The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep) has published the first edition of its annual survey “For a sustainable digital”. It focuses on the evolution of the environmental footprint of the four main telecom operators in France: Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR.
Three indicators to understand the evolution of the digital environmental footprint
As part of this survey, Arcep published three categories of indicators in order to identify levers for action that would enable the implementation of a low-carbon strategy, whether on the side of economic players or users.
Microsoft has its head in the clouds for its first quarter of 2022
The first indicator concerns greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to Arcep, the direct emissions of the four operators have decreased over the past three years. The authority explains this by optimizing vehicle fleets and improving the energy efficiency of buildings, but also by the drop in activity induced by the 2020 health crisis.
Direct greenhouse gas emissions produced by the four main operators in France. Picture: Arcep.
However, she calls for watch out for the optical illusion “. Indeed, indirect emissions, which represent two thirds of total GHG emissions, continue to increase. This is mainly due to the deployment of networks (in particular 5G) and the increase in digital uses.
Indirect emissions produced by the four main operators in France. Picture: Arcep.
Arcep calls digital users to energy sobriety
The second indicator focuses on the energy consumed by households in France. Fixed and mobile networks represent less than 1% of total electricity consumption in France. However, each year since 2016, their energy consumption has increased by an average of 5%: if it continues to increase at this rate, it could double by 2035.
To lower consumption, Arcep invites regular smartphone users to use Wi-Fi at home rather than their mobile data. Picture: Arcep.
The energy consumption of mobile networks is twice as high as that of fixed networks, while optical fiber is the least energy-intensive technology. A fiber optic subscriber consumes 4 times less kWh than an ADSL subscriber still using copper cables.
Finally, the third and last indicator concerns the sale, collection, recycling and reconditioning of mobile phones. 79% of the digital carbon footprint is due to terminals, including 13% for smartphones alone. While 20 million mobile phones come to France each year, the share of refurbished models remains low (only 13%).
53% of unused devices in France are kept by their owners, without them doing anything about it. Arcep then challenges former users of these smartphones: “ insofar as 80% of the carbon footprint of terminals is linked to their manufacture, reconditioning offers significant potential for reducing their impact “.