The Sustainability Issues Facing the ICT Sector. Student: Gearoid Ryan ID:

Transcription

1 The Sustainability Issues Facing the ICT Sector Student: Gearoid Ryan ID:

2 Overview The aim of this paper is to present the sustainability issues currently facing the Information and Community Technology (ICT) sector. Introduction Sustainable development refers to a mode of human development in which resource use aims to meet human needs while ensuring the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that these needs can be met not only in the present but also for generations to come. The challenges that need to be addressed to achieve sustainable development can largely be grouped under 3 headings: social, environmental, economic. The social challenges refer to human needs. Respect for human rights is necessary for sustainable development. The protection of the environment is at the core of sustainability. For sustainability to work it is necessary to challenge the preconception that the development of society has often come at the cost of damage to the environment Sustainability presents many economic challenges, both to industries and consumers. Regulations to provide accountability and corporate responsibility have introduced new economic burdens for industries. Figure 1. Venn diagram of sustainable development

3 This paper will introduce these areas of sustainable development with regards to the ICT sector by looking at how the create challenges in several important processes. These processes are -The procurement of resources -Manufacturing -Use of products -End of life -Waste Figure 2. Different processes in the lifecycle of a product. Resources This section deals with the process of retrieving of resources to be used in consumer electronics products. It refers to both the extraction of raw materials from mines and materials which have been recovered from recycling processes. This process is significant for sustainability because it affects the working conditions of the people recovering the materials and the increasing economic cost of finding resources. 1. Social Conflict minerals refer to minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses. Many of these minerals are commonly used in electronics and so their extraction poses a major challenge for the ICT sector in particular. An example of an area where conflict minerals are mined is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC holds most of the world's supply of tin (used in solder), tantalum (used in capacitors) and tungsten (used in integrated circuit design). It is estimated that 12

4 out of 13 major mines in the DRC are operated by armed forces and that major human rights abuses are common at these mines. The public revelation of a company using conflict minerals could have a severe negative impact on image and could damage sales. However, there are many challenges in tracing the precise source of minerals as supply chains from mine to manufacturers are intentionally obscured. [1] Figure 3. Mining for conflict minerals 2. Environmental Mining for minerals has had a largely detrimental impact on the environment. The main impact has come from the depletion of finite materials in the earth s crust. Mining can also cause contamination of soil and water systems. 3. Economic An incredibly wide range of elements are used in modern electronics. Many of these elements are chosen because they perform best at their application for the best value. [2] The security and affordability of these application specific materials is of huge importance to ICT sector industries. However the security of supply of some of these materials is no longer certain. Raw materials are a finite resource and as mining goes on the concentration of useful materials extracted decreases (e.g. copper

5 mining a century ago yielded ores with a metal content of 9%. Today that figure is as low as 0.4%). This means that extraction costs and cost of materials have increased. [3] These challenges are coupled with increased demand for electronic technologies from developing and emerging economies such as China, Brazil and Russia. This increased demand could lead to shortages of materials leading to a further increase in prices. [4] One solution to these challenges is substitution. Substitution refers to replacing high-cost materials with low-cost materials. Substituting functional materials such as replacing metals used in casing with plastic can be easily achieved. Substituting functional materials such as semiconductors like silicon poses more problems. Functional materials are chosen because they have the best performance for their applications and generally perform better than any available substitutes. [3] Another solution is the use of recovered and recycled materials to form a closed loop process. The recycling rates for mass metals such as steel are very high. Recycling structures for these materials are long established so they can be recycled in high volumes. The recycling of materials used in electronics is more challenging though. For example, mobile phones contain over 15 different materials, many of which are present in small amounts. These materials need to be manually separated to achieve a high recovery rate. [3] The infrastructures for recycling many of these materials is limited meaning that recycling rates have not reached the same levels as metals like steel, aluminium and copper. [5] Manufacture This section deals with the process of manufacturing in the ICT sector. Manufacture has become a major issue in sustainable develop. Particular attention is being paid to the energy usage of manufacturing processes in light of the damage emissions cause to the environment. Fiscal instruments such as carbon pricing policies have been suggested as a means to reduce this environmental impact; however this increases the costs of the process for industries.

