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Digital and the environment: a general reference framework for the eco-design of digital services

"The eco-design of digital services is not only a search for optimization, efficiency or performance but a more global reflection on the use of technologies. It is important to integrate the environmental impacts of digital technology into the design of digital services, aiming directly or indirectly to extend the life of digital equipment and to reduce the consumption of computer and energy resources by terminals, networks and data centers.  Several government departments are working on the development of an ecodesign reference framework for digital services. This reference framework was one of the commitments of the government's "Digital and Environment" roadmap published in February 2021.The main objectives of this digital service ecodesign standard are to reduce the consumption of IT resources and the contribution to equipment obsolescence, whether it is user equipment or network or server equipment. " All the professions closely or remotely linked to the design of a digital service: project manager, project management assistant, project manager's assistant, product owner, UX researcher, designer, graphic artist, developer, devops, tester..." "This repository contains criteria that are all verifiable, generic and timeless. The goal is to be able to perform a compliance audit of the digital service (self-audit or independent external audit)". Each criterion is a question. The answer is expected to be "yes", "no" or "not applicable". The answer "yes" is favorable in terms of reducing environmental impacts. The answer "not applicable" must be justified. No label or certificate based on this standard is planned for the moment. The aim is to promote a voluntary approach to the eco-design of digital services. "Even before implementing the criteria of this standard," the authors of the standard point out, " it is essential to ask the question of the purpose of the digital service and its relevance in meeting a need. Is the existence of this digital service necessary? Could we have done otherwise than develop a digital solution? After comparative measurements, is a non-digital alternative to the service feasible and preferable?This standard must be integrated into a virtuous circle including existing standards and regulations: RGAA (Référentiel général d'amélioration de l'accessibilité) for accessibility RGS for Security RGI for interoperability RGPD for the protection of personal data. A public consultation, online until November 26, 6:00 pm, for all actors involved in the design of digital services, will allow to validate the proposed criteria or to enrich the reference system in order to move from this beta version to a version 1.

• Environment

Published on 19/11/21



Environmental impact of smartphones: what are the benefits of reconditioning compared to new?

A studyconducted jointly by Ademe (French Agency for Ecological Transition) and Arcep in early 2022 had drawn up an inventory of the impact of digital services in France: the main lesson of this study was that manufacturing was the stage of the life cycle with the greatest environmental impact. And the "terminal" part (i.e. our digital devices) is by far the most significant part.The Ademe undertook to measure the environmental benefits generated by the reconditioning of equipment: a work carried out initially on smartphones.The benefits of reconditioningTo measure the environmental benefits of refurbishing, Ademe worked with all stakeholders in the sector in France. It has initially focused on smartphones, with further results to come later on other equipment (computers, tablets and game consoles).Several interesting figures emerge, which are variable averages depending on certain criteria, such as the length of time the product has been in use prior to its reconditioning and the conditions of this reconditioning.On average, the purchase of a refurbished smartphone would reduce the annual environmental impact by 77% to 91% compared to a new purchase, depending on the indicators.On the "climate change" footprint, in particular, the impact drops by 87%. This choice also avoids the extraction of 82 kg of raw materials and the emission of 23 kg of greenhouse gases over one year per refurbished smartphone (versus new).The longer the reconditioned device is used, the greater the savings in materials and greenhouse gases - as long as the reconditioned device is substituted for a new one.Raphaël Guastavi, Head of the Ecodesign & Recycling Department at Ademe (French Agency for Ecological Transition) reminds that his team did not seek in this study "neither to minimize nor to maximize the environmental benefit, since we took into account cases where key parts such as the screen and the battery were changed: even in these cases and including when new accessories are included in the sale - charger and earphones, which is often the case - the environmental impact remains more than 2 to 4 times less important than in the production of a new equipment. And this, even if the reconditioning is carried out abroad, in Eastern Europe or in China, for example.Taking into account these elements and the predominant role of the manufacturing phase in the environmental impact of digital technology, concludes Raphaël Guastavi, " it seems essential to limit over-equipment, to extend the life of devices as much as possible, by maintaining them, by having them repaired and by turning to second-hand or reconditioning when changing them, this last option offering guarantees of functioning.Best practices for optimal reconditioningReconditioning is not without its impacts, so it is preferable for consumers to choose products that are locally reconditioned and to avoid reconditioned models that are too recent in order to encourage the logic of extended use.As far as refurbishers are concerned, several avenues exist to improve the footprint of their practice: try to collect used phones locally, favor second-hand spare parts, propose to the customer not to systematically provide new accessories and deploy repair workshops in France rather than abroad.It is also a question of professionalizing refurbishing. "First, by offering a quality service approach with good after-sales service to give customers confidence in purchasing reconditioned equipment. Also by optimizing processes, developing innovation, and automating certain tasks in order to achieve economies of scale and, in turn, lower prices to make the price difference between new and refurbished more attractive. Finally, by reducing the energy and water consumption of the refurbishment site, which weighs heavily on its footprint.

