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Technology | enabling co2 ReducTions

Technology | Enabling CO₂ Reductions2

conTenTs

Section One

Foreword ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................03

Technology and the Clean Growth Plan ................................................................................................................................................................................04

The role of Government and recommendations ................................................................................................................................................................05

Section Two

The role of technology in reducing emissions .....................................................................................................................................................................07

Energy ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................09

Buildings ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11

Cities .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................13

Transport and logistics .................................................................................................................................................................................................................15

Agriculture ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................17

Circular economy and waste .......................................................................................................................................................................................................19

Section Three

Encouraging behavioural change .............................................................................................................................................................................................21

Annex: further case studies ........................................................................................................................................................................................................23

Notes ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................25

3Technology | Enabling CO₂ Reductions

secTion one | FoRewoRd

The UK is a world-leading digital economy. Technology is transforming our personal lives, reshaping our businesses, and changing how the Government delivers services to its citizens.

As has been rightly acknowledged in the Government’s recent Clean Growth Strategy (CGS), digital technology can underpin the efforts to decarbonise the economy whilst also driving productivity.

techUK and our members have demonstrated for a number of years the vital role of technology and ICT in delivering carbon savings, including in our formative 2008 report, High Tech: Low Carbon.

Our new report details how today’s digital technologies can help reduce carbon emissions and deliver the objectives of the CGS. It highlights the future opportunities for tech-led decarbonisation and sets out policy recommendations on how Government can accelerate cost-effective deployment of tech solutions in key sectors.

The country’s carbon emissions reduction targets are ambitious, but should not be daunting. As outlined in this report, we can become a world-leading sustainable digital economy if we encourage the adoption of new and existing technologies across sectors, both to reduce emissions and to improve business efficiencies.

Julian David CEO, techUK


Technology and The clean gRowTh Plan The Clean Growth Plan needs to work in tandem with the Industrial Strategy, the Digital Strategy and forthcoming Environment Plan to reimagine how technology can drive positive change and meet the challenges of the future. It also needs to send clear signals to industry to provide investment certainty.

With this in mind, techUK believes the Clean Growth Plan must follow these principles:

� Have a clear vision and direction of travel for decarbonisation.

� Identify, prioritise and focus on the key sectors requiring transformation.

� Signal any intent for regulatory intervention and the timeline for doing so.

� Be robust and not subject to short-term changes.

� Have technology at its heart.

However, to act on the opportunities highlighted in this paper, the following technology fundamentals need to be realised:

� Connectivity: this is not just about broadband services – although they play an important role – but the myriad of communication technologies that underpin the Internet of Things ecosystem.

� Cyber security: Government and industry need to work together to ensure that systems are built with security and privacy at the heart of their design stage.

� Digital skills: the UK workforce must be equipped with the skills to develop, deploy, interpret, analyse and exploit the opportunities technology presents.


The Role oF goveRnmenT and RecommendaTions

The following sections will look in detail at how tech is being applied in a range of sectors. We then propose a range of interventions, policies and initiatives to meet future decarbonisation goals.

In summary:

Decarbonising business and industry

� Continue to explore policy and fiscal tools to incentivise businesses to take up emerging technology solutions.

� Broaden the Energy Technology Product List to reflect the role that digital technologies can play.

Decarbonising the energy sector

� Review energy flexibility services to deliver a cost-effective and more user-friendly system.

� Continue to work with Ofgem in reviewing network charging, ensuring a holistic and open ended approach.

� Invest in further innovation funding trials at scale.

Decarbonising buildings

� Explore incentives to reduce the initial cost of smart devices and appliances.

� Facilitate and encourage dynamic tariffs.

� Consider a public information campaign for home and business energy users about the benefits of smart energy products.

Decarbonising cities

� Invest in more scale-level demonstrator smart city projects.

� Use devolution deals to ensure that local authorities have the ability to develop and execute digital and smart city strategies.

� Facilitate city data exchange platforms.


Decarbonising transport and logistics

� Use the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill to enable the policy framework for autonomous vehicles.

� Set out a clear plan for a nationwide electric vehicle charging station roll-out.

� Ensure all metro transport systems deliver open APIs to encourage the development of third party apps to make accessing public transport simpler.

� Work with industry to improve connectivity across transport corridors.

Decarbonising agriculture

� Support farmers to invest in cost-effective, off-the-shelf technology.

� Expand support for the £4m Agri-Tech Catalyst.

