Green ICT

The relationship between ICT and the environment is at an important turning point.  ICT is no longer simply an environmental problem that needs to be fixed.  It is recognised to be an enabler of new smarter, greener ways of living and working that will, over time, bring about major reductions in energy-use and carbon emissions.

Bristol has made a commitment with the other Core Cities and Government to meet the targets set out in the Climate Change Act – to reduce CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels. The European Commission says that ‘ICT technologies are expected to reduce total carbon emissions in Europe by up to 15% by 2020’.

The Carbon Trust has funded Connecting Bristol to undertake a study to calculate Bristol’s ICT carbon footprint and develop a Green ICT solutions database.

Business use of ICT costs Bristol approx £11 million per year in energy costs and produces 67,258 tonnes of CO2, which works out as 3% of citywide emissions or 7% of industrial and commercial emissions.

This study is important because it provides a baseline for Bristol, as a city, to measure progress in reducing ICT-related carbon emissions, supporting Bristol’s commitment to achieving its carbon reduction targets, and helping to meet our national indicator requirements.

In practical terms the study is a Call to Action, which we are responding to by:

• Creating a Green ICT Champions group – bringing together Green ICT pioneers from across the city’s businesses sectors, providing exemplars of what can be achieved & encouraging greater uptake of Green ICT solutions.
• Working with VOSCUR to support take-up of Green ICT within the voluntary and community sectors in Bristol.
• Developing a Green ICT Community of Practice – to increase access to impartial information and for practitioners to share their experiences.
• Sharing Best Practice on Green ICT – locally via Green Capital and BETS, nationally via DC10plus network and internationally by contributing to the European Commission’s and Eurocities ICT work on Green ICT.

Mailing List
To be kept up to date on how this project develops, please sign up to the Bristol Green ICT mailing list

To become a Champion or for further information contact:
Connecting Bristol
Email: stephen.hilton@bristol.gov.uk
Tel: 0117 906 5638

Relevant Links

• The Carbon Trust - The Carbon Trust’s mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy, by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions now and develop commercial low carbon technologies for the future.
• Voscur – Voscur is an infrastructure organisation and a development agency for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Bristol.
• Bristol Green Capital – Bristol Green Capital programme aims to accelerate the pace of change in our economy and our communities towards the low carbon future that will make Bristol a more sustainable, healthier, greener city.
• BETS – The Bristol Environmental Technologies Sector is a trade association and sector partnership between businesses, academia, investors, local authorities, regional and national agencies promoting the growth of the environmental technologies and services sector in the Bristol city-region.
• DC10 Plus Network – DC10plus aims to promote social inclusion through the use of technology. It is a collaborative network of local authorities and their partners dedicated to creating partnerships, sharing best practice and developing new initiatives.