The World Wildlife Fund has released their strategic plan for reducing 1 billion tonnes of carbon, a report titled "Outline for the first Global IT Strategy for CO2 reductions - A billion tonnes of CO2 reductions and beyond through transformational change". The report provides a concise overview of the challenges facing every industry today, and how ICT can contribute to solving some of the environmental challenge through technological innovation, however some of the suggestions are already being established within Australia as standards and simply need further promotion and marketing to become ubiquituous.
The focus in the report is on solutions that aren't just short term, but change habits and standards for the longer term, as well as measures that have a "low carbon impact" i.e. minimal potential side effects to the actual implementation, and at the same time promote innovation and proactive action.
WWF rightly point out the one of the keys to ICT helping the industry is not only through a direct impact, such as reducing server energy consumption, but both indirect and systematic effects as well. They suggest indirect effects relate to 'the service provided', such as video conferencing, and systematic effects can be measured as those that relate to the use and implementation of technology, such as a change in process. WWF have then combined these three categories with high and low carbon impacts.
Below is an overview of the top 7 (of the total 10) initiatives WWF singled out - we have added a brief analysis of the current state of play and what else needs to occur in Australia to help achieve the proposed WWF goals:
| WWF ICT Strategic Initiative | Description |
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| 1. |
Smart City Planning |
WWF: The use of software to better model city planning and optimisation of energy use. What is already happening: In Sydney, Australia collaboration between the City of Sydney Council, businesses and other local government agencies called Sustainable Sydney 2030, is already underway to develop an environmentally sustainable city infrasucture, including one mission to design and renew in a sustainable manner. What else needs to happen in Australia:
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| 2. |
Smart Buildings |
WWF: Use sensors and controls in buildings to improve efficiency and tailor energy use to energy needs. What is already happening: Most buildings designed and built today in the cities are done so with some types of sensors for lighting. However you can still walk down George St in Sydney City (and probably any city in the world) and still see many, many lights (and PCs) left on. Other companies are investing in developing software that helps analyse environmental effects on buildings before they are implemented, such as software that can analyse the effect of applying film to windows before it is applied, and calculating a measureable TCO. Others are designing buildings that are self-sufficient, generating their own energy using wind and solar power. Meanwhile hotels in recent years have been saving electricity (and carbon) through solutions like wireless, self-powered key cards. One example of a company innovating with smart buildings is Coles - they are currently trialling 5 concept stores that adjust lighting and energy fed to air conditioners and refrigeration. What else needs to happen in Australia:
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| 3. |
Smart Appliances |
WWF: Utilise IT components (Microprocessors and ASICs) within appliances to improve efficiency and tailor appliances use with actual needs. What is already happening: Broadly smart appliances are increasingly being developed every year - fridges connect to the internet, washers and dryers are being built into a single machine, and you can remote control your homes' air conditioning and heating from anywhere in the world. Office appliances are also getting smarter with solutions such as printers that can print on reusable paper. What else needs to happen in Australia:
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| 4. |
Dematerialisation Services |
WWF: Use IT as a form of "service delivery" substituting physical products and interactions i.e. "using bits instead of bricks". What is already happening: For many years banks have provided the ability to be billed online (subject to partnership) and allow consumers to pay their bills using internet banking. In Australia in 2004 the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) recommended eVoting be introduced at the next election and subsequently trialled an eVoting solution in 2007. The Australian Tax Office provides a free eTax service, with over 1.9 million Australian individuals lodging their claims via the Internet in 2007. Additionally many of the well known Tax Specialists in Australia also provide their own interface into online tax returns, such as the H&R Block Online Tax Preparation service. However many government agencies, commercial and small businesses do not yet support online form submission or have 'poor man' implementations which allow you to download the form online, but which then require you to print and fax or post the form back. This solution not only doesn't reduce the carbon footprint, but also simply transfers the cost of paper and consumables to the consumer/customer. What else needs to happen in Australia:
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| 5. |
I-optimisation |
WWF: Use IT-based controls and knowledge management systems within individual production processes to improve operations, save energy and increase efficiency. What is already happening: Almost every industry has taken advantage of IT in some form or another, in order to optimise the way their businesses run, or to create more efficient processes. Customer Service departments use CRM tools to log, view and manage customer queries, complaints, products and services in a centralised and collaborative manner; Manufacturing plants utilise technology to optimise development processes and recover waste materials that can be reused and recycled; Chemical factories use IT to monitor and measure chemical outputs to minimalise their damage to the environment. What else needs to happen in Australia: This is an interesting one because it would difficult today to find a company in Australia that does not use technology for some form of process automation and optimisation, either from the birth of their business or through retrofit to older businesses. As such it is difficult to recommend a definate form when essentially I-optimisation is something that will naturally progress (with varying maturity across different industries) and will become part of the typical Australian business fabric. This is only set to increase as the new generations of workers expect to interact with and use technology to automate tedious and/or inefficient process. As such the key recommendation would be for industries and individual businesses to review their technology strategy and determine where environmental efficiencies may lie, that can also boost business cost savings and attract younger generations into their industries. |
| 6. |
Smart Industry |
WWF: Deploy design tools and software to forecast, simulate and analyse energy use in production processes to ensure low carbon design of plants and processes. What is already happening: There are companies such as Carli Inc which currently provide services to assess building energy use through simulation tools such as DesignerBuilder; and KBC which provides simulation software & services such as Petro-Sim for petroleum machinery & processes. However it should be noted that simulation software can really only theoretically predict energy consumption in modelled scenarios - software that can analyse real processes would be ideal - but obviously not realistic in many scenarios presently. The Australian Federal Government has already recognised this area as one that could generate significant energy savings - as a result legislation such as the National Greenhouse & Energy Reporting 2007 Act (commonly known as NGER) has been implemented and the first report is due in 2009. On their website http://www.energyefficiencyopportunities.gov.au/ they provide advice and guidance for baselining energy use; as well as an energy use calculator. Using this guidance 24 companies have trialled the guidance including Coca-Cola, Boral, Wesfarmers, BHP Billiton, Caltex and Toyota. What else needs to happen in Australia: This can be split into two core areas: education and software development. Firstly an overall assessment of the gaps in software development for energy intensive industry processes and the subsequent development or adaptation of software to meet these needs. And secondly more companies need to be better educated on processes such as those developed by the Australian Government, as well as improved education of university and IT students on developing technology skills in smart industry. |
| 7. |
Smart Grid |
WWF: Deploy smart meters and communication technologies within electricity networks to enable two way communication between energy users and energy producers and to deliver advanced services such as "time of use metering" or "remote demand management". What is already happening: ICT companies such as Microsoft Research are already investing in home automation solutions in this respect but commercialisation is still 2-5 years away, maybe even longer. Energy companies such as Energy Australia have implemented trials of smart meters in homes as well - smart meters such as those provided by Metropolis to energy companies enable energy usage and pricing information to be displayed on in-home units, mobile phones, and via the television. Additionally initiatives such as the collaboration between La Trobe University and Semitech Innovations on a chip that can sit inside powerpoints and whitegoods have already commenced. The Australian Government has also initiated a program of work on smart metering under the leadership of the Ministerial Council for Energy to assess the benefits associated with a mandatory smart meter rollout and non-smart meter direct load control alternatives. What else needs to happen in Australia: As a consumer you can opt for your own smart meter to help you manage energy consumption in the home - contact your electricity supplier for more details. However businesses also need to pickup on the initiative and demand their own smart meters which will enable them to not only monitor areas such as data centers, but their entire business operations's energy consumption, with dynamic breakdowns and detail on everything from overall facilities down to racks or inidividual devices. |
