Using Carbon offsets to fund network services, cyber-infrastructure and ICT equipment

[If you have been following the development of the Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill in the US Congress you will note that they are proposing that organizations who are regulated to emit CO2 will be required to purchase $1.25 in offsets for every $1.00 they acquire in emission permits. It is expected that Canada will follow the US lead in the adoption of a North American cap and trade market.

Most research universities in the US will have to register as primary emitters under the proposed EPA regulations for all institutions that emit over 25,000 mtCO2e. A typical research university can produce as much as 500,000 tons CO2 (both Scope 1 and Scope 2) of which cyber-infrastructure and ICT can contribute 300,000 tons (mostly Scope 2). Many research universities also have their own power and heating plants.

According to data from Cisco , business ICT in buildings is also a major culprit, as buildings account for 50% of all CO2 emission of which 25% can be attributed to ICT equipment (not counting cooling)

It is estimated that 15-20% of Waxman-Markey cap and trade will be spent on these offsets which could represent billions of dollars in potential revenue. Cyber-infrastructure and ICT is the one sector where we can quickly move to a zero carbon strategy by moving to clouds, virtualization and de-materialization (see my posting on Kindle DX) where the underlying cyber-infrastructure is located at zero carbon data centers connected to universities through high capacity, low latency R&E networks. The costs of such a strategy including network capacity could be easily paid for by the carbon offsets, and perhaps permit offsets as well – but what is needed is well defined protocol and methodology to measure, quantify and audit the offsets. One of the major problem with today’s carbon offset market is the lack of transparency and audibility. Today’s offset markets are riddled with fraud and bogus claims of CO2 reduction. What is needed is a rigorous process to quantify and qualify the offset claims (this is particularly true of many claims about energy efficiency). The ISO 14064 standards are the de facto process for doing this, but we need specific protocols to be adopted under these standards to address ICT and cyber-infrastructure. CANARIE’s upcoming Green IT pilot hopes to start this process to enable universities and business to learn how to calculate carbon offsets and develop ISO 14064 protocols for virtualization, clouds, networks etc. It may even be possible to use “virtual” offsets where ICT companies and networks offer products in service in exchange of offsets instead of cash –BSA]

More reading on Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill and offsets
http://climateprogress.org/2009/05/12/waxman-markey-domestic-offsets/

More on Amazon Kindle DX from Slashdot
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/09/1615247

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what's the noblest Amazon Kindle DX project of all? While other universities announced similar programs, Princeton is boasting its project is unique in that it will focus on sustainability by reducing the amount of electronic-reserve course materials that students print. Under the pilot program, $60,000 will reportedly be used to provide 50 lucky Princeton students with $489 Kindle DX devices loaded with materials for three courses. In a FAQ, students are told not to worry about 'this time of severe economic constraints' — Princeton and Amazon have managed to tap into a fund specifically endowed to support sustainability projects to provide Kindles at no cost. In addition to a $30,000 grant from the High Meadows Foundation, which is headed by Princeton alum Carl Ferenbach (who, coincidentally, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Environmental Defense Fund with the wife of Amazon Director John Doerr), a matching amount will be provided by Princeton alum Jeff Bezos' Amazon. The E-reader Pilot Program has more information


http://blogs.msdn.com/see/archive/2009/03/31/software-downloads-help-microsoft-and-customers-reduce-carbon-footprint.aspx
Software Downloads Help Microsoft and Customers Reduce Carbon Footprint
Today, Microsoft released the results of a comparative carbon footprint study which found significant environmental benefits to providing its software to consumers online. The study concluded that downloading Office 2007 avoided 8 times the amount of carbon emissions compared to producing and shipping a DVD and its associated packaging through traditional retail distribution channels.
The study determined that carbon emissions avoided through online purchasing of 10 million copies is equivalent to:
• the electric consumption of 7,715 US households, or
• 13,008 passengers cars driven in one year, or
• 231 acres of avoided Amazon rainforest deforestation.
Microsoft worked with its partners, Accenture and WSP Environment & Energy, to apply leading standards for product carbon footprinting in accounting for greenhouse gas emissions arising from the complete lifecycle of its software products. Based on several distribution scenarios, the study captures carbon emissions associated with the raw materials, production, distribution, customer purchase, and end-of-life processes for 10 million off-the shelf retail software products. Microsoft then compared these results to the online delivery model for 10 million downloads, accounting for the data centers used for hosting software downloads and even the energy used by a consumer’s personal computer to download the Office 2007 program. Not surprisingly, transportation and packaging materials were identified as the largest contributors to carbon emissions for the off-the-shelf product. Avoided carbon emissions associated with downloading 1 copy of Office 2007 are roughly equal to 1 gallon of gas.
Read more at http://us20.trymicrosoftoffice.com/go-green/