By Mae Kowalke

They wanted to reduce the energy consumption of mobile networks by half. Instead, they developed a framework that cut nearly three quarters of energy consumption.

Led by Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson over the course of two and a half years, the EARTH (Energy Aware Radio and neTwork tecHnologies) consortium of 15 telecommunications providers, vendors and academic institutions developed everything from more efficient components in radio base stations to solutions on the radio network level, according to a press release from Alcatel-Lucent. The research was partially funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7).

In the process, the consortium demonstrated how operators could save up to 70 percent of energy consumed in their networks using a holistic energy efficiency approach for 4G radio communications.

By Susan J. Campbell

As much as we have come to rely on communications technologies to stay connected and streamline business processes, those providing the access must still pay attention to the impact on the environment. Eco-sustainability in fact is emerging not just as an issue of being a good corporate neighbor, but as important for being a preferred provider of products and services.  This is why it has become important that the telecommunications industry use a uniform protocol for measuring the eco-impact of its services and networks.

A recent Alcatel-Lucent TechZine article, Seven Steps to Greater Green House Gas Awareness in ICT, explored this topic. It highlights the new global standards designed to create a unified approach to the measurement of green house gas emissions. Focus is on current life cycle assessment tools such as those developed by Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) which can be employed by ICT vendors, particularly the telecom ones, for estimating the eco-impact of services and/or networks in a meaningful and actionable way.

By: Susan J. Campbell

Increasingly, corporations around the world have recognized that they have a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth’s resources and to act in an ethical manner that promotes sustainability. Alcatel-Lucent considers corporate responsibility to be an important business imperative, and also believes that doing well and doing good can and should be mutually inclusive.

A recent Alcatel-Lucent 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report explores the company’s commitment to playing a key role in being a good steward. Alcatel-Lucent intends to continue its focus on not only making the communications solutions it produces eco-friendly, but doing so in a manner that also ensures they are accessible and affordable so that the full potential of a connected world can be realized.

A bold new direction in sustainability was initiated in 2011 with a focus on three core priorities:

• Green innovation
• Digital inclusion
• People

By Mae Kowalke

It will take dedication, teamwork and technology to achieve the future we want in terms of reducing poverty, advancing social equity, and ensuring environmental protection. That’s the message behind upcoming Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, this June in Brazil.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and others are focusing heavily on technology as one key aspect in achieving a better future. At a Rio+20 planning conference earlier this month, Philippe Richard, who heads up green strategy at Bell Labs, participated in the closing panel, where he highlighted the role information and communications technology (ICT) plays in sustainable development.

By Susan J. CampbellWhile a priority focus on environmentally friendly initiatives began some years ago, it wasn't until the concept of "going green" emerged that companies and consumers alike began examining ways to drive system implementations that would deliver sustainable...

But, just as reducing the environmental impact of technology will not happen overnight, the discussion around how to best achieve such goals and who should lead the charge is not a one-time conversation. As such, in the January issue, editor-in-chief Ruth Killeen has put together another series of articles to further explore how the ICT sector can drive eco-sustainability not only within its own markets but, ultimately, on a much broader scale across global technology markets.

Smart metering solutions provide power companies with a new, evolutionary way of monitoring and controlling power consumption in a real-time environment. Properly implemented solutions will not only create efficiencies on power grids, but can deliver financial benefits to utilities, who will have deeper insight into and control over their power networks.

Ultimately, there are a number of ways any business can leverage green IT to increase its business operations while reducing its environmental impact - from effective planning strategies to more efficient infrastructure to the business process enabled by IP communications. All of these are central to not only an eco-sustainability strategy today, but to the evolution to a more dynamic enterprise environment.

What was once considered merely a trendy concept has now taken on a significant role in the business landscape, with the majority of business executives confirming that eco-sustainability is not only important, but is, in fact, a key consideration when making communications technology investments.

At its Bell Labs facilities, and through its work with the CTVR, Alcatel-Lucent is looking to drive R&D efforts that will bring such energy efficient technologies to the next generation communications environment, helping reduce the carbon emissions from telecom equipment, which now stands at about two percent of the global carbon emissions, but is set to grow significantly in the coming years without such efforts from Alcatel-Lucent and the CTVR.

It's clear that businesses are looking to become more environmentally responsible - though largely because of the cost savings that are inherent to "going green." Regardless, the telecom sector, thanks to the proliferation of IP networking solutions and eco-friendly technologies, are in a position to play a major role in driving greenhouse gas reduction and energy conservation in the global business environment.

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.

By deploying the latest Green strategies, including energy-efficient hardware, but also leveraging technology to hold virtual meetings and reduce paper documents - all of which also increase efficiency in a collaborative environment - the business world, and the telecom space, in particular, has the ability to promote eco-friendliness globally.