Co-sponsored by Ericsson and other industry players, the videos show how information and communication technologies (ICT) can help reduce the need for physical transport and save energy while lowering costs. 

They are part of TelecomTV’s Green Planet documentary film project launched in April aimed at informing the public how ICT can add to a greener environment.

“It is very clear that we can’t achieve the targets we want unless we leverage technology,” says Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO and President of Ericsson, in Episode 9 of Green Planet, “ICT as a Tool.”

ICT enables the movement of bits (information) instead of movement of atoms (materials), making society smarter and using fewer material resources. ICT can reduce overall energy consumption and minimize environmental impact while increasing productivity and reducing costs.

“We already have the technology needed to address climate change,” says Tim Kelley, ICT policy specialist at infoDev, a World Bank-backed global development financing program. “What we’re lacking at the moment is the will.”

But attitudes are rapidly changing as governments and businesses wake up to the potential of “green” ICT. Karl Mannon from the Climate Risk Group says: “I don’t think we have appreciated the significance of the telecommunications sector as a provider of solutions to solve climate change problems.”

Studies around the world suggest ICT has broad potential to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions. For example, while ICT accounts for around 2 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, it has the potential to reduce emissions by 98 percent in other sectors of the economy. Likewise, it is believed that ICT can help cut approximately 7.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2020, the equivalent of about 15 percent of all emissions.

Thanks to these findings, an increasing number of municipalities are implementing schemes to reduce the environmental impact of modern life, according to Episode 12 of the Green Planet, “12 Centres of Excellence.”

The Swedish capital, Stockholm, is putting ICT to good use. The European Commission recently named the city the first winner of the European Green Capital Awards and European Green Capital 2010. Stockholm’s vision is to be completely free of fossil fuels by 2050 through the use of ICT and other technologies. In Singapore, sophisticated traffic monitoring and management solutions keep traffic flowing safely and reduce pollution.

ICT can also benefit the healthcare industry. ICT makes telemedicine possible, delivering real-time videoconferencing services from metropolitan areas to rural areas. Barry Dixon, intensive care consultant at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, says: “The ability to view ECGs and the actual monitor a patient is connected to is as close as we can get to having the patient in our own department.” Besides improving patient care, telemedicine solutions reduce patient transportation costs by the equivalent of USD 421,000 (AUS 500,000) a year in the Melbourne area, for example.

ICT is also revolutionizing the agriculture industry by improving water management and irrigation techniques. Farmers can better monitor their crops and soil to see when and to what extent they should irrigate. The crops get water only when they need it most – for color, quality and growth – and only for as long as necessary. Such management has major advantages: vastly improved water management (which means less waste) and better quality.