6 1. Social The treatment of workers in manufacturing industries has been a major issue since the industrial revolution. While working conditions in the west have significantly improved, there are still concerns about the working conditions in facilities such as the Foxconn factory in China where Apple products are manufactured. [15] There is an increasing demand from consumers for ICT sector companies to ensure that their products are manufactured in better working conditions. 2. Environmental Many manufacturing processes create emissions which can have a negative impact on air, water and ground systems. These emissions are major environmental concerns. This is particularly an issue in processes like semiconductor fabrication, where nearly all chemicals used do not end up in the final product. Another major issue in semiconductor fabrication relates to the large amounts of high purity water required during the process. A 6-inch wafer fabrication plant processing 40,000 wafers per month reportedly uses 2 to 3 million gallons of water per day, roughly litres per square centimetre of silicon. [6] The impact on the environment from the release of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) from the burning of fossils fuels has also been well-documented. One of the methods used to address these issues is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA is a technique used to assess environmental impacts through all the stages of a product's life (from raw material extraction through to disposal or recycling). The aim is to compile and evaluate all energy and material inputs and environmental releases in the manufacturing process. The results can then be interpreted and the process modified to reduce environmental impacts. The LCA method isn't entirely reliable however. Different papers compiled on consumer electronics show a lack of a consensus in the results. It has also been shown that the results of a LCA depend heavily on the geographical location of the product during the in-use phase. [7]

7 Figure 4. Overview of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 3. Economic The demands of sustainable develop will also be felt in the increasing costs of manufacturing. There is currently an increasing demand from emerging economies like China and India for raw materials and fossil fuels. It is estimated that demand for oil will peak around [8] This increased demand will result in increased energy prices and prices of raw materials for manufacturers in the ICT sector. Another possible economic burden on manufacturing industries is carbon pricing policies. These are fiscal tools which aim to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere by increasing the costs of fossil fuels in proportion to their carbon content as they enter the economy. This will also result in an increase in electricity prices. However carbon pricing policies may be coupled with financial subsidies for companies who adopt zero and low carbon technologies. [9] Recently introduce environmental legislation such as the EU Ecodesign directive are another source of economic strain for manufacturing industries. This directive aims to improve the energy and environmental efficiency of products throughout their lifecycle. The financial expense of carrying out these improvements is placed on the manufacturer. [10]

8 Use The use of a product can have a significant impact on sustainable development. There has been a recent movement to reduce the impact of products on the environment. A significant area for the ICT sector is support services, particularly with regards to the increasing cost of operating datacentres. 1. Social A major issue in sustainability is the global digital divide. This is an inequality between developed countries and developing countries in terms of access to information and communication technology. This is also an important issue for ICT sector industries as it means a significant amount of the world s population has no access to or no need for their products. 2. Environmental The environmental impact from the use of consumer electronics has become a significant issue. Directives such as the EU Ecodesign directive aim to increase the energy efficiency of products by regulating their design process. Another source of environmental concern during the use stage is the energy usage from support services such as datacentres. The electricity usage from datacentres has increased enormously in recent years as a result of the increasing trends of virtualisation and cloud computing. [11] 3. Economic Economic burdens placed on ICT sector industries are largely related to the issues previously discussed. The financial burden of designing products with lessened environmental impacts falls on manufacturers. As a result of increasing fuel prices and carbon pricing policies the cost of operating datacentre support services will continue to increase.

9 End of Life The end of life of a product refers to the stage where it is no longer in use. The disposal or recycling of the product are major issues with regards to sustainability. The burden of ensuring that products are correctly treated after end of life has largely fallen on producers. There are still many issues to overcome to ensure that recycling and disposal of e-waste is carried out correctly. 1. Social Consumer electronics, especially smart technologies such as phones and computers, are advancing at a very fast rate. Consumers desire the latest electronic technology and so product become obsolete and enter the end of life stage even though they are still functional. This results in an increased demand, resulting in increased manufacturing, and also an increase in electronic waste. 2. Environmental The fate of products at their end of life can have a significant impact on the environment. Ideally, 100% of materials from a product should be recycled at its end of life. This rarely occurs especially in the case of consumer electronics where many different materials are used making disassembly and recycling difficult. Increasingly the responsibility for what happens to products at their end of life is placed on the producer. This can be seen with the Waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) directive and the extended producer responsibility strategy (EPR). [12][13] Figure 5. WEEE logo

