Energy efficiency and carbon footprint are no longer peripheral issues for today's businesses. Rather, Green IT has become a vital consideration when making communications equipment purchasing decisions. With the increased attention being placed on green IT and eco-sustainable solutions, driven by not only the rising cost of energy, but growing corporate environmental awareness as well, it has become imperative for telecom equipment vendors to devote resources to developing products and solutions that fit into their customers' green initiatives.
Alcatel-Lucent is developing its end-to-end network equipment with an eye towards "greenness," helping its customers and their end users reduce the environmental impact of the communications solutions and products they use each day. Taking a holistic approach to eco-sustainable networks, Alcatel-Lucent is able to help its customers leverage its intelligent network equipment to drive energy efficiency throughout their end-to-end networks.
For instance, it has reduced carbon emissions from its CDMA and GSM base stations by 40 and 50 percent, respectively. It also has cut emissions from its DSL access lines by 20 percent. These figures represent only a slice of the green development at Alcatel-Lucent in its global research facilities, where it is focusing current research on thermal management of components, power management of equipment, and topographical management of networks, among other eco-sustainability factors.
The goal is to curb carbon emissions of communications equipment, which is predicted to double to 4 percent of the total global emissions by 2020, given current technology and industry growth.
Product-specific enhancements are one way to achieve increased energy efficiency, but Alcatel-Lucent believes that wider reaching programs and initiatives can have a profound impact on global carbon emissions, which is why it is working to drive smart technology as a lifestyle. Initiatives like smart grids, smart metering, smart homes, and smart highways, for instance - all of which have become part of the common vernacular in the communications industry - will all help create a more eco-sustainable and more efficient global landscape.
To supports its global eco-sustainability campaign, Alcatel-Lucent has recently launched its new Eco-sustainability Web site, which details its corporate mission to promote environmentally aware communications technology across the globe.
In addition to a dedicated Eco-news page, detailing its recent work and announcement around green IT, the site includes sections dedicated to its three main areas of development:
- Smart ICT: Highlights a focus on green communications technologies, such as video conferencing, location-based services, and vertical specific solutions, as well as smart grid, smart home, smart highway, and smart metering solutions.
- Eco-innovation: Focuses on the ongoing R&D efforts at Alcatel-Lucent's research facilities.
- Eco-sustainable Networks: Details Alcatel-Lucent's intelligent, environmentally efficient end-to-end network equipment and solutions, from alternative energy sources through the network architecture to the end user premises.
Alcatel-Lucent believes its development efforts can have a significant impact on the environmental impact of communications technology, but it further believes the same fundamentals that are being applied by the communications industry can be applied to other market segments as well, driving down the 98 percent of carbon emissions from non-communications technologies.
For more, visit Alcatel-Lucent's Eco-sustainability site.
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