Time: 15-16 June 2010, 11:00-19:00

Venue: Skeppsbron, Stockholm

The overall impact of the ICT and entertainment & media sectors is illustrated by a macro-perspective on greenhouse gas emissions. In 2007, an estimated 1.4% of global CO₂ equivalents were caused by the ICT sector and 1.7% by the entertainment & media sector. Within the ICT sector computer manufacturing and use are major sources of emissions, whereas emissions from telecom are lower. TVs and TV peripherals make up the largest share of emissions from the entertainment & media sector, followed by printed media.

There is a common belief that digital media solutions are generally environmentally superior to their printed paper counterparts. Pulp and paper production admittedly gives rise to considerable environmental impacts, but the ICT sector, with its multitude of electronic consumer devices, is also responsible for a significant environmental impact.

In her thesis, Åsa Moberg specifically considers the product-related environmental impacts of printed and electronic versions of books, newspapers and invoices. Environmental impacts include global warming, eutrophication, acidification and toxicological effects. Screening life cycle assessments provide information on the environmental impact of products ‘from cradle to grave’. Åsa Moberg’s results show that there is no clear-cut answer regarding whether bytes or paper are preferable from an environmental perspective. She found that the environmental benefit of energy efficient e-reading devices is counteracted by the environmental impact of manufacturing the devices.

Replacing printed with electronic invoices proved to be beneficial from a climate change and energy use perspective (other environmental impacts not addressed). There is already an electronic system for handling invoices at most businesses, so if end-consumers and other stakeholders can do without printed copies, replacement of printed invoices may be the correct option. However, an electronic invoice is much less beneficial if printed on a home printer.

The production and use of media products are not the only relevant aspects according to Åsa Moberg. How customers actually obtain products may also makes a major difference. Typically, a 10 km car trip to buy a book pollutes the environment more than the book itself. Many electronic devices are not used to their full extent as they are too frequently replaced by newer versions or simply not used at all, causing unnecessary environmental burdens.

More studies are needed to gain a more thorough understanding of the environmental impact related to the handling of e-waste and the long-term consequences of new media and ICT solutions. Data gaps and uncertainties, specifically regarding toxicological impacts, need to be prioritised in future research.

Read Assessment of media and communication from a sustainability perspective (Åsa Moberg)!

Welcome to Åsa Moberg's presentation and defense on 27 May 2010!

Time and location
27 May 2010, 09.00
KTH, Lindstedtsvägen 26, Stockholm, Room F3

Faculty opponent
Professor emeritus Roland Clift, University of Surrey, UK

Supervisor
Professor Göran Finnveden, KTH

Assistant Supervisor
Doctor Maria Enroth, MSG AB, Sweden

Chairperson
Associate Professor Anna Björklund, KTH

Evaluation committee
Associate Professor Henrikke Baumann, Chalmers
Professor Ulf Lindqvist, VTT, Finland
Associate Professor Susanne Sweet, Stockholm School of Economics

Read abstract or download cover essay!
View the invitation to Åsa Moberg’s defense!

A paper copy of the thesis can be ordered from: asa.moberg@abe.kth.se!

Read more about the  announced PhD positions at CSC.

Read more about the PhD position at the Centre for Sustainable Communications (2. Processes of change). Contact Minna Räsänen if you want to know more about the PhD position and about the Centre for Sustainable Communications.

Application deadline: 17 May 2010

Contact: Minna Räsänen, mira@csc.kth.se, Tel +46 8 790 6453

In Session 2 on Sustainability Models Åsa Moberg gave a review of sustainability assessments of media products. Her recent research to be published in her upcoming dissertation was especially interesting for the audience, and lead to an array of new ideas for future research. When presenting the work done at the Centre for Sustainable Communications, Åsa Moberg received a lot of positive attention and inspiring feedback.

Henriksson, G. et al (2010) När kommer bussen? Realtidsinformation i mobilen via optiska taggar. Report from the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications, Stockholm.

Summary

Ericsson ConsumerLab, Skånetrafiken and the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications carried out a joint project during August-September 2009. ConsumerLab was interested in using optical tags, which in this case meant scanning tags at bus stops with the help of mobile phone cameras. Skånetrafiken participated with the aim of increasing passenger use of their internet service to obtain real-time information on bus times. Their ambition was to increase access to Skånetrafiken’s real-time information through using the tags. KTH’s entry into the project was to investigate an IT-based travel planning service from a travel pattern and environmental perspective.

The project involved Skånetrafiken equipping 13 bus stops in Lund, Malmö and Höllviken with a timetable notice with an optical tag, which in turn was linked to a website about the bus stop containing real-time information on approximately the next eight bus departures in both directions. This real-time information was taken directly from the Skånetrafiken operating system, which provides bus stop display boards and other applications with bus departure information. In conjunction with this, KTH and ConsumerLab devised a user study aimed at documenting whether changes in the local availability of information affected:

- use of the technology

- travel patterns

- the level of satisfaction with the test system and with other sources of information available for planning daily trips by public transport

The 16 participants in the study were given introductory training during which they learned how to operate the technology. This introductory training included a review of the participants’ mobile phones to ensure these were suitable for the intended purpose and had the necessary software correctly installed.

