Telenor Group signs European standard for energy efficiency

“By signing the European code of conduct for energy consumption in broadband equipment, Telenor Group commits to make all reasonable efforts to procure broadband equipment in accordance with the specifications to maximum power consumption, both in consumer premises and in the telecom operators’ network, says Lotte Abildgaard, Vice President, Head of Telenor Representative Office in Brussels

At the signing ceremony, Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes confirmed that ICT sector could significantly reduce the EU’s total electricity consumption and save € 4.5 billion per year by implementing these two codes of conduct.

Europe’s biggest companies in information and communication technologies (ICT) sector embraced this voluntary measure to ensure that the ICT sector leads the way on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Common broadband equipment standard for the whole Telenor Group

“This European standard for energy consumption in broadband equipment will be implemented in all our Business Units Group through Group Procurement Policy and Procedure, says Jan Kristensen, Head of Telenor Group Climate Initiative.

Broadband equipment accounts for around 15% of the ICT sector’s overall energy consumption in European Union. Energy savings are achieved through the mandatory use of the best available low energy components while making sure that fast and ultra-fast broadband can be delivered to all European citizens by 2020 under the Digital Agenda for Europe.

Next step: Data Center efficiency

“We have also informed EU about our intention to sign the Code of Conduct on Data Centres Energy Efficiency. But first we need to establish an internal pilot for adopting such efficiency best practices for a specific data centre located in the Telenor Group. Our plan is to have this in place before the end of this year,” says Kristensen .

Data centres account roughly for 18 % of the ICT sector’s energy consumption and they are expected to grow faster than any other ICT technology. This code of conduct aims to avoid outdated design practices that lead to power consumption inefficiencies. The code also helps to ensure that data centre operators know the financial, environmental and infrastructural benefits of improving the energy efficiency of their facilities.