IGF 2021 WS #241
Shaping a Sustainable Next Generation Internet

Organizer 1: Monique CALISTI, Martel Innovate
Organizer 2: Klaudia dos Santos, Martel Innovate

Speaker 1: Giovanni Rimassa, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Jan Bieser, Technical Community, Eastern European Group
Speaker 3: Loretta Anania, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Moderator

Monique CALISTI, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Online Moderator

Klaudia dos Santos, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Rapporteur

Klaudia dos Santos, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Format

Break-out Group Discussions - Flexible Seating - 90 Min

Policy Question(s)

Increasing awareness and proactiveness among policymakers and developers: How do we ensure that technology developers, digital corporations, policy makers and policy processes consistently consider the impact of the Internet and digitalisation on sustainability and climate change?
Reducing impact: How can we achieve a net zero impact on climate change of the further expansions of the Internet and its infrastructure? How can Internet standards, governance and policy choices, and standards for device design, development and manufacture, contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the Internet (e.g. through the adoption of green computing, energy efficient servers and machines/processes, and by policy contributions)? How can we further use digital technologies to better predict and manage the impacts of climate change?
Additional Policy Questions Information: - Aligning technology providers and policymakers: what needs to be done for this to happen?
- Major stakeholders across a variety of vertical domains must be engaged as well. How can this be done effectively?
- Where regulation ends, and education / self-conscience starts?
- What kind of incentives need to be put in place to ensure a change at individual and organisational levels?
- How to engage citizens more directly?

Martel is at work on several fronts to promote the development and adoption of greener technologies to ensure a sustainable digital transformation of our economy and society.

We strongly believe that increasing awareness and proactiveness (also among the general public) is one of the major steps towards conscious data consumption and digital behaviour. This requires the engagement of several stakeholders, from policymakers to regulators, industry, as well as public authorities and ultimately all citizens. At the planned IGF workshop, we will engage several experts representing these different stakeholders’ categories.

The main challenges/issues we want to address through the selected policy questions include the following:
• Alignment of public and private interests and initiatives to ensure on the one hand a digitally-empowered economy and society, while, on the other, a digital transformation in respect of our environment that can actually help to address major global challenges on sustainability and climate change.
• Effective awareness creation to ensure that organisations (public and private) as well as individuals at all levels consider and understand the impact of the digital choices they make, as a preliminary step for paving the way towards a green digital transformation of our economy and society.
• Alignment of several ongoing initiatives at the national and international scale for increased impact of efforts (at policy, regulatory, technological, market and environmental levels).
• Beyond technology changes, a cultural change is needed. While streaming has become the new flying, most of the young and old generations do not realise how bad their digital habits can be for our planet. Education in this respect is essential.

SDGs

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible Production and Consumption
13. Climate Action


Targets: • 9.1 - Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
• 9.c - Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in the least developed countries by 2020
• 12.8 - By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
• 13.3 - Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

Description:

The environmental cost of the internet has been increasing dramatically in recent years. The internet consumes electricity on end users' devices, data centres, and communication networks that transfer data. According to recent studies, the total electricity consumption of its infrastructure only (networks and data centres, without consumer devices) is around 500 TWh per year - that is 2.5% of worldwide electricity! Besides the negative impact due to the huge energy consumption, the environmental footprint of the internet also accounts for the production, use, and disposal of its infrastructure and the massive proliferation of connected things (25-50 billion by the end of 2021!).

Next-generation internet technologies must become greener both in the way they are developed and in the way they are deployed. This calls for all stakeholders to be engaged in redefining the way we use and consume internet technologies. This workshop will gather a diverse group of researchers, innovators, policymakers, and students with expertise and interest in a transition towards a safer, more resilient, and more sustainable internet.

The main objective of this workshop is to voice some of the most significant efforts, which are paving the way towards greener internet, advocate for an increased focus on studying and understanding the environmental footprint of internet technologies, as well as growing awareness of environmental issues among the general public.

During the webinar, we will:
• Provide an overview of the internet’s environmental impact and engage with the audience to stimulate their awareness about their digital behaviour impact on the environment. The numbers and statistics that we will provide will refer to major ongoing and recent studies in the field of digital sustainability and the green internet.
• Provide an overview of some major ongoing initiatives (especially at the European level) at work for a more sustainable and environmental-friendly Internet. These include the EU Green Deal, the Green Internet Foundation, the Digital for Planet Association, the Youth Forum Switzerland, etc.
• Discuss main challenges and identify key priorities for policymakers as well as representatives from both the public and private sector to shape a Next Generation Internet that is green and sustainable by design.
• Touch on the inefficiency of ICT caused by business models and consumer behaviour that are the cause of huge amounts of e-waste.
• We will also advocate for small behavioural changes (at an individual level) that could make a tremendous difference (e.g., keeping the devices just for one year longer to reduce the production emissions).

Expected Outcomes

A detailed report from the session, including a collection of slides from the various presenters.
A collection of illustrations graphically depicting the main learning and outcomes of the discussions at the IGF workshop.
A follow-up event to continue discussions within the context of the Digital for Planet (digital4planet.org) initiative.

The session will include speakers’ presentations, a moderated panel discussion, and Q&A from the audience. The webinar moderator will be supported by a team who will follow the online chat room to ensure that questions from the audience are addressed. The speakers’ presentations will be interactive, calling for the audience’s active engagement and participation. A digital illustrator will be actively engaged to create illustrations depicting the main learning and outcomes of the discussions at the IGF workshop.

The moderator and organisers have run already many both fully virtual and hybrid events.

Online Participation



Usage of IGF Official Tool.