Use of the technology was satisfactory, indicating that the actual internet service was fully functional. In most cases the participants got the right information about when the bus was coming. In a few cases, however, the bus did not arrive as forecasted, which mainly seems to be due to the fact that all buses do not yet have the necessary equipment/are not part of the operating system. Difficulties also occurred during tagging at night by the light of a street lamp, in direct sunlight or when parts of the tag were in shade. However, the participants learned how to deal with these problems.

Around half the participants believed that they gained direct benefit from the service. The remaining participants could see the advantages with the service, but felt it did not benefit them in relation to their actual travel habits or in relation to the technical handling required. The participants who discovered that they could save bookmarks for particular bus stops and thus access real-time information without further tagging were somewhat more positive about the service than those who had not discovered this option.

For some of the participants, in particular those with the scope to choose alternative travel routes, the real-time information affected their travel patterns. It gave them greater flexibility and the possibility of choosing the most efficient travel route. Some were of the opinion that exact knowledge of when the bus would arrive gave them a positive feeling of being ‘in control’ and allowed them to avoid unnecessary stress when the bus was late. The participants also considered the service provided to their mobile phone to be more efficient than receiving the same information in the display boards at main bus stops. Our conclusion was that information on bus departures is rated more highly the earlier it is available. When only available at the bus stop, in some sense it is already ‘too late’.

For further improvement of the service, we believe that it would be beneficial to review the information channels that could be used for this purpose, with the aim of increasing uptake. At the present time we do not consider optical tags to be the best way of getting prospective passengers to link up to the Skånetrafiken website for real-time information, mainly because optical tags are not currently used on a broad front in mobile applications, but also because of the technical obstacles hampering use of the service. Other potential solutions should therefore be considered, e.g. via text message or abbreviated internet addresses. Another related option would be to use bus stops more actively to inform passengers about how they can use real-time applications and possibly deploy training officers at bus stops for this purpose.

New phones offer better opportunities for internet use and the use of internet services on the mobile phone. Many mobile phones now have GPS and, together with an improved service, this could probably provide efficient ways of providing relevant information to mobile phones in the future.

Having the most attractive public transport possible is essential if people are to choose it over the car. This study showed that a service offering real-time information on public transport departure times can facilitate the use of public transport and thus increase its attractiveness. If this means that fewer take the car it is good from an environmental point of view. In general, it can be said that use of the internet and information services increases the range of choices, which is attractive for consumers, but few studies are able to demonstrate a link with a general increase in loyalty to the sender’s products. It is therefore probable that even if the introduction of real-time services is likely to increase the attractiveness of public transport, the effect will be that other modes of transport will also be more easily accessible.

We consider it likely that real-time information about public transport will increase – even if it is not the system tested here that eventually comes into operation – and thus the choices prospective passengers can make before and during their trip will also increase. Changes in the choices available will create new travel patterns and thus affect urban traffic in its entirety – not just public transport. Measures and support are needed to influence the attractiveness, costs and sacrifices involved in different modes of transport in a way that reflects their environmental consequences. Such environmental measures, together with real-time information, can be a way of making urban traffic more sustainable.

Clara Borggren and Åsa Moberg from the Centre for Sustainable Communications present a screening life cycle assessment comparing three different ways of distributing and reading books: a paper book purchased in a traditional bookshop, a paper book purchased in an online store and an e-book read on an electronic reading device.

“There is a common assumption that e-books are limiting the burden on the environment. But our results indicate that there is no substantial difference between an e-book read on a reading device and a paper book. The reading device has to be used quite frequently. With the assumptions made in our study you have to read more than 33 e-books containing 360 pages on a newly purchased reading device for it to become superior from a climate perspective” says Åsa Moberg.

A paper book’s environmental impact is mainly caused by the production of paper. An e-book’s environmental impact on the other hand depends primarily on the production of the reading device. The paper book’s environmental impact is substantially decreased by minimized personal transportation when buying the book. The key factor for decreasing environmental impact per book read is simply to let more people read the book.

What should be done to make reading devices more attractive from an environmental perspective?

Reading devices need to become multifunctional and allow for reading of newspapers, books and other documents. In that way the environmental impact of the reading device is spread across several uses. In addition, the e-book really needs to replace paper books and other information carriers. “You remember what happened to the paperless office that never came about,” Åsa Moberg quips. Moreover, producers of reading devices are challenged to minimize the use of toxic and rare substances in production.

The book which forms the basis of the study is a hardback novel with 360 pages. The study measures the environmental impact for each book that is read and applies to Swedish conditions.

Currently, the report comparing paper books and e-books is only available in Swedish (See Pappersbok och elektronisk bok på läsplatta).

For more information, contact Åsa Moberg (asa.moberg@abe.kth.se) or Clara Borggren (clara.borggren@abe.kth.se).

According to Åsa Moberg social LCA can potentially facilitate the inclusion of processes and stakeholders in the beginning of the life cycle where social impacts may be significant and negative. However, more case studies are necessary in order to further develop the method of social LCA.

The Centre of Sustainable Communications contributes to the development of guidelines for social LCA as part of the UNEP Life Cycle Initiative.

Read our report “Using a life cycle perspective to assess potential social impacts of ICT services – a pre-study“!