• Environment

Published on 19/10/22



Evaluation of the environmental impact of digital technology in France: terminals, the main vector of environmental impacts

Numerous reports have been published in recent years alerting to the carbon footprint of the sector and its evolution. According to the report of the mission of information on the environmental footprint of the digital sector report, the sector's carbon footprint could increase significantly if nothing is done to limit it (+60% by 2040, i.e. 6.7% of the national carbon footprint).While all the studies agree on the trends and orders of magnitude at work, particularly with regard to the carbon footprint, they nevertheless include significant variations. These variations are essentially due to the evaluation methodologies and the data used.The Government has entrusted ADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition) and Arcep (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution) with a joint study on assessing the environmental impact of digital technology in France. An environmental impact concentrated on the terminals Most of the environmental impact of digital technology comes from terminals, regardless of which of the four indicators identified is considered. They account for at least 65% of the impact and up to 90% for the depletion of natural abiotic resources (metals and minerals).While the impact of phones is substantial, it is far from being the majority. Measures aimed at extending the duration of use of terminals must therefore go well beyond them.IoT (Internet of Things) devices currently represent a relatively small share (less than 7%) of the terminal footprint. However, their market development potential could change the associated environmental effects.Within the "screens and audiovisual equipment" category, TV boxes account for a fairly marginal share of the environmental impact, while televisions account for a large majority (probably also due to the fact that French households have a higher level of equipment than the other screens considered), followed by computer screens. "It therefore seems necessary to address the environmental impact of all terminals, and in particular the largest of them (televisions, computers, etc.). The preponderance of servers in the environmental footprint of data centers Data centers represent the second largest source of environmental impacts.When analyzing in more detail the equipment that makes up a data center, it is the servers in particular and the storage to a lesser extent that generate the most impact on the depletion of natural abiotic resources (metals and minerals) and the carbon footprint. " The impact of data centers on the depletion of natural abiotic resources (fossil fuels) and ionizing radiation is mainly due to the energy consumption of the servers and the technical packages. It is the servers that in any case generate the most impact through their manufacture and use.The study highlights the role of enterprise and colocation servers (data centers in which multiple customers host and operate their own IT equipment) as the source of most of the impacts (over 80% for each environmental indicator). "However, the study does not allow us to determine to what extent these results are the result of a "volume" effect related to the number of enterprise servers and colocation or whether a specific issue needs to be addressed. In addition, it should be noted that only data centers present on the national territory are modeled." Networks, the third most important environmental impact vector Of the three building blocks (terminals, data centers, networks), these represent the last vector of environmental impacts for the four indicators considered: around 5% of the environmental impacts of digital technology for the carbon footprint and a little over 10% for the depletion of natural abiotic resources and ionizing radiation.Fixed networks concentrate the majority of impacts (between 75 and 90% of impacts depending on the indicator). " In relation to the amount of Gb consumed on each network, the environmental impact of fixed networks becomes lower than that of mobile networks. Per GB consumed, mobile networks have nearly three times more impact than fixed networks for all environmental indicators studied.Indeed, the authors of the report add, " networks have a very largely fixed consumption independent of traffic (rather a function of the degree of geographical coverage). Increasing traffic therefore lowers the environmental impact per GB of data and may increase the total environmental impact associated with networks, but not proportionally. "All the players in the ecosystem must do their part for a sustainable digital world "This study makes it possible to refine the evaluation of the environmental impact of digital technology," the authors of the report observe in conclusion. Beyond the evaluation itself," the authors conclude, "the study confirms the complexity of the exercise and identifies the most structuring obstacles to be removed in order to improve the measurement. (...) It has thus identified four relevant environmental indicators to describe the environmental impact of digital technology in France, reinforcing the need for a multi-criteria LCA approach: ionizing radiation, the depletion of natural abiotic resources (metals and minerals), the depletion of natural abiotic resources (fossils), carbon footprint." The study confirms that terminals are the source of most of the impacts (from 65 to 90%), for all indicators, followed by data centers (from 4 to 20%) and then networks (from 4 to 13%), "it is therefore imperative to address the environmental impact of all terminals and particularly the largest of them (televisions, computers, etc.)".However, the question must be addressed globally:"Indeed, this distribution of impact must not obscure the ecosystemic dimension of digital technology: the interdependence between terminals, networks and data centers created by usage must be taken into account in the development of public policies addressing the environmental impact of digital technology as a whole. All the players in the ecosystem must do their part to make digital technology sustainable. The work of ADEME and Arcep should help to remove some of the obstacles identified. In particular, ADEME's work to clarify existing methodologies for product categories continues. For its part, Arcep is continuing its work to define a digital environmental barometer."ADEME and Arcep will continue their collaboration in the last phase of this study, relating to the development of prospective scenarios, and more generally in the framework of the observatory of digital impacts " (created by the law aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of digital technology in France).

