Environmental responsibility
BackElisa and the Environment
Report on environmental responsibility indicators H1/2011 Report on environmental responsibility indicators H2/2010
A climate crisis is threatening our planet, but there is still time: our choices make a difference. The ICT sector has the opportunity to reduce the amount of all greenhouse gas emissions indirectly by up to 15 percent by 2020.
Elisa wants to participate in creating a society with low carbon emissions. This objective is reached by innovative ICT and online services that reduce the carbon footprint of customers and Elisa. Reaching the objectives is ensured through continuous measuring and assessment. Reducing customers’ carbon footprint guides Elisa’s environmental responsibility towards the business units’ operative functions and is part of the company’s business opportunities.
Taking care of the environment illustrates one of Elisa’s key values - responsibility. For us, environmental responsibility means long-term and transparent operations to prevent climate change. Elisa’s goal is to be an example and to motivate Finnish people to act responsibly.
Elisa’s services, from virtual solutions to smartphones, offer customers opportunities to implement their own environmental responsibility and, at the same time, act in a cost-effective manner.
Elisa has been acting in a determined manner in order to reduce its emissions throughout the 2000s. In 2001, Elisa launched the use of hot-desking solutions, which reduce the energy consumption of buildings. In 2008, we implemented virtual conferences, which have significantly reduced the need to travel.
At the beginning of 2010, the construction of Elisa’s emission-free server centre began in collaboration with Fortum.
Server rooms, besides communication networks, account for approximately one-half of all emissions in the ICT sector, and the emissions from server rooms are expected to multiply if new solutions are not implemented.
At the end of 2010, Elisa launched a target-oriented calculation of carbon dioxide emissions. With the help of the calculation methods, Elisa is able to present concrete figures on carbon dioxide reduction.
ICT sector preventing climate change
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased by 70 per cent from 1970 to 2004.
According to estimates, a 0.2 per cent temperature increase is expected in the climate per decade within the next two decades. If emissions remain at the present level, the warming of the climate will be accelerated further.
Most of the greenhouse emissions are generated by energy production. The easiest way to reduce emissions is thus to reduce the consumption of energy. Companies that can offer services and operating methods to make this possible have a key role.
Emissions of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector account for approximately two per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions – nearly as high as the emissions of air traffic. However, it is possible for the ICT sector to achieve a reduction of 15 per cent of all emissions by 2020. This is in the same range as the emissions from traffic or buildings. In its report, the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Finland estimated that the ICT sector has significant opportunities to prevent climate change.
In its report (Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriön julkaisuja 12/2010), the ministry states that the ICT sector can have an impact by providing products and services that help society improve energy efficiency. Such solutions include an intelligent energy grid, intelligent traffic, remote meetings, and teleworking. The emissions reduction achieved with these solutions will be manifold compared to the sector's own carbon footprint.