executive
insight
Cisco
Legally binding carbon cuts are an opportunity for ICT companies
to help other industries to reduce energy consumption
overnmental regulation and 90% of shares after a struggle over price
G
environmental legislation, on with Tandberg’s shareholders.
‘It is the most terrific
a national and regional basis, Analysts agree that the opportunity
could prove to be one of the looks good for conferencing products opportunity for the IT
most significant drivers of climate change of all kinds. Ovum estimates revenues
measures in the coming years. As a result, from high-definition videoconferencing
industry in history’
climate change represents both a call to will grow from US$923 million in 2007
telecoms companies to improve their own to $1,879 million in 2012. And Frost &
Neil Harris
environmental performance and a new Sullivan in a new report says the European
business opportunity. hosted Web conferencing services mar- importance, says Harris, is gauging and
“The IT industry has the most ter- ket generated revenues of US$162.6 mil- controlling the energy consumption of a
rific opportunity of its history,” says Neil lion globally in 2008, and estimates that device once it is installed.
Harris, European business and sustain- will reach US$657.1 million in 2014. “The “We think in terms of a system ap-
ability development manager at Cisco global recession and stringent environ- proach [of] software that informs you
Systems. “There are new types of technol- mental laws introduced by the European regarding energy consumption in a net-
ogy, new ways of doing things and [new] Parliament in 2008 are driving organisa- work,” says Harris. Currently, Cisco’s en-
uses of IT equipment” that Harris believes tions to reduce their travel expenses and ergy management software only measures
will help other sectors better manage and comply with green policies,” says research its own devices, but this will change in
reduce energy usage. analyst Iwona Petruczynik in the report. coming months, provided other equip-
Cisco believes regulation will lead Telepresence is the most visible product ment is adapted to comply to the Cisco
other industries to make use of ICT sys- that Cisco is selling as a means to reduce interface. “The initial phase is Cisco de-
tems to reduce energy consumption. “All intensive CO2 producing activities, but it vices. The next phase early next year will
industries need to do more. [With] legally has a wider strategy. The company has put be non-Cisco devices…if you can connect
binding carbon cuts…we are going to see in place an “eco board”, which represents to the network and can conform to the in-
lots of market inflections and opportuni- 16 parts of the company’s business and terface,” says Harris.
ties,” says Harris. includes an engineering representative Cisco recognises that some operators
Cisco is using the current United to create a coherent approach to greener want to measure the carbon footprint of a
Nations climate change conference in product development and recycling, ex- service. However, Harris points out that it
Copenhagen to promote its high-defini- plains Harris. can be a difficult undertaking, with certain
tion videoconferencing equipment as a “[We are] building products to be as services lending themselves better to such
means to reduce international air travel. energy efficient as can be, but we are also an evaluation: “[With] VPN networking,
The company has provided its telepresence looking at the lifecycle and…[promoting looking at energy consumption may be
platform to the United Nations Framework the] reusing and recycling of equipment,” relatively straightforward,” he says.
Convention on Climate Control so that says Harris. “[We] want to make sure cus- Cisco has also made internal changes,
government representatives, NGOs and tomers get the best deal possible and con- spurred in part by regulation in California.
the media can hold meetings between four tinue [ensuring] products are upgradeable Its San Jose headquarters are built to ex-
temporary telepresence rooms at the sum- and modular.” ceed California’s energy standards by
mit and Cisco telepresence rooms in 77 lo- When it comes to new devices the 15%–20%, which the company estimates
cations in 43 countries. company is housing more services in a result in savings of US$4.5 million per year
Cisco is betting big on the wide up- single piece of hardware. “We are offer- in operating costs. Cisco says it has saved
take of videoconferencing, confident ing 5 or 6 services out of the box instead 49.5 million kilowatt-hours per year at the
that companies will rely more on virtual of one,” says Harris. He adds that Cisco is sites, enough to power 5,500 homes. The
meetings as they look for ways to improve also continuing to “have many more con- facilities are also producing almost 50 mil-
their carbon footprint and cut costs by re- versations about…virtualisation and [cus- lion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide per
ducing international travel. This month tomers are] much more focused on the year and 14,300 fewer pounds of nitrogen
Cisco said it will go ahead with the US$3.4 role of the data centre”. oxide. But energy use figures show it is a
billion acquisition of Tandberg, a lead- Nevertheless, the growth in new serv- constant battle for telcos: Cisco also says
ing videoconferencing company whose ices means that overall the ICT “industry its overall energy usage rose from 1,281
portfolio includes high-end telepresence is not going to see energy consumption Gigawatt-hours in the 2007 financial year
products. To date it has secured just over going down”, says Harris. Of growing to 1,507 Gwh in FY2009. n
TOTAL TELECOM ENVIRONMENT SPECIAL 13
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