• Environment

Published on 09/02/22



Environmental impact of digital technology: the Senate's information mission calls for "an ecological digital transition".

The Senate information mission on the environmental footprint of digital technology presented its roadmap for "an ecological digital transition" on June 24.Based on an unprecedented study assessing the carbon footprint of digital technology in France, it makes 25 proposals concerning both equipment and usage. Several of these proposals are aimed at local authorities, including integrating environmental issues into their digital strategy, contributing to the reuse market via public procurement, and encouraging the establishment of data centers in France, by focusing on their complementarity with renewable energy sources.Most of the figures available today," recalls the fact-finding mission, " establish that the digital sector would be responsible for 3.7% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world in 2018 and 4.2% of global primary energy consumption. 44% of this footprint would be due to the manufacture of terminals, data centers and networks and 56% to their use. This environmental impact also concerns mineral resources and water. The growth of digital technology is resulting in the use of an increasing quantity of metals, which are still very rarely recycled. "While these findings are well supported by figures on a global scale, existing work on a national scale is currently patchy," the fact-finding mission deplores.According to the results of the study commissioned by the Senate's Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development, digital technology is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in France (15 MtCO2eq, or 2% of total emissions in 2019), which could increase considerably in the coming years if nothing is done to reduce its impact (+60% by 2040, reaching 24 MtCO2eq).In 2040, if all other sectors achieve carbon savings in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and if no public policy for digital sobriety is deployed, digital could account for nearly 7% (6.7%) of France's greenhouse gas emissions, a level well above that currently emitted by air transport (4.7%1).This growth would be driven in particular by the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and emissions from data centers. The collective cost of these emissions could rise from 1 to 12 billion euros between 2019 and 20402.The results of the study also show that terminals account for a very large share of the environmental impacts of digital technology (81%), even more than on a global scale.The manufacture and distribution (the "upstream phase") of these terminals used in France generate 86% of their total emissions and are therefore responsible for 70% of the total carbon footprint of the digital industry in France.For the Committee on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, "reducing the carbon footprint of digital technology in France should (...) in particular involve limiting the renewal of terminals, whereas the lifespan of a smartphone is currently 23 months"."This is not only an environmental imperative, but also an economic one: by moving away from the disposable model - which is fueled by imports that are a burden on the country's trade balance - to a circular model - based on an industrial ecosystem capable of offering reconditioned terminals and repair solutions - public policies can promote the sustainable creation of jobs that cannot be relocated and are located in the regions.At the end of this fact-finding mission, the Commission for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development formulated 25 proposals concerning both equipment and uses. 1. Make digital users aware of their environmental impact By improving knowledge on a subject that is still too little documented and too little known by the general public: Launch a major awareness campaign encouraging users to adopt eco-responsible digital gestures (e.g. favouring Wifi downloading over video streaming via the mobile network); Better inform users of the carbon footprint of their digital devices and uses by implementing a mobile application; To make available to the public a database allowing to simply calculate the environmental impacts of digital technology; Train the new generations to be digitally sober (by making digital sobriety one of the themes of environmental education at school, by