Network 21

IT responsible for 35m tonnes of CO2 in the UK each year

June 9, 2007; Antony Bernstein

The Government moved today to tackle the growing threat of ‘Cyber-Warming’, as it emerged that IT is now responsible for the same level of CO2 emissions as the airline industry. An estimated 35m tonnes of CO2 is generated annually from the production, operation and disposal of IT like PCs, Printers and Monitors. This is the equivalent of more than 1m extra flights in the UK each year

The production process for each PC requires 1.8 tonnes of chemicals, fossil fuels and water and it generates 0.1 tonnes of CO2 in a typical year of operation. The average lifespan for a PC is 5 years, and currently, the main method of disposal is burial in landfill. The most frequent destination for old PCs is Africa, where they are buried, poisoning the soil with chemicals such as Cadmium and Mercury. Currently, 100,000 old PCs are arriving in Lagos each month from Europe and America, for burial in local landfill.

The annual production of PCs in the world has soared from 300,000 in 1980, to 113 million, with UN projections that there are more than 66 million PCs in the UK alone. This will have required 118.8m tonnes of chemicals, fossil fuels and water to produce with an estimated 13 million UK PCs being disposed of, each year. A recent UN report highlighted the dangers of a group of chemicals called brominated flame retardants used in circuit boards and plastic computer cases. Studies in the United States, Canada and Sweden show that concentrations of these compounds in humans have been increasing rapidly. In sufficient dosages, they can cause neuro-developmental disorders and possibly cancer.  

Despite this environmental cost, on average, only 5% of the computing capacity of a typical PC is used in its daily operations.

The Government has appointed a new public-private taskforce led by Manchester City Council to tackle the issue. It has drawn up proposals which will radically reduce IT emissions levels.  The ‘Green Shift’ programme incorporates a ground-breaking ‘Green PC Service’. Compared to the standard PC, it uses 75% fewer resources in production, 98% less energy in operation and lasts three times as long.

The new service achieves these savings by using the massive increase in broadband take-up to change the way PC functions, such as Office applications, e-mail and internet surfing, are delivered. They will be hosted in a network of ‘green’ data centres rather than on individual PCs and delivered to users through a broadband connection; in the same way companies such as Google and Yahoo deliver services like webmail. The data centres will use concentrated energy efficiency measures such as non-fossil fuel power and low carbon build.

Central hosting will remove the need for a complex, energy hungry PC in each household and users will be able to access the service through a small desktop box that is simpler and less energy intensive. Concentrating processing in the data centre means that utilisation of computing capacity will be upto 15 times higher than for a household PC. The ‘Green PC Service’ will integrate with existing networks and services and provide an environmental substitute to standard PCs. The environmental savings mean that it will be much cheaper and so help bridge the digital divide. Early testing indicates a projected price of less than £70.

The ‘thin client’ approach in the taskforce proposals will be radically different to past models. Typically thin clients have been used by large scale enterprises as corporate computing solutions. This is the first time thin clients have been proposed for the household and SME market as a substitute for the PC. As a result the thin client model has been adapted to meet the needs of the new market. This includes:

The new ‘thin client’ model will help create a new market for applications and services. For the first time households and SMEs will have easy access to innovative new developments from the global developer community. Although users are familiar with downloading specific applications, this is the first time a mass market user base will have new services highlighted and immediately accessible.

Cllr Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council commented,

“Cyber-warming means we need to act on IT emissions now.

The ‘Green PC Service’ is part of a package of proposals that has the potential to make a fundamental contribution in meeting the challenge of climate change.

Critical to our approach is that sustainability and inclusion go hand in hand. Its no use developing solutions that most people cannot afford. Central to what we are proposing is that it is the environmental savings which make services more cost effective and inclusive.

The proposals will meet the technology needs of our citizens and the environmental needs of our society.”

Phil Woolas MP, Minister, Department for Communities and Local Government commented,

“Cyber-warming is a massive issue and that is why we have taken decisive action with the appointment of the taskforce.

The new taskforce is the first of its kind in the world and is a sign of how serious the UK is about tackling this issue

Manchester is one of the UK’s most progressive Local Authorities and their package of proposals will be critical in helping us reach our sustainability targets.

Innovative proposals like the ‘Green PC Service’ are essential if we are to tackle climate change. It is particularly important that there is a strong focus on inclusion. Only if all of our communities are engaged in action to tackle climate change will we be successful. ”

Dave Carter, Head of the Manchester Digital Development Agency, a member of the Taskforce commented,

“Environmental sustainability is a driver for innovation that generates broader benefits.

The Green PC Service combines green values with improved services. It mashes-up a Web 2.0 business model, from the likes of iTunes and Napster, with a new approach to delivering thin client computing that integrates with current networks.

The result will be radically reduced emissions and costs, and massively increased access to applications and services for users.”

Manchester City Council has brought together the taskforce based on the 10 Local Authority finalists for the Government’s innovative Digital Challenge competition. Green Shift develops the common elements of sustainability and digital inclusion in each of the Local Authorities’ Digital Challenge proposals.

Manchester City Council is currently in discussions with Government. Piloting of new services is projected to start in early 2008 with tested, scalable services, ready for roll-out in late 2009.