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Sustainable operational management: ICT

The UvA is a major user of laptops, smartphones and software services. Their production and use has an impact on the environment. Emissions from the use of ICT equipment and external servers amounted to around 4,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2019, which is around 7% of the UvA’s total emissions.

Objective

Our goal is to reduce our ICT-related ecological footprint by 25% by 2026 compared with 2019.

Current situation

The focus in 2021 and 2022 was on reducing the footprint by extending the lifespan of equipment, one of the surest and most cost-effective ways of reducing impact.

The useful life of laptops has been extended to five years and that of smartphones to four years. As a result of this decision, the replacement of around 2,800 laptops (UvA and AUAS) from 2018 was pushed back from 2022 to 2023. Extending the useful life of laptops will save 100 tonnes of CO2 annually. However, the figures do not yet show the impact of the measure. This is presumably because the same amount of equipment is not replaced in each year.

Status of envisaged measures

Read more about the measures in the White Paper on Sustainability (PDF, 19 pages).

  • We will use our ICT for longer

    The useful life of laptops will be extended to five years and that of smartphones to four years. As a result of this decision, the replacement of around 2,800 laptops (UvA and AUAS) from 2018 was pushed back from 2022 to 2023.

  • Sustainable procurement aimed at a 25% reduction of environmental impact

    Following a successful pilot, the Fairphone was included in the range. From 2023, sustainable procurement criteria will be experimented with when purchasing new ICT equipment.

  • A plan will be made to curb the growth of data traffic

    Our footprint in the Cloud (Microsoft 365, Video Service for Education, SAP, etc.) is as yet unknown. An eco-dashboard for MS365 has recently been implemented. Analysis of this and other eco-dashboards and identification of reduction measures is planned for 2023.

  • Initiating the action plan

    We aim to identify current energy use and savings potential, set targets and initiate an action plan. This has not yet been achieved. A study on the best measures to reduce our energy consumption in the Cloud and within the UvA is planned for Q4 2022.

  • Energy savings by migrating to the Cloud

    Discussions on sustainability with two major Cloud storage providers started in 2022. Using eco-dashboards, the ecological impact of Cloud usage will be monitored to make the process more efficient – where possible. Cloud suppliers aim for carbon-neutral data centres.

  • By 2026, 100% of e-waste will be collected and disposed of responsibly

    Since 2022, equipment handed in has been reused or recycled in the Netherlands. One problem is that not all smartphones are returned after use. As a result, their sustainable disposal cannot be guaranteed. This problem will be addressed in the mobile telephony tendering procedure.

  • Energy savings in our own data centre

    In 2022, the energy consumption of our own data centre was analysed and we sought to make the server settings more energy-efficient. This would reduce energy consumption by an estimated 10%.

  • Other measures

    On the advice of our print supplier, we use paper with a lower ecological impact. In addition, printing is discouraged and scanning is free. Our sustainability goals will be taken into account in the next round of tenders for our printing facilities.