Greening the Internet (or rather “Greening ICT”)

Greening the Internet(or rather “Greening ICT”) George Sadowsky george.sadowsky@gmail.com Internet Governance Forum Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt 17 November 2009

“The views expressed in this presentation are my own personal views, and are not necessarily those of any organization, specifically including the World Wide Web Foundation, ISOC (The Internet Society), and ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).” IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Outline of my talk • Dimensions of “greening” • External greening factors • Factors specific to ICT • ICT processing economics • Adding energy analysis • Positive externalities from use of ICT • Conclusion IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Dimensions of “Greening” • Inputs: Reducing use of scarce resources • Physical materials • Precious metals • Energy use • Include both manufacture and processing • Outputs: Minimizing negative externalities • Material pollutants for recycling scrap IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

External Greening Factors • ICT industry exists in larger context • Effects of technological progress • Example: Substitution of screens for paper input and output • LCD panels replacing CRTs • LED technology replacing fluorescent screens • Book readers, e-ink, tablet computing • More efficient battery power technology • Emphasis on recyclable packaging IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Computer/Networking Factors • Lower power processors • Multi-core opportunities • “Recyclable” technical parts • Recyclable material (gold, copper) • Eliminate major poisons (lead, mercury) • Less informal sector recycling • Read Swiss EMPA studies for horror stories of pollution and disease in developing countries • Apple Computer among the leaders IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

ICT Processing Economics • Production/transportation cost model useful • Functions: inputs, manufacture, inventory, delivery • Functions can be co-located or dispersed • Depends on relative costs, economics of scale/scope • Include cost of shipment or other interface delay, transport damage or loss, (ICT: think security, “cloud” issues) • ICT historical adjustments to cost changes • Mainframes, time sharing, minicomputers, PCs, LANs, client-server, Internet, web services, cloud computing • Similar shifts in software production and distribution IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Adding Energy Analysis • Full analysis includes entire life cycle • Energy costs of manufacture, deployment, use • Hardware, software, transmission equipment • Local vs. remote processing and data storage • Energy costs of transmission of information • Local networks and long distance networks • Modems, routers, repeaters, etc. • Energy and resource reclamation costs of recycling • Some countries charge purchaser of equipment IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

ICT Positive Externalities • Does increasing use of ICT have external greening effects? • Telecommuting and teleconferencing • E-commerce changing pattern of delivery of physical goods • Information products on screen, not paper • Net savings needed to complete the energy/cost analysis • Need more than anecdotal/partial evidence IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Conclusion • Many external factors affect “greening” • Technological progress contributes positively • Location of ICT activities influenced by economics of production • Need to superimpose energy cost model on usual ICT production model • ICT use substitutes for other activities • Detailed cost models would be useful IGF – Sharm el Sheikh

Thank you! George Sadowsky george.sadowsky@gmail.com

Greening the Internet (or rather “Greening ICT”)