-LEAN ICT- TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP DIRECTED BY HUGUES FERREBOEUF FOR THE THINK TANK THE SHIFT PROJECT – MARCH 2019 This study was carried out with the support of the Agence française de développement and the Caisse des Dépôts Foreword The Shift Project, a Paris-based think-tank on energy transition, is dedicated to tackling the decisive and delicate issues needed to make this transition a success. The exponential development of digital technology, and the way in which this development can interact with the decarbonation objectives of our societies, is one of the most important of these issues. The Shift Project’s members are major business players from diverse sectors. In April 2017 the Shift Project asked Hugues Ferreboeuf to form a working group to collectively reflect on the possibilities of generating synergy between digital and energy transition. The aim: to maximize the positive impact of digital technology on the environment and minimize its negative impacts. In view of the numerous contradictory theses produced on the subject so far, it seemed useful to us to seek to examine all these impacts as objectively as possible, in order to draw up practical and systemic recommendations in line with decarbonation objectives. The interim report published in March 2018 marked an important step in the process of in-depth analysis and consultation with many people and institutions involved in these issues: it provided a platform for us to enrich our thinking with the comments it will generate. The conclusions and recommendations of the working group are intended for all actors in economic, social and political life, and should help shed light on a key issue for moving towards a sustainable digital society. This report, published in March 2019, is the final version. The interpretations, positions and recommendations contained in this report cannot be attributed to either the members of the working group or the reviewers. The content of this report is the sole responsibility of The Shift Project. Cover photo credit: Carlos Irineu Da Costa MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY 2 Acknowledgements Hugues Ferreboeuf, Director of the Lean ICT working group, would like to warmly thank the members of the working group: Françoise Berthoud, IT Research Engineer at the CNRS and Director of the GDS EcoInfo Philippe Bihouix, Engineer and Metal Expert Pierre Fabre, Senior Telecommunications Expert, AFD Daniel Kaplan, Scientific Advisor, FING Laurent Lefèvre, Researcher, INRIA Alexandre Monnin, Researcher in web architecture and philosophy, INRIA Olivier Ridoux, University Professor, IRISA and University of Rennes 1 Samuli Vaija, Lead life cycle analyst and eco-design expert Marc Vautier, Expert in eco-design and sustainable development Xavier Verne, Engineer specialized in architecture for large IT projects Alain Ducass, Engineer and Consultant, Energy and Digital in Africa Maxime Efoui-Hess, Project Manager, The Shift Project Zeynep Kahraman, Project Director, The Shift Project As well as Matthieu Auzanneau, Director, Jean-Marc Jancovici, President, and the members of the team of the think tank The Shift Project; the Shifters1 who contributed to the work: Francis Charpentier, Guillaume Andrieu, Jean-Marc Laperrelle, Nathalie Dedryvère, Annabelle Borghini, Lilian Boyer; and the participants in the collaborative workshops held on March 29, 2018 for their comments on the interim report distributed on that occasion. The support of the Agence Française de Développement and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, which both sponsored this project and also allowed us to interact with their teams, was invaluable. 1 The Shifters are an association that supports The Shift Project: volunteers with very diverse profiles, experiences and skills, interested in the carbon transition of the economy, whether or not they are already active in this field. MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY 3 Executive Summary MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY 4 MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY 5 Contents Foreword ............................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................. 3 Executive Summary .............................................................................. 4 Contents .............................................................................................. 6 Index of figures and tables .................................................................... 8 List of abbreviations ............................................................................. 9 Introduction: Digital technology, an opportunity or handicap for energy transition? ..................................... 10 A tool to limit energy consumption... ................................................................................................. 10 ...or an irresistible societal evolution... ............................................................................................... 10 ...Creating uncontrollable cascades of rebound effects? ...................................................................... 11 I. Objectives and working approach of the lean ICT project ............. 12 The three project objectives .............................................................................................................. 12 The working group’s approach .......................................................................................................... 12 II. Key issues and findings ............................................................... 14 Methodological remarks .................................................................................................................... 14 Macro analysis.................................................................................................................................. 14 III. Digital Environmental Repository (DER) ....................................... 27 Reference perimeter ......................................................................................................................... 28 The main calculation assumptions ..................................................................................................... 28 The production phase: extraction and production of devices ............................................................... 29 The utilization phase: digital devices and actions ................................................................................ 31 Observations and trends ................................................................................................................... 34 The foundations of a universal digital repository ................................................................................. 35 IV. Digital sobriety in the company: examples of action levers............ 36 Scope of recommendations ............................................................................................................... 36 Calculation methodology ................................................................................................................... 36 Levers no.1 & no.2: Lengthening the lifetime of professional devices ................................................... 37 Lever no.3: Increase the BYOD share of BYOD smartphones ............................................................... 38 Lever no.4: Favoring the exchange of office documents on a shared platform ...................................... 39 Lever no.5: Implementing operational metrics .................................................................................... 40 V. Digital sobriety and developing countries ..................................... 42 Digital technology in developing countries .......................................................................................... 42 Digital technologies and the environment ........................................................................................... 51 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 58 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 60 Appendices ......................................................................................... 64 Appendix 1: Energy consumption and digital technology 2013-2025 ................................................... 64 Appendix 2: Evolution of the number of connected terminals .............................................................. 65 MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY 6 Appendix 3: Evolution of data center traffic and networks ................................................................... 66 Appendix 4: Methodological note of the "Digital Environmental Repository" ......................................... 68 Appendix 5: Methodological note of "Corporate levers" ....................................................................... 74 Appendix 6: Least Developed Countries (UN-OHRLLS) ........................................................................ 80 Appendix 7: Principles for digital development.................................................................................... 82 References .......................................................................................... 83 MARCH 2019 REPORT / LEAN ICT: TOWARDS DIGITAL SOBRIETY