Kim Johnson

Use renewable energy for purchased electricity, reduce lifetime CO2 emissions of products in the design phase, implement Industry 4.0 technologies for factory efficiencies, and invest in greener buildings and production sites are just four of the 30 action items identified in a new report by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research. The report, Industrial & Manufacturing: 30 Action Items for Reducing Carbon Emissions, Water Use, and Waste, provides an actionable enterprise-level framework for reaching net-zero carbon emissions, with best practices and company use cases for sustainability collected across multiple industrial conglomerates.

A new competitive ranking by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an in-depth and unbiased examination of a representative set of 10 of the world’s largest industrial manufacturing conglomerates that are leading the way toward sustainable manufacturing operations. These companies were evaluated and ranked based on their sustainability efforts across six categories: renewable energy use; material sourcing and eco-design; technology use and eco-efficiency; waste reduction and circularity; green buildings and vehicles; and reporting and governance. Within those categories, ABI Research further identified 30 action items to score each company in the index for specifically reducing carbon emissions, water use, and waste across the industrial sector.

New ABI Research whitepaper gives a reality check on the opportunities and challenges with Telco sustainability initiatives Global pressure is increasing for telcos to reduce energy and waste and achieve climate-related targets, all while making massive investments in energy-draining 5G spectrum, infrastructure, and supporting technologies. As a result, living up to the hype of 5G performance standards (super-fast speeds, higher throughput, lower latency, enhanced security) and sustainability standards (running a green network while optimizing energy efficiency) has proven to be a challenge. However, initiatives in the telecoms industry do not have to be an either/or proposition, as global technology intelligence firm ABI Research underscores in its latest whitepaper, A Telco Sustainability Reality Check.

Article by Kim Johnson

Article by Kim Johnson

This brings us to a new report by ABI Research titled, 30 Action Items for Sustainability: Telco Operators, providing what it calls an actionable plan for reaching net-zero carbon emissions with examples and best practices collected from across the telecom industry. Kim Johnson “This report seeks to help telecommunications companies go from sustainability pledges and targets to next-level execution by identifying the technologies, platforms, and programs that will take them from good intentions to robust actions,” says Kim Johnson, sustainable technologies principal analyst at ABI Research.

Kim Johnson (pictured), sustainable technologies principal analyst at ABI Research, said: “This report seeks to help telecommunications companies go from sustainability pledges and targets to next-level execution by identifying the technologies, platforms, and programs that will take them from good intentions to robust actions.” Potential actions include using renewable energy for purchased electricity – creating a dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions – and replacing copper with fibre: an 85% improved efficiency, said Johnson.

As telco players progressively embrace more sustainable ways to conduct their business, various reports suggest there is still room for improvement as the industry strives to be more environmentally friendly. Just ahead of Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on 22 April, technology intelligence company ABI Research pinpointed 30 “action items” that telcos can take on in order to achieve their net-zero carbon emission ambitions. Unsurprisingly, the use of renewable energy has been found to bring “dramatic” reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In fact, many major operators have committed to turn to renewable sources for their energy use soon and some of them even claim they have already achieved the milestone of making their entire consumption green. Another finding by ABI Research suggests replacing copper lines with fibre will improve energy efficiency by 85 per cent – a conclusion that confirms similar findings by UK broadband provider TalkTalk. (See TalkTalk finds fibre networks will cost the planet much less than copper.)

But the task is easier said than done. “One of the challenges with reporting the carbon footprint of grocery items is that the same food product grown in one region can have a completely different carbon footprint in another region,” says Kim Arrington Johnson, principal analyst at ABI Research.

Mobile operators must focus on their largest source of carbon emissions, the energy consumption of their networks, Kim Johnson, Principal Analyst at ABI Research has warned. Johnson was speaking as ABI Research released the results of its Sustainability Index: Telco Operators report which, it claims, provides an unbiased examination and ranking of ten leading telecommunications operators for sustainability. “These telco operators are at the intersection of comms and information technology, putting them in a unique position to offer connectivity and technological solutions that are not only lowering their own carbon emissions but also the emissions of their customers,” said Johnson.