Indicators on environmental sustainability
As indicated in the BEREC Report on Sustainability Assessing BEREC's contribution to limiting the impact of the digital sector on the environment, the share of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in global Green House Gas emissions is about 2-4%. The digital economy is also responsible for natural resources depletion such as fossil fuels sources and abiotic resources. That is why the European Green Deal not only sets out climate neutrality objectives for digital infrastructures, but also the adoption of circular economy models by the ICT sector. Despite the steady increase in digital consumption, significant efforts have been deployed by ICT companies to limit the increase of their environmental footprint, particularly through investments in energy efficiency. In this context, environmental transparency of the digital sector is essential to better understand where efforts are needed to successfully conduct a greener digitalisation.
One of the most pressing issues identified was the lack of data and of common harmonised methodologies to assess the environmental impact of the ICT sector. Despite the profusion of studies and standards, the complexity of digital value chains raises technical difficulties detrimental to obtaining clear information on the environmental footprint of digital technologies.
Therefore, BEREC published a BEREC Report on Sustainability Indicators for Electronic Communications Networks and Services. The report aimed to support the existing efforts of the European Commission to implement measures on transparency of electric communications, while building on the first environmental data collection of telecom regulators and the stakeholders’ existing initiatives. It presents a list of 19 indicators with relevant information based on feedback provided by 81 telecom and digital companies. These indicators are grouped by criteria of usage in data collections of the European Union’s National Regulatory Authorities and of level of support by the companies.
Group A
Collected by at least one NRA. High or medium support from companies.
| Name of the indicator | Collection by NRAs in BEREC | Level of support from the surveyed companies | Number of companies collecting this indicator | Relevant scope | Examples of data already collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy consumption |
Yes (FR, BE, ES, FI) |
HIGH |
61 | Networks, data centres, company-wide | Energy consumption of different parts of the network (BE, FI, FR), Data centres and IT equipment energy consumption (BE, ES, FR) |
| Carbon emissions - Direct emissions | Yes (FR, BE, ES) | HIGH | 52 | Company-wide | Scope 1 emissions (FR, BE, ES) |
| Carbon emissions - Energy indirect emissions | Yes (FR, BE, ES) | HIGH | 52 | Company-wide (location based, and market based) | Scope 2 emissions (FR, BE, ES) |
| Carbon emissions - Other indirect emissions | Yes (FR, BE, ES) | HIGH | 40 | Company-wide | Scope 3 emissions (FR, BE, ES) |
| Energy efficiency | Yes (BE, ES) | HIGH |
50 | Networks, data centres | Consumption in function of data/clients/revenue (BE, ES), PUE (BE) |
| Use of renewable energy (rate) | Yes (BE, FI) | HIGH | 51 | Company-wide | Production and use of renewable energy (BE, FI) |
| Distribution or utilisation of recycled/refurbished/ reused products | Yes (FR, BE) | HIGH | 26 | Devices, equipment | Number of items recycled/refurbished (BE), Number of items collected in order to recycle or repackage them (FR), Number of items sold repackaged (FR) |
| Expected lifetime | Yes (FR) | MEDIUM | 10 | Devices, equipment | Devices duration of use by year of commercialisation (FR), Number of items cold each year (FR) |
| Water usage/consumption | Yes (FR, BE) | MEDIUM | 35 | Data centres and other infrastructures element | Water consumption by types of water (BE, FR), Water cooling systems used (FR), reuse of water (BE), Water discharge areas and conditions (BE, FR) |
| Raw materials depletion (mineral) | Yes (FR) | MEDIUM | 6 | Devices, equipment manufacturing | Use of rare earths and precious metals (FR) |
Group B
Not yet collected by any NRA. But MEDUM support from the industry.
| Name of the indicator | Collection by NRAs in BEREC | Level of support from the surveyed companies | Number of companies collecting this indicator | Relevant scope | Examples of data already collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-waste production | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 41 | Company-wide | |
| Recycled/refurbished/ reused components (also excavated masses) us*/895ed in products | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 22 | Devices, network and data centres equipment | |
| Recyclability | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 20 | Devices, network equipment | |
| Reparability | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 13 | Devices, network equipment | |
| Land use | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 10 | Company-wide | |
| Waste heat recovery | Not at the moment | MEDIUM | 4 | Datacentres |
Group C
Not yet collected by NRAs. Low support from the industry.
| Name of the indicator | Collection by NRAs in BEREC | Level of support from the surveyed companies | Number of companies collecting this indicator | Relevant scope | Examples of data already collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco toxicity (including incidence on biodiversity, water pollution…) | Not at the moment | LOW | 8 | Company-wide | |
| Human toxicity (including air pollution) | Not at the moment | LOW | 7 | Company-wide | |
| Eutrophication (terrestrial, freshwater, marine) | Not at the moment | LOW | 1 | Company-wide |