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Climate change is high on the global agenda and Ericsson is strongly Ericsson is actively working to reduce the
committed to doing its part by reducing the environmental impact of its energy consumption of its products, in part
operations and by providing sustainable solutions to customers and soci- because this reduces CO2 emissions, and in
ety. For example, Ericsson is taking steps to decrease the environmental part because it results in lower operating
costs.
impact of its products by improving their energy efficiency.
The authors describe Ericsson’s work using life cycle assessments
(LCA) to understand the total potential environmental impact and perfor- Life cycle assessments
mance of its products and services, especially of CO2 emissions. They LCAs are used to analyze the environmental
then present two specific examples of energy-reduction solutions: BTS aspects and potential environmental impact
Power Savings, and the Tower Tube concept for building telecom sites. associated with a given product over the
course of its lifetime (Figure 1). This holistic
view applies to products, systems and servic-
es. Life cycle assessments can be divided into
two major phases:
Introduction holders, such as customers, investors and • inventory phase – life cycle inventory
analysts. Life cycle assessments are a useful (LCI); and
There is a growing need to measure and measurement technique for understanding • impact assessment phase – life cycle im-
calculate the environmental impact of the relative significance of a product or sys- pact assessment (LCIA).
products, systems, and services. Indeed, tem’s environmental performance – in par- The LCI examines a given activity or set of
Ericsson receives frequent requests for this ticular, CO2 emissions, which contribute to activities (often at factory sites) by study-
kind of information from a variety of stake- global warming. ing the use of energy, materials, and land
resources, as well as emissions into the air,
water and ground. The findings are put into
a tree structure together with the inputs and
Figure 1 outputs (I/O) of the supply chain and the fu-
LCA including LCI and LCIA phases. ture life cycle of the product (transport, use,
and scrapping). In the telecommunication
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have been standardized in the ISO 1404x
series of environmental management stan-
dards. The I/Os of each activity, as well as
how they might impact the environment, are
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Ericsson LCAs of mobile
communications
Ericsson uses LCAs to analyze the potential
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services, and to understand the total energy
balance within its sphere of influence. As an
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regarding areas of improvement. The scope
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that is, it covers every phase of a product or
system’s life cycle, including raw material
extraction, production, supplier activities,
transportation, terminals, RBS site materi-
als, operator and office activities, and end-of- impact (percentage) than other categories, Ericsson has made energy-efficiency activities
life treatment. such as land use. an integral part of its R&D activities, setting
Ericsson conducted its first LCA for ra- In the mobile communications LCAs, the aggressive targets in this area.
dio base stations (RBS) in 1994-1995. This difference between CO2 and CO2e is not very Ericsson’s LCAs have shown that an im-
work was later expanded to include mobile great. On average, CO2e is 3% higher mainly portant environmental parameter is energy
phones and core network equipment – that due to CH4 emissions during fuel production consumption during manufacturing and
is, a complete second-generation mobile and from the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and while operating mobile communications
communications system modeled on actual perfluorocarbons (PFC) used to manufacture equipment (terminals, RBSs, switches, and
networks in Sacramento, California (USA) integrated circuits (IC). so on).
and Stockholm, Sweden. In 2002, Ericsson Because of the strong relationship between Ericsson’s LCAs show that, on average,
also completed an LCA of a third-generation CO2 emissions/energy efficiency, and because one new GSM subscription (2006) contrib-
WCDMA network. The study complied in telecom networks are largely energy driven, utes about 24kg of CO2e emissions per year
full with the ISO 1404x series of LCA stan-
dards. It was also peer reviewed and accepted
by independent scientists.
