Imagine that the batteries of your electrically powered car start charging when we have a peak in solar energy because the sun is shining brightly, or that Europe needs several electrical power plants less because the energy needed for standby of millions of household devices is reduced to nearly zero. Those are only two examples of the many sectors and applications where Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can enable a more sustainable use of natural resources.

Green ICT comprises a vast area, across many domains and sectors, including issues like
■ Reduction of energy consumption
■ Increase of renewables in energy production
■ Reduction of the use of raw materials
■ Rational use of water
■ Decreasing the amount of waste and increasing the recycling rate
■ Decreasing pollution
■ Rationalise transport and logistics

Every one of these issues has myriads of implications in itself and offers many possibilities where ICT can support them, such as collecting and processing the required data, controlling and managing better production processes, and checking whether the modifications produced the wanted results.

Green ICT activities in Europe

The importance and urgency of Green ICT has been recognised by politics and industry. Various international, regional and local activities on this subject are currently going on. It would be impossible to list all of them here; however a few examples to show their significance are described below.
OECD has issued recommendations on ICT and the environment focusing on how ICT can improve the environment and tackle climate change. They identified ICT as “key enabler of green growth in all sectors of the economy”.
Also Eureka is deeply involved in green ICT. With their Clean-Tech Action they support generating industrial RTD projects in all areas related to green ICT, inviting all stakeholders like technology providers, policy makers, regulators and investors to participate.
Another Eureka initiative is EUROGIA+, a Cluster promoting technological development and innovative applications through collaborative projects to provide clean, safe, available and affordable energy to the world.
Concerning rational use of water Eureka has implemented the ACQUEAU Cluster, which aims at promoting innovation and market driven solutions to develop new technologies in the European water sector.

EU plans for a low carbon economy

On the way to a low carbon economy, energy is of central importance. The European Union has set challenging targets until 2020:
■ reducing carbon emissions by 20%
■ increasing the share of renewables in energy consumption to 20%
■ saving 20% of the EU's energy consumption

The issue was pushed at two key events on energy efficiency hosted by the Commission in 2009 and 2010. Commissioner Viviane Reding put it in a nutshell: “ICTs-based innovations are essential to provide the tools that enable business and citizens to really begin the process of reducing their energy and carbon footprints.”
This comprises both ICT in itself as energy consumer and other sectors where ICT can help reduce energy. A prominent example of the latter is the initiatives around smart houses, where ICT controls heating and household devices to maximise energy efficiency.
Various projects are working on this issue. Take for example the award-winning EU project BeyWatch, a research project supported by the European Commission aiming at ICT tools for environmental management and energy efficiency. BeyWatch will develop an energy-aware and user-centric solution, able to provide intelligent energy monitoring and power demand balancing to homes and neighbourhoods. An important goal is to “Motivate user's awareness, towards less CO2 emissions on the whole energy value chain (production, transportation, distribution, supply) and cleaner environment.” Another award-winning EU project is SmartHouse/SmartGrid where intelligent networked ICT technology enables Smart Houses to communicate, interact and negotiate with both customers and energy devices in the local energy grid to achieve maximum overall energy efficiency.

Conclusion

Green ICT is of crucial importance for a sustainable economic development. The domains where ICT can help are vast. Reduction of carbon emissions is only one example. Equally important are issues like reducing waste and maximising the use of raw materials. Collaboration between the different related sectors is paramount for achieving the goals.

For more information please see:
■ OECD and green ICT:
http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,3746,en_2649_34223_42906974_1_1_1_1,00.html
■ EUREKA Clean-Tech Action:
http://www.eurekanetwork.org/cleantech
■ EUREKA Cluster EUROGIA+:
http://www.eurogia.com
■ EUREKA Cluster ACQUEAU:
http://www.acqueau.eu
■ EU event on ICT for Energy Efficiency:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/ict4ee/2010/index_en.htm
■ BeyWatch project:
http://www.beywatch.eu
■ SmartHouse/SmartGrid project:
http://www.smarthouse-smartgrid.eu