Resources on ICTs, Environment and Climate Change

This website provides references to external resources: background papers, reports, case studies and statistics on ICTs and the environment including information on climate change, conflict minerals, e-waste and other sustainability issues.

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Methodologies for the Environmental Impact Assessment of ICT

Within ITU-T Study Group 5 (SG5), Question 18 is developing a set of common methodologies to assess the life cycle impact of the ICT Sector, both in terms of its own emissions and the savings created through ICT applications in other industry sectors.

The new standard methodologies will reinforce the role of ICTs by providing an accurate, reliable tool for assessing their environmental impact. It will generate figures upon which businesses can model future revenues, costs and efficiency gains provided by green ICTs; and figures enabling governments and regulators to identify the gains in social and economic welfare that green ICTs can achieve. See:

• Recommendation ITU-T L.1400 (“Overview and general principles of methodologies for assessing the environmental impact of ICT”) presents the general principles on how to assess the environmental impact of ICT and outlines the different methodologies that are being developed to assess the environmental impact of (a) ICT goods, networks, and services; (b) ICT projects; (c) ICT in organizations; (d) ICT in cities; and (e) ICT in countries or group of countries;
• Recommendation ITU-T L.1410 (“Methodology for environmental impacts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) goods, networks and services”) provides a standardized way to assess the direct environmental impact of ICT goods, networks and services, as well as their indirect impact on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of non-ICT industry sectors. It is based upon the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology standardized in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044;
• Recommendation ITU-T L.1420 (“Methodology for energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions impact assessment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in organizations”) standardizes the requirements that an organization should comply with when assessing energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

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JCA-ICT & CC - Joint Coordination Activity on ICT and climate change

The purpose of the JCA-ICT&CC is to provide a visible contact point for ICT and Climate Change activities in ITU-T, to seek co-operation from external bodies working in the field of ICT & CC and enable effective two-way communication with these bodies.

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Publications

• Green ICT Standards: A Path to Environmental Sustainability (April 2012)
• ITU News, Tackling Climate Change (November 2011)
• Information and Telecommunication Technologies for Environmental Challenges (November 2011)
• ITU-GeSI Report on Using ICTs to Tackle Climate Change (December 2010)
• ITU and Climate Change Report
• ITU Background Paper on ICTs and Climate Change
• How ICTs Can Help Tackle Climate Change
  Article from Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (March 2011, eLAC2015 Newsletter)
• ICTs and Climate Change: Implementation of Res. 73 (WTSA-08)
  Report from TSB Director (February 2011)
• Report on the activities of the JCA on ICT and Climate Change
  Report from the Chairmen (February 2011)
• ICTs as a Key Technology to Help Countries Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change World Resource Institute
  (February 2011)