Early on, Ericsson chose to use CO2 and
TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions as preferred
environmental indicators. Whereas CO2 re- BB Broadband LCD Liquid crystal display
fers to direct CO2 emissions, the CO2e figures BCCH Broadcast channel LCI Life cycle inventory
include gases such as methane (CH4), which BSC Base station controller LCIA Life cycle impact assessment
when decomposed, turns into CO2. When BTS Base transceiver station NO2 Nitrogen dioxide
CFC Chlorofluorocarbons (Freon) N-total Nitrogen total load
performing LCAs, Ericsson studies twelve CH4 Methane PA Power amplifier
major categories of environmental impact. CO2 Carbon dioxide PCB Printed circuit board
However, because several of these are linked CO2e CO2 equivalent PFC Perfluorocarbons
to the CO2e indicator, the primary focus is EEoLT Electronics end-of-life treatment PM10 Particulate matter, particles with
on CO2e emissions. The strong link between EoLT End-of-life treatment diameter of ≤10µm
GDP Gross domestic product R&D Research and development
CO2e and energy consumption can be attrib- GSM Global system for mobile RBS Radio base station
uted to the use of oil, coal and fossil gas as communications RDF50 Resource depletion factor using a
energy sources. HW Hardware 50-year time frame
Figure 2 shows the relative environmen- IC Integrated circuit SF6 Sulfur hexafluoride
ICT Information and communication SO2 Sulfur dioxide
tal impact of a WCDMA network per mo- technology SW Software
bile phone subscriber and the distribution I/O Input/output TRX Transceiver (transmitter + receiver)
between raw material, manufacturing, oper- ISO International Organization for TCH Traffic channel
ation, and operation activities. The indicators Standardization TS Timeslot
that relate to global warming have a greater LCA Life cycle assessment
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different ICT industry sectors.
Innovative solutions, superior design sign simplifies production and handling, and The reduced impact on the environment comes
The Tower Tube introduces several innova- the use of concrete introduces an element of both from improved use of materials (the de-
tions that challenge conventional ways of flexibility, making way for a variety of shapes, sign, for example, calls for only a tenth of the
building sites. The concrete construction textures and colors (Figure 6). steel used in traditional sites) and improved
fully encapsulates the site providing space operations (where a 40% reduction in power
for all equipment and an indoor climate. The Cost effective, reduced environmental consumption has direct effect). In addition, lo-
entire package of RBSs and antennas is lifted impact cal production minimizes the need for trans-
to the top of the tower via an elevator. To Compared with a traditional tower site, it is portation when deploying the Tower Tubes.
access the equipment for maintenance, tech- faster and easier to deploy the Tower Tube.
nicians can easily climb the lighted, indoor Its footprint is 60% to 75% smaller, and the Potential of BTS Power Savings and
stairs. The first Tower Tube prototype was site solely requires indoor equipment. Fences, Tower Tube to reduce CO2e emissions
dimensioned for three RBSs, but with 18m2 shelter, grounding, cooling and feeder cables The potential of the BTS Power Savings fea-
of floor space, plus more space at the top, it are all included or made obsolete. Moreover, ture to reduce CO2e emissions is significant.
can easily accommodate additional installa- feeder loss is about 3dB lower than that of To date, Ericsson has delivered more than 1
tions. The spacious interior also constitutes a a traditional site. Also, the elimination of million GSM RBSs, and the new BTS Power
safe and convenient working environment. long feeder cables and active cooling reduces Savings feature can be installed in nearly ev-
The Tower Tube sets a new standard in power consumption by up to 40% compared ery such RBS deployed since 1995. If opera-
terms of dimensioning: its thin walls (only with traditional sites. Finally, the need for tors were to install the new software in every
70mm) are constructed using post-tensioned maintenance is minimum: the Tower Tube installed Ericsson GSM RBS, the annual reduc-
steel wires and high-quality concrete. The de- is tion of CO2e emissions would be somewhere
sign also keeps material usage to a minimum • fully encapsulated, which eliminates the between 0.5 and 1 million tons. This figure
(Figure 5). For instance, the Tower Tube uses need for landscaping; and corresponds to the annual emissions of up to
only a tenth of the steel found in traditional • protected by a security door, which elimi- 300,000 petroleum-powered cars (3 tons/car).
tower sites. What is more, the modular de- nates the need for security. The potential of Tower Tube installations
to reduce CO2e emissions is also significant.
Compared to a conventional RBS site, the
Tower Tube directly reduces CO2 emissions
by about 25%. The full potential for opera-
tions at a Tower Tube site is even greater, or
about 40%. To reach this figure, the RBS
TABLE 1, CO2e EMISSIONS AND REVENUE (GDP) OF THE ICT INDUSTRY SECTOR must be designed, and the network opti-
COMPARED WITH OTHER SECTORS mized, to fully capture low feeder losses. Fi-
Global CO2e Revenue (GDP) nally, structures like the Tower Tube have a
ICT 1.2% 7% (0.17) very long lifetime, which adds up to a large
TVs and peripherals 1% 1.7% (0.6) positive impact over time. Given a 20-year
Other entertainment & media (paper) 1% 3% (0.33) lifetime, an LCA of the Tower Tube shows