How does PEEC work? A model, with parameters, helps to translate the physical properties of a product (including its use of materials and energy) into an associated footprint, by summing up the carbon emission contributions of each of the product’s component. I named it PEEC, for ‘Parameterized Embodied Emission Calculator.’ In its simplest form, it’s an Excel workbook that allows fast estimations to be made about the embodied carbon footprint of telecommunications network products (the base stations we talked about earlier). The tool I developed during my master’s thesis allows exactly that. What impact do your online activities have on the environment? Read our quick guide to your digital carbon footprint. This would allow customers, businesses and even designers to be better informed about how different technological products or services impact the environment. Therefore, a new streamlined process needs to be created that more efficiently assesses the carbon footprint of a product as soon as it’s released to the market. In fact, collecting data for an LCA is a complicated and time consuming process, since ICT manufacturers have suppliers all over the world and electronic products are in a constant state of development. LCA is an accurate and widely recognized methodology, but it’s unthinkable to use it for every product and configuration in the industry. In the end, we obtain a comprehensive picture of a product’s environmental profile – namely the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, air and/or water pollution, human toxicity, and so on.
For each process, the associated environmental impacts are listed. The traditional way to estimate the environmental impact of a product is called the ‘Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).’ It’s a rigorous protocol where we go through every process involved during the life of the product (from production and usage, to disposal).
How to measure the environmental footprint? This footprint is what I’ve been focusing on. Therefore, once the carbon emissions related to the use of equipment reduce, the emissions related to the materials and production processes (the so called ‘embodied footprint’) represent a larger share of the overall carbon footprint. Fortunately, service providers are progressively shifting to low-carbon sources for this electricity. Traditionally, this use of energy has caused the majority of emissions during a base station’s lifecycle. These base stations need electricity to operate. Read more about Ericsson’s circular economy approach to environmental sustainability. Whether they are on the roof of a building, on top of a mountain or steel tower, the base stations send, receive and transmit the radio signal – 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G.
The main building blocks of this infrastructure are radio base stations. To make it possible for you to call, send text messages and browse the internet wherever you are, communications service providers (CSPs) have deployed large infrastructures that allow smartphones and other devices to communicate. In this post I explore the outcome of my work. This is why we need to find more efficient ways to assess their environmental footprint, so we can make informed decisions about how to minimize our own digital carbon footprints.įor my master’s thesis, I joined Ericsson Sustainability Research to research how to make environmental information about telecommunication networks more readily available. After all, it takes a lot of time and labor to properly conduct an environmental impact assessment into all stages of a product’s lifecycle. Market push for the latest technology can result in environmental assessments having a hard time keeping up with the development. And the industry I’m very likely to work in – the ICT industry – releases devices and new technologies at a rapid rate. I have a strong interest in sustainability, but also a background in computer science. Consumers are struggling to find accessible and reliable information that details the impact different technologies have on the environment. Because although most people want to live more sustainably, they need more help doing so. “I want to do more for the environment, but I don’t know which action is best.” I’ve been hearing this a lot during discussions with friends.