Life Cycle Assessment of Network Traffic: A Review of Challenges and Possible Solutions
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methodology
2.1. Literature Review
2.2. Semi-Systematic Qualitative Research Interviews
3. Results
3.1. Challenge 1: System Boundaries
3.2. Challenge 2: Data Collection Methods
3.3. Challenge 3: Measurement Units for Electricity Intensity
3.4. Challenge 4: Transparency and Data Availability
3.5. Challenge 5: Age of Data
3.6. Challenge 6: Allocation Procedures
3.7. Challenge 7: Assumptions during the LCI Phase
3.8. Challenge 8: Limited Coverage of Impact Categories
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Written Interview Guide |
Date: |
Name of the interviewee: |
Introductory questions |
What is your position at …? |
How long have you been working there? |
What are your responsibilities? |
What is your previous experience with network traffic and its environmental impact? |
System boundaries |
Why do you think the system boundaries differ between many studies? |
Why are subsystems within the ICT sector and Internet network sometimes defined differently? Why do you think the terminology differs? |
Do you agree with the illustration of possible system boundaries? What changes could be made to improve the accuracy of the image? |
Which alternative or combination of subsystems do you think would be most optimal to include, use and measure? Why? |
Data collection methods |
Which methodological data collection methods are you familiar with? |
Which data collection method would be most optimal to use? Why? |
Electricity intensity metrics |
When measuring electricity intensity, do you agree that kWh/GB is the preferable option? Why/Why not? |
What is your opinion about using a unit more specifically linked to time? |
What other alternatives could the LCA practitioner? |
Transparency |
What are the reasons behind the currently low transparency within the sector? |
How could this issue be solved? Could one implement a separate, third-party entity? |
Age of data |
Is it possible to limit the validity of the results to one year of reference? If no, why? |
Would it be possible to compare the results of the same year of reference? If no, why? |
Allocation procedures |
Where do allocation occur, and which areas are most problematic in your opinion? Why? What would be the best approach in your opinion? Why? |
Limited coverage of impact categories |
Why has only the carbon footprint been accounted for so far in the most research literature? |
What are other areas that should be given more focus, in your opinion? |
Varied user practices |
How does one make sure that future LCAs use the same methodology? |
Have you heard about type III environmental declarations? Could product category rules or anything similar be used as an appropriate framework? |
Other |
Have you identified other problems not mentioned previously during the interview? If yes, what? |
Is there anything you would like to add? If yes, what? |
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Respondent | Name | Title | Organization |
---|---|---|---|
Interviewee 1 | Roland Hischier | Head of Advancing LCA Group | EMPA |
Interviewee 2 | Dag Lundén | Environmental Manager | Telia Sverige AB |
Interviewee 3 | Sara Gorton | Head of Environmental Strategy | Telia Sverige AB |
Interviewee 4 | Vlad Coroama | Senior Research Associate with Institute for Pervasive Computing | ETH Zürich |
Interviewee 5 | Lorenz Hilty | Professor of Informatics and Sustainability | UZH University of Zurich |
Interviewee 6 | Jens Malmodin | Senior Specialist Environmental Impacts and Life Cycle Analysis | Ericsson |
Interviewee 7 | Pernilla Bergmark | Principal Researcher ICT Sustainability Impacts | Ericsson |
Interviewee 8 | Anonymous | Senior Life Cycle Expert | Telecom company |
Challenge | Literature Review | Interviews |
---|---|---|
System boundaries | X | X |
Data collection methods | X | X |
Measurement units for electricity intensity | X | X |
Transparency and data availability | X | X |
Age of data | X | X |
Allocation procedures | X | X |
Assumptions during the life cycle inventory phase | X | X |
Limited coverage of impact categories | X | X |
Differing degree of knowledge among practitioners | X | |
Other functional units in media | X | |
Less focus on mobile networks than fixed | X | |
Less focus on production phase than use phase | X | |
Different and differently validated models | X | |
Low understanding among the public | X |
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Billstein, T.; Björklund, A.; Rydberg, T. Life Cycle Assessment of Network Traffic: A Review of Challenges and Possible Solutions. Sustainability 2021, 13, 11155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011155
Billstein T, Björklund A, Rydberg T. Life Cycle Assessment of Network Traffic: A Review of Challenges and Possible Solutions. Sustainability. 2021; 13(20):11155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011155
Chicago/Turabian StyleBillstein, Tova, Anna Björklund, and Tomas Rydberg. 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Network Traffic: A Review of Challenges and Possible Solutions" Sustainability 13, no. 20: 11155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011155