creating modules in engineering and computer science schools relating to the evaluation of the environmental impact of digital technology and the eco-design of digital services); Create a research observatory on the environmental impacts of digital technology (in order to conduct research on the impacts of emerging technologies); By asking public and private actors to integrate the environmental issue in their digital strategy: Include the environmental impact of digital technology in the CSR report of companies and create a tax credit for SMEs and VSEs for measuring the environmental impact of digital services; To provide local authorities with a methodological framework for the environmental assessment of smart projects; 2. Limit the renewal of terminals, whose manufacture and distribution represent 70% of the carbon footprint of the digital industry in France By taxing the negative externalities linked to their manufacture Introduce a carbon tax at European borders to internalize the environmental cost of imported terminals; By fighting against programmed and software obsolescence Reinforce sanctions for programmed obsolescence (e.g. through a more systematic use of name and shame); Reinforce the fight against software obsolescence (e.g. by dissociating corrective updates from evolutionary updates, which are incidental and can accelerate the obsolescence of the terminal); By promoting reuse and repair: Reinforce the ambition in terms of repair and reuse by a reduced VAT rate on the repair of terminals and the acquisition of reconditioned electronic objects and the inclusion of ambitious objectives in the specifications of eco-organizations; Activate the lever of the public order to contribute to the reinforcement of the markets of reuse and repair (for example by adding a clause of reuse or a lot of reuse in the invitations to tender of purchases of equipment); Make aid for digitalization of companies within the framework of the recovery plan conditional on the integration of an environmental ambition, favouring, for example, the acquisition of reconditioned terminals over the purchase of new equipment; 3. Develop and promote ecologically sound digital practices By defining data as a resource requiring sustainable management: Provide for a legislative consecration of data as a resource requiring sustainable management By regulating the supply of telephone packages: Prohibit as a preventive measure mobile packages with unlimited data access and make pricing proportional to the volume of data in the package mandatory;  Limiting the impact of video use: Regulate video streaming, which accounts for 60% of global Internet traffic (through an obligation to adapt the quality of the downloaded video to the maximum resolution of the terminal or through the introduction of a tax on the largest data transmitters, in order to encourage more reasonable data injection on the network) By improving the eco-design of digital sites and services: In the short term, support administrations in the eco-design of digital sites and services (for example, by launching a call for expressions of interest to identify the most exemplary solutions in the eco-design of digital services); Make eco-design of public and larger private sites mandatory in the medium term; By allowing a " regulation of the attention Provide for mandatory reporting by content providers on cognitive strategies used to increase usage; Prohibit certain practices such as automatic video launch and infinite scrolling 4. Move towards less energy-intensive data centers and networks By improving the energy performance of data centers, which are responsible for 14% of the digital industry's carbon footprint in France: Encourage the installation of data centers in France and make the existing tax advantage conditional on environmental performance criteria; Strengthen the complementarity between data centers and renewable energies (e.g., make data centers levers of energy flexibility to store electricity from intermittent renewable energy installations); By further improving the sobriety of networks, which are responsible for 5% of the digital carbon footprint in France: To achieve the objectives of the French broadband plan to improve fiber connectivity, the least energy-consuming network; Engage in a reflection to reduce the power consumption of the boxes; Assess the environmental footprint of 5G.    

• Environment

Published on 29/06/20