5G and more connected devices and equipment can help companies operate more efficiently and less energy intensively.Getty Images
Canada’s mobile networks are experiencing rapid growth, upping the telecom industry’s carbon footprint as it works to keep up with consumer and industry demand. However, industry experts say this same technology can help Canada achieve its net-zero by 2050 targets.
Speaking at The Globe and Mail’s Sustainable Telecom webcast, presented by Ericsson, on Nov. 15, Steve Rochlin, chief executive officer and founder of Impact ROI in Washington, noted that technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and automated systems “contribute to energy reduction across the board.”
The agriculture industry, for instance, can apply AI, data analytics and the internet of things to predict exact water and fertilizer needs, which could significantly reduce waste and increase growing efficiency.
While the telecom industry itself is responsible for around 1.6 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, many of the industries that it supports – such as manufacturing, resource extraction and transportation – have significantly higher emissions. So telecoms have the ability to reduce the emissions by making their own networks more efficient and sustainable.
By investing in 5G, companies can also capitalize on low-carbon solutions that rely on a fast connection such as electric vehicles or AI-powered preventative maintenance.
“5G is 10 times more energy-efficient than 4G generation, so just modernizing the networks provides huge changes,” explained Jeanette Irekvist, president of Ericsson Canada. Her company has a net-zero target for itself by 2030, and for its value chain by 2040.
The panel discussed how advancements in technology, such as 5G networks, are helping mobile networks to lighten their carbon footprint, especially when combined with renewable power and operational efficiency.
Reducing your footprint comes down to how you build and operate the network, Ms. Irekvist said. “From an AI perspective, this is how we can run our networks much smarter and require much less resources.”
John Mallovy, vice-president of corporate real estate for Rogers Communications, said his company relies on its partnership with Ericsson to ensure it has a network that uses less energy and works more efficiently.
“Reducing our carbon footprint comes down to two things: using as little energy as possible, and making sure that the energy that we do use has the smallest amount of carbon emissions possible,” Mr. Mallovy said.
Rogers’s energy-reduction strategy includes things such as using renewable energy sources to heat its office buildings, and eventually electrifying its fleet of vehicles. It also purchases renewable energy sources, which Mr. Mallovy said is especially effective in provinces that have “dirtier grids,” like New Brunswick and Alberta, compared with power sources such as hydroelectricity that are more readily available in British Columbia and Quebec.
“That substantially reduces our greenhouse-gas emissions,” said Mr. Mallovy, adding that he believes “there are more opportunities than obstacles.”
Better connectivity can also help communities in Canada’s North get off dirty diesel, said Madeleine Redfern, chief operating officer of CanArctic Inuit Networks Inc. and a former mayor of Iqaluit.
To make the most impact, she said, energy solutions and telecommunications should be rolled out together. Bringing CanArctic’s proposed 5,000 kilometres of subsea fibre-optic cable will open up options for renewable energies.
“I’m based in an area where we are 100-per-cent diesel-dependent,” she said. “So we are talking about not only finding the telecommunications solutions, but also the energy solutions at the same time.”
Ms. Redfern said that other Arctic nations, such as Greenland and Russia, are looking to roll out their energy and telecommunications solutions at the same time. “Because you can’t build a big telecommunications network without having your energy solution down.”
Her advice for Canada is to stop throwing money at “Band-Aid solutions for yesterday’s targets.” Reactive solutions are “inadequate by the time it turns on.” Instead, Ms. Redfern calls for mapping out a real strategy of what’s needed and where the money should be deployed to future-proof the North.
Mining companies operating in the North want to use the technology used at other sites, such as robotics and AI, but Ms. Redfern said that’s impossible with the current setup. “If we do it right, we can really make real economies in the North,” she said.