and implementation of interventions require multi-disciplinary, multi-country research. Promising interventions are not limited to introducing new transport technologies, but also include changes in framework conditions for transport, in terms of production and logistics processes. Due to the uncertainty of impacts, the number of stakeholders, and the difficulty of optimizing across actors, understanding the impacts of these measures is not a trivial problem. Therefore, research is not only needed on the design and evaluation of individual interventions, but also on the approach of their joint deployment through a concerted public/private programme. This Special Issue addresses both dimensions, in two distinct groups of papers—the programming of interventions and the individual sustainability measures themselves

The impact of multi-location work on reaching carbon neutrality objectives:the carbon footprint of ICT equipment use at the University of Oulu

Abstract. This thesis project aimed to quantify the impact of multi-location work on the carbon footprint of the University of Oulu by conducting a survey and monitoring the electricity consumption of ICT equipment. The work presents the concept of carbon neutrality, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol quantifying carbon emissions. In addition, global decarbonization commitments and the pledges of higher education sector are introduced. Furthermore, a benchmarking of decarbonization actions of higher education institutes was done, reviewing 29 case studies. The scopes of emissions considered in their carbon footprint were reviewed, as well as their chosen mitigation methods. The effect of multi-location work on Higher Education Institutions and especially its impacts on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are presented. The carbon footprint of ICT equipment, the internet, and their calculation methods are also illustrated. In addition, a survey was conducted among the staff of the University of Oulu, to collect data about the various types of ICT equipment that staff use on-campus, in their home office, and those being carried in-between these two workplaces. The survey also uncovered information about the staff’s ICT equipment usage habits. In addition, electricity consumption monitoring of laptops and monitors was done to increase the accuracy of the carbon footprint calculation. The results achieved from electricity consumption monitoring of ICT equipment demonstrate that the electricity consumption of laptops during meeting hours is approximately 2.5 times higher than the electricity consumption during regular work. Further, when leaving the laptop on and not using it, it could consume almost as much as using it on a regular basis. On the other hand, putting the laptop in sleep mode consumes only 17% electricity compared with when it is left on and not used. Furthermore, it was also found out that the laptop would consume up to 65% more when the VPN is on. The staff survey also revealed that, on average, staff would prefer working three days from home per week. This would indicate a 36% increase of the carbon footprint of the ICT equipment. It is expected that the results of this work will help raising awareness and change habits regarding ICT equipment usage, in order to contribute to the carbon mitigation goals of the University of Oulu