Business case key to combating climate change

By Petroc Wilton, CommsDay, as a guest of Ericsson at Mobile World Congress

Finding the business case in sustainability initiatives is crucial to driving sufficient investment in emissions reductions, according to Ericsson president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg.
Speaking at Mobile World Congress, Svanberg exhorted operators and other sections of the industry to work in tandem on climate change and keep their eyes open for the opportunities that new technologies might bring.

“I think we have an awful lot here to gain by really working very closely together,” said Svanberg. “There is no way that we can get to this [emissions reduction target] without society making massive investments in technology…. this is a huge business opportunity for our industry. When there’s no business incentive, then we’re back to donations, to charity, and that’s a different story. So here I think we need to look at every opportunity that is out there.”

Ericsson’s own initiatives in the climate change field include the use of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of its base stations, a move that Svanberg noted also brought the firm significant OPEX savings on energy costs.

“One of the activities we’ve done is to bring down the energy consumption of our base stations by 80% from 2001,” said Svanberg, “We’ve [also] set a very clear target to reduce the CO2 footprint that we and our products leave every year for the next four years by 10% per year.”

But Svanberg also reiterated that ICT and telco firms could work to combat climate change beyond their own sector. “There are surveys that suggest that we, as an industry, can help in reducing CO2 emissions in society by 15-20% by simply creating a smarter society,” he said. “A smarter grid, more balanced energy distribution… telepresence… smarter transport. These are all things that we will have to have if we are to come near to where society needs to be by 2050.”

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Tags: Carl-Henric Svanberg, CO2 emissions reduction, Ericsson, Green ICT, sustainability, telecoms

Category: Climate change, Green corporations, Mobile, Networks, Renewables