10 3. Economic The main economic burdens placed on ICT sectors at a product's end of life come from EPR strategies such as the WEEE directive. The main principles of EPR according to the OECD are -Natural resource conservation -Waste prevention -Environmentally friendly product design -Closure of material loops The WEEE directive results in manufacturers being responsible for the take-bake of WEEE compliant products and are responsible for the collection, recycling and treatment of these products.[12] This places increased financial burdens on the producers. Waste Waste from the ICT sector, commonly referred to as electronic waste or e-waste, has become a significant issue in sustainability. This is largely because of the large amount of different (sometimes toxic) materials used in consumer electronics. This creates difficulty in ensuring that e-waste is correctly disposed of or recycled without causing harm to the environment. 1. Social The social impacts of electronic waste (e-waste) on sustainable development largely relate to informal recycling and disposal methods. These are commonly carried out in developing countries such as Nigeria. Conditions for workers are poor and incomes are very low. These informal recycling methods usually involve collection of old waste electronics products, manual dismantling, open burning and dumping of e-waste materials. Dioxin emissions from burning e-waste have a negative impact on the health of workers. As with the use of conflict materials, the revelation that a company's products are finding their way to these e- waste bonfires could be very damaging to its public image. One solution commonly offered for this problem is to restrict the exportation of electronics to these areas. However, this could also have the negative effect of increasing the digital divide between developing and developed

11 countries. [14] The introduction of appropriate recycling facilities would be more effective and would not hamper trade in consumer electronics. Figure 6. Burning of electronic waste (e-waste) 2. Environmental The improper disposal of electronic waste can have a serious negative impact on the environment. Informal recycling methods involve burning e-waste materials which releases harmful emissions into the atmosphere. The burning of cables to recover wire is has particularly damaging impacts on the environment, as well as human health. E-waste is also sent to landfills where toxic materials enter the soil and the water supply. [14] These environmental impacts can also damage the public image of a company if it is discovered that improper methods are being used to dispose of their e-waste. 3. Economic Regulations aimed at tackling the issues surrounding e-waste largely place the responsibility on producers to ensure that their e-waste is correctly disposed of or recycled. The WEEE directive and other EPR strategies aims to encourage producers to work with recycling firms to ensure that their products are recycled at end of life.[13] This places a large economic burden on ICT sector companies as they are financially responsible for the collection, recycling and treatment of their consumer electronics products.

12 Conclusion In conclusion, the main sustainability issues currently facing the Information and Community Technology (ICT) sector have been introduced and explored. The issues have been examined with regards to the 5 stages of a products lifespan, resources, manufacture, use, end of life and waste. These 5 stages were explored to show how the ICT sector can impact on social, environmental and economic issues and to show how these impacts can be reduced. By exploring social issues it has been shown how the actions of ICT sector industries can impact on people's lives thousands of miles away. This was especially demonstrated in the resource and waste stages. One of the core ideas of sustainable development is the respect for human life. ICT companies will need to have further responsibility in ensuring that the materials they use are ethically sourced and that products are correctly disposed of at end of life if they are to comply with the demands of sustainability. The impact of ICT industries on the environment was also examined. Many of the stages of a products lifespan can negatively impact the environment, for example, emissions during manufacture and their disposal at end of life. The preservation of the environment and natural systems for future generations is at the heart of sustainability. Therefore, it is necessary for industries in the ICT sector to reduce their negative impact on the environment if sustainability is to be achieved. Sustainability can be achieved without a price. ICT sector industries are increasing feeling the economic burden of sustainability. This can be seen in increasing prices for raw materials and resources, increased energy prices and regulations such as EPR strategies and the WEEE directive. It is clear that for sustainability to occur, industries will pay a large financial price.

13 References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]