Joint Media Release 17th October 2007

By Dr Phil Burgess Telstra Group Managing Director Public Policy & Communications and Climate Risk author Dr Karl Mallon

Telecommunications networks can help reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by almost five per cent by 2015 and deliver up to $6.6 billion a year in cost savings for Australian businesses and households, according to a new report released today by Telstra.

By using telecommunications networks there are opportunities to reduce or avoid carbon emissions in Australia by an amount and at a pace that meets the Kyoto Protocol target and is in keeping with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Stern Review.

Telstra Chief Executive Officer, Sol Trujillo, said Telstra commissioned climate change experts to quantify the possible carbon and dollar savings that could be achieved by business enterprises, households and governments by using telecommunications networks to avoid or reduce rather than just offset their carbon emissions.

“The Report found telecommunications networks can facilitate a reduction in Australia’s carbon emissions by 4.9 per cent or around 27 million carbon tonnes per year by 2015. This is equivalent to the annual emissions caused by nearly two-thirds of Australia’s passenger cars,” Mr Trujillo said.

Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissionsis a study by climate change experts, Climate Risk. The Report has been peer reviewed by independent experts: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Bourne, and leading Australian energy and environmental authority, Dr Hugh Saddler.

Mr Trujillo said the Report was significant because Telstra touched almost every home and business in the country.

“This means that Telstra can leverage and aggregate significant energy savings on a nation-wide basis with economy-wide implications,” he said.

The Report identifies seven major opportunities for Australian consumers and businesses to reduce or avoid the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. These opportunities, if implemented by 2015, could help reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 27 million carbon tonnes per year. Individually, each opportunity could deliver per annum carbon emission savings of:

1.8 million tonnes (Mt) by using broadband to remotely manage power for appliances not in use or on “stand-by”;
2.4Mt by improving business productivity with “in-person” high-definition videoconferencing;
2.9Mt with broadband based, real-time freight allocation systems to fill empty freight vehicles;
3.0Mt with presence-detecting services that turn off devices that are “on” but not being used;
3.1Mt with teleworking and working in regional centres by reducing commuter car traffic;
3.9Mt by bringing integrated personalised public transport to your door with a phone call; and
10.1Mt by increasing renewable energy use with networked demand-side management.
Mr Trujillo said the Report delivered compelling evidence that broadband networks could play a significant role in helping Australia prosper in a future carbon-constrained world.

“The Report’s objective is to contribute to the community debate on climate change and the research into large-scale energy conservation.

“We can take what are today piecemeal and incidental actions and turn them into an approach that is integrated, deliberate and comprehensive.

“Businesses and governments alike, including airline, energy, banking, insurance, mining and construction companies, are already seeking new ways to reduce and offset carbon emissions. These moves are good for business and good for the environment.

“Telecommunications can deliver additional opportunities in energy conservation that can help in each of these industries. For example, by using high-speed broadband, more people can work from home to avoid car travel and reduce carbon emissions.”

Mr Trujillo said Telstra had a good environmental record and was Australia’s largest private sector user of solar power.

For example, in the past year, Telstra:

Reduced vehicle fuel consumption by 5 per cent and increased productivity by 15 per cent by installing GPS;
Used energy management programs to save the equivalent annual greenhouse gas emissions of 2,225 Australian homes; and
Reduced office paper consumption from 9 to 7.4 reams-per-staff-member.
“Telstra is also using new “in-person” video-conferencing in place of many face-to-face meetings. Last year, nearly 7,500 video conferences lasting nearly 20,000 hours saved around 4,200 tonnes in travel carbon emissions,” Mr Trujillo said.

In addition:

Successful programs by Sensis to encourage recycling have led to 95 per cent of households recycling their directories;
Telstra recently ran a trial in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria where we disconnected our site loads from the grid and connected them to our own generators to reduce peak demand; and
Telstra is installing a renewable energy centre in our Exhibition Street, Melbourne building. It will feature a grid interactive solar array, Hydrogen Fuel cells, wind turbine and our Next GT 3G850 wireless technology.
Mr Trujillo said Telstra’s energy management program had been in place since 2000 and placed us in a good position to respond to a changing climate with minimal business impact.

Climate Risk’s Director of Science and Systems, Dr Karl Mallon, said the introduction of carbon trading would require Australian businesses to re-think their approach to doing business.

“The Report’s opportunities should be part of every business and government climate change strategy because it can deliver big emission cuts quickly and with minimal economic disruption.

“This Report provides the first significant, practical analysis in Australia of the use of telecommunications to achieve increased energy conservation and clean energy production. Our analysis found that by harnessing smarter networks and devices it is possible to deliver reduced emissions while also reducing expenditure on energy for the end user,” Dr Mallon said.

“This is a first step and we will now work with climate scientists, industry leaders and sectoral stakeholders to refine the ideas and develop a deeper understanding of how innovative deployment of telecommunications applications can cut energy use and emissions.

“The results indicate Telstra can play a big part in the solution to climate change. The scale of its networks, services and customer-base provides a unique platform to partner with businesses and households to a make a significant contribution to reducing the national carbon footprint,” Dr Mallon said.

WWF Australia Chief Executive Officer, Mr Greg Bourne, said Telstra should be applauded for having chosen to become part of the solution to climate change.

“Telstra has set an international precedent among the telecommunications industry by finding ways that the industry can contribute towards a national shift to a low-carbon economy,” Mr Bourne said.

“The scale of the identified emissions reductions would significantly help Australia to meet the call of climate scientists and economists like Sir Nicholas Stern. I urge other corporations, businesses and governments across Australia to follow Telstra’s lead and become part of the solution by finding and implementing innovative ways to cut carbon pollution effectively and quickly both in their firms and business sector,” Mr Bourne said.