Sustainability research
A fundamental aspect to Ericsson’s approach broadly is to base its decisions on research and science – this applies equally to sustainability topics. We carry out peer-reviewed research, both alone and in collaboration with research partners from academia and business, on the environmental, social and economic effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), providing facts and insights for the company, the industry and stakeholders.
Methodology development for measuring the impact of ICT as a sector has been an important task for years and some of these methodologies have made significant contributions to international assessment standards.
Read our research briefs or full papers to learn more (available through links).
Research briefs
Climate impacts and life-cycle assessments
- The current carbon footprint of ICT and E&M sectors: Exponential data growth – constant ICT footprints (2018)
- Historical development of the ICT sector footprint (2018, 2013, 2010)
- The current footprint of ICT network operators globally (2018)
- The carbon footprint of the ICT and E&M sectors in Sweden 1990-2015 and beyond (2016)
- Life cycle assessment of a smartphone (2016)
- Exploring the effects of ICT solutions on GHG emissions in 2030 (2015)
- Estimating the enabling potential of ICT – a challenging research task (2014, 2015)
- Comparing smart metering cases - fewer participants larger reductions (2016)
Circular economy and materials
- The material footprints of ICT and E&M sectors - resource usage, climate and toxicity perspective (2018)
- E-waste - major differences between regions
Economic impacts
Social impacts
Research papers
Climate impacts and life-cycle assessments
- How 5G NR can reduce network energy consumption (2019, Frenger and Tano)
- The energy and carbon footprint of the global ICT and E&M sectors 2010–2015. (2018, Malmodin and Lundén)*
- The electricity consumption and operational carbon emissions of ICT network operators 2010-2015 (2018, Malmodin and Lundén)*
- The future carbon footprint of the ICT and E&M sectors (2013, Malmodin et al)*
- LCA of data transmission and IP core networks (2012, Malmodin et al)
- Greenhouse gas emissions and operational electricity use in the ICT and entertainment & media sectors (2010, Malmodin et al)*
- The energy and carbon footprint of the ICT and E&M sector in Sweden 1995-2015 and beyond (2016, Malmodin and Lundén)*
- Life-cycle assessment of a smartphone (2016, Ercan et al)*
- Exploring the effect of ICT solutions on GHG emissions in 2030 (2015, Malmodin and Bergmark)*
- Considerations for macro-level studies of ICT’s enablement potential (2014, Malmodin et al)*
- Assessing ICT’s enabling effect through case study extrapolation – example of smart metering (2016, Malmodin and Coroama)*
- Evaluating sustainability of using ICT solutions in smart cities (2013, Lovehagen and Bondesson)
- Opportunities and limitations of using life cycle assessment methodology in the ICT sector (2012, Bergmark and Guldbrandsson)
- Methodology for life cycle based assessments of the CO2 reduction potential of ICT services (2010, Malmodin et al)
Circular economy and materials
- A high-level estimate of the material footprints of the ICT and the E&M sector (2018, Malmodin et al)*
- ICT waste handling: regional and global end-of-life treatment scenarios for ICT equipment (2015, Liebmann – master thesis)*
Economic impacts
- What is the impact of ICT on CO2 emissions? A macro perspective (2018, Hernnäs – master thesis)
- How important are mobile broadband networks for global economic development? (2018, Edquist et al)*
- Ecological and economic perspective of mobile communications (2013, Fehske et al)
Social impacts
- The Citizen Field Engineer: crowdsourced maintenance of connected water infrastructure (2015, von Heland et al)*
- Using minecraft as a citizen participation tool in urban design and decision making (2015, von Heland et al)
* Research brief exists