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  1. 2009 /
  2. April-June 09 /

Green Planet examines impact of telecoms

TelecomTV, together with Ericsson and other industry players, is launching a documentary film project called Green Planet, looking at how the telecoms and IT industries can contribute to a greener environment.

May 27, 2009

The Green Planet project began in April and will end in October. The material produced during this period will be put together in an hour-long feature movie looking at how telecoms and IT can contribute to a green planet. The film will be premiered in October at the ITU Telecom World 2009 event in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ericsson is cooperating with online TV channel TelecomTV by giving input for case studies on topics such as where mobile broadband has been used to reduce traveling or where deployment of a base station has led to improved energy efficiency. Other sponsors of the project are the GSM Association (GSMA), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Juniper Networks.

Energy-related CO2 emissions are expected to increase by 45 percent over the next 20 years. As the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) grows, so does the use of electricity and power associated with them – but it is estimated that ICT use contributes just 2 to 3 percent of total CO2 emissions. In addition, ICT can also help other industries reduce their emissions.

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson, says: “We need to talk about ICT and how such technologies can be applied in a smart way in other sectors.

“Reaching aggressive carbon-reduction targets requires governments and policymakers to think differently and be prepared to make infrastructural changes. We need to do things smarter, more efficiently, and this is where technology can really play a key role.”

Bo Ribbing, Ericsson Director of Strategic Marketing, says one of the reasons Ericsson is involved in the Green Planet film project is to create awareness of telecom and its environmental impact. “We have a good story to tell about how telecom can help the environment and the planet cope with the climate change challenges we are facing,” he says. “That story is well known within the industry but we also need to influence governments and policy makers and other industries to actually use the telecom tools telecom to help reduce the CO2 impacts.”

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