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 sustainability impacts 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).
Environmental
Research briefs
Climate impacts and life cycle assessments
- Simplified LCA - a method to save time and resources (2024)
- ICT sector carbon footprint 2020 (2024)
- Embodied GHG emissions of ICT user devices 2020 (2023)
- Just measure IT (2023)
- Integrating the Planetary Boundaries framework into UCT company reporting - a first approach (2022)
- European network electricity consumption 2015-2020 (2022)
- The carbon footprint of ICT and E&M sectors 2010-2015: Exponential data growth – constant ICT footprints (2018)
- Historical development of the ICT sector footprint (2018, 2013, 2010)
- The electricity use and carbon footprint of ICT network operators globally 2010-2015 (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 2015 - resource usage, climate and toxicity perspective (2018)
- E-waste - major differences between regions (2015)
Research articles
Climate impacts and life cycle assessments
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ICT Sector Electricity Consumption, GHG Emissions, and other key Figures – Development 2007 to 2024 (2026, Malmodin, Lövehagen, Dahl, Lundén, Frantz Schneider)
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Guidelines for assessments of the global information and communication technology sector's direct energy use and climate impact: Key aspects and future scenarios (2025, Furberg, Azizi, Bieser, Bol, Coroama, Eriksson, Fuso-Nerini, Golard, Höjer, Kamiya, Lundén, Lövehagen, Malmodin, Schien, Finnveden)
- A methodology for simplified LCAs of electronic products (2024, Malmodin & Lövehagen)
- ICT sector electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions - 2020 outcome (2024, Malmodin, Lövehagen, Bergmark and Lundén)
- How is mobile broadband intensity affecting CO2 emissions? - A macro analysis (2023, Edquist and Bergmark)
- Assessing embodied carbon emissions of communication user devices by combining approaches (2023, Lövehagen, Malmodin, Bergmark and Matinfar)
- Just measure IT! (2023, Malmodin)
- Electricity Consumption and Operational Carbon Emissions of European Telecom Network Operators (2022, Lundén, Malmodin, Bergmark and Lövehagen)
- A Methodology for Assessing the Environmental Effects Induced by ICT Services: Part I: Single Services (2020, Coroamă and Bergmark, Höjer and Malmodin)
- A Methodology for Assessing the Environmental Effects Induced by ICT Services: Part II: Multiple services and companies (2020, Bergmark and Coroamă, Höjer and Donovan)
- 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)
- Digitalized water and smart cities – how can telecommunication networks be used for environmental resilience? (2018, Paska)
- 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, Malmodin, Bergmark, Kimfalk and Nilsson)
- Assessing ICT’s enabling effect through case study extrapolation – example of smart metering (2016, Malmodin and Coroama)
- 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, Bergmark, Lövehagen, Ercan and Bondesson)
- Simplifying a life cycle assessment of a mobile phone (2014, Moberg, Borggren, Ambell, Finnveden, Guldbrandsson, Bondesson, Malmodin and Bergmark)
- ICT for Sustainable Cities: How ICT can support an environmentally sustainable development in cities (2013, Kramers, Hojer, Lövehagen and Wangel)
- The future carbon footprint of the ICT and E&M sectors (2013, Malmodin et al)
- Evaluating sustainability of using ICT solutions in smart cities (2013, Lövehagen and Bondesson)
- Opportunities and limitations of using life cycle assessment methodology in the ICT sector (2012, Guldbrandsson and Bergmark)
- LCA of data transmission and IP core networks (2012, Malmodin, Lundén, Nilsson and Andersson)
- Methodology for life cycle based assessments of the CO2 reduction potential of ICT services (2010, Malmodin, Lundén and Lövehagen)
- Greenhouse gas emissions and operational electricity use in the ICT and entertainment & media sectors (2010, Malmodin, Moberg, Lundén. Finnveden and Lövehagen)
Circular economy and materials
- A high-level estimate of the material footprints of the ICT and the E&M sector (2018, Malmodin, Bergmark and Matinfar)
Planetary boundaries
- Establishing the planetary boundaries framework in the sustainability reporting of ICT companies – A proposal for proxy indicators (2022, Erlandsson, Bergmark and Höjer)
- Towards considering Planetary Boundaries in Life Cycle Assessments of ICT (2022, Bergmark & Zachrisson)
Thesis reports on environmental sustainability
- A resilience and sustainability assessment of power backup systems for Swedish mobile base stations (2026, Båvegård)
- AI-driven metric extraction of sustainbility data (2025, Ljunggren)
- Emission factors for aluminium and magnesium used in information and communication technology (2025, Vidanagamage)
- High-level estimate of the ICT and E&M sectors material footprint in 2020 (2024, Onaleye and Manoharan)
- Sustainability impacts of satellite internet: digital inclusion vs environmental sustainability (2022, Abdallah)
- Integrating the Planetary Boundaries Framework into Corporate Sustainability Reporting (2022, Erlandsson)
- Developing a Parameterized Embodied Emissions Calculator for telecommunication networks equipment (PEEC) (2021, Madon)
- Sustainability Aspects of ICT in Agriculture and Food Systems (2019, Yuan)
- What is the impact of ICT on CO2 emissions? A macro perspective (2018, Hernnäs)
- The Environmental Impacts of Core Networks for Mobile Telecommunications.: A Study Based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Core Network Equipment (2017, Pino)
- ICT waste handling: regional and global end-of-life treatment scenarios for ICT equipment (2015, Liebmann)
- Global Warming Potential of a Smartphone: Using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology (2013, Ercan)
Reports and white papers
Climate impacts and life cycle assessments
- White paper: ICT energy evolution: telecom, data centers, and AI (2025, Paska, Persson, Malmodin, Lövehagen)
- White paper: Embodied carbon in the telecom industry (2024, Sandahl, Lindskog, Lövehagen)
- Assessing Energy and Climate Effects of Digitalization: Methodological Challenges and Key Recommendations (2023, Bremer, Kamiya, Bergmark, Coroamă, Masanet, and Lifset) - by networkdee.org, one Ericsson co-author
- A quick guide to your digital carbon footprint- Deconstructing Information and Communication Technology’s carbon emissions (2020)
- Background report to 'A guide to your digital climate impact' (2020)
- Reflections regarding ICT and a Citizen-centric future path of smart sustainable cities - AW4City 2018 Keynote (2018, Bergmark)
Blogs
- Unpacking the multifaceted climate impact of ICT: Rebound and other effects (2022)
- How to estimate carbon emissions in mobile networks: a streamlined approach (2021)
- What’s the real climate impact of digital technology? (2020)
- Women in Tech 2020: The role of climate, gender and ICT (2020)
- ICT impact on CO2 emissions – a macro perspective (2018)
- New research: more connectivity and less energy consumption (2018)