� Support demonstration farms equipped with emerging and available technologies to measure their potential.

� Improve digital skills for agricultural workers.

� Invest in rural connectivity.

Decarbonising the waste and resources sector

� Increase support for R&D within companies to explore how tech can deliver circular business practices.


secTion Two | The Role oF Technology in Reducing emissions

By supporting business and designing policies that support technology and ICT deployment across society, carbon emissions could be substantially reduced. An Accenture Strategy report for BT¹ showed that the right policy framework could enable technology and ICT to deliver a net 24% reduction in annual UK emissions, with an associated economic benefit to the UK of £122 billion in 2030.

Business and industry

There has been an array of ICT innovations that have enabled faster, more efficient and more flexible processes to produce higher-quality goods at reduced costs, reducing resource consumption and lowering carbon emissions.

These include: improved energy monitoring and management systems with better data capture and analysis tools; virtual process testing and simulation to maximise efficiency; improved automation and synchronisation of processes, resulting in less waste; improved detection of machine wear and maintenance requirements; more effective implementation of produce-to-demand strategies; improved quality control; and, less off-specification production.

Current status

� Automated industrial processes: the use of machine-to-machine connectivity has helped to improve the efficiency and productivity of industrial processes, helping to reduce energy consumption.

� Cloud services: the move to cloud has begun to make businesses more efficient, with energy being used in centralised data centres as opposed to costly and less efficient on premises servers.

� Improved supply chain and inventory management: ICT and mobile technologies can be used to monitor goods and equipment, helping to improve efficiency in logistics and reduce waste, particularly for perishable goods.

Taking a conservative estimate on current abatement, which excluded efficiencies from cloud services, it is estimated these have led to annual savings of 88,000 tonnes of CO2e.²


The opportunity

Businesses will always look to reduce their costs and for many firms, energy is the largest overhead. There are several technologies that remain under-utilised in industry, but have the potential to support substantial improvements in business efficiency.

Industry 4.0: UK manufacturing is on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, ushering in new technologies and techniques that will change products, processes and supply chains, underpinned by big data and the industrial Internet of Things. Industry 4.0 will drive manufacturers to be leaner, more efficient and competitive, as well as unlocking lower carbon business models - yet in a recent survey, only 11% of manufacturers think that UK manufacturing is ready to take advantage of this.3

Cloud services: there remains a great potential for efficiencies if businesses continue to move to cloud services. A study commissioned by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) estimates a 863 GWh saving, 421,000 tonnes of CO2e, if 80% of businesses moved systems like customer relationship management, data and email servers to the cloud.4

Superfast Cornwall: Funded by BT, the Government and EU, the project aims to deliver superfast broadband at 30Mpbs to 99% of Cornish and Scilly Isles premises by 2020, and with it, bring transformative societal, environmental and economic benefits.

BT estimates a total saving of 581,164 tonnes of CO2 between 2011-20, as a result of increased home working, teleconferencing and increased use of cloud services - an annual saving of one tonne per subscriber and an abatement of 25x the emissions generated by roll-out. Furthermore, it will connect Cornwall residents to the vast array of online services generating an economic benefit of £186 million.

The barriers What can Government do?

� Competition for business investment and competing priorities.

� Continue to explore policy and fiscal tools to incentivise the take up of emerging technology solutions.

� Relatively low levels of understanding of the potential for IoT.

� Broaden the Energy Technology Product List to reflect the increasing role that digital technologies can play.

� Poor connectivity in rural areas and in business parks.


eneRgy

Digital technologies are already transforming how energy is managed within the UK. To date the most material benefits have been the shift away from centralised generation to a system that accommodates smaller scale electricity generation, enabling individuals and smaller players to participate economically, creating new markets for greener, local energy.

Current status

� Connection of decentralised energy generation (microgeneration) and demand side response: enabling low carbon microgeneration of energy by individuals and businesses to be exported to the grid by communicating capacity and pricing, as well as facilitating payment. In the marketplace, energy suppliers offer connected home technologies to customers and time-of-use tariffs are being rolled out to a wider number of customers starting with smaller businesses.

� Managed smart grids: by monitoring the distribution of an electricity or gas network, network operators can identify points of stress/loss and improve efficiency.

� Electric Vehicle infrastructure: charging point facilities are in place for electric vehicles, helping to facilitate the transition to low carbon transportation.

The current estimate is that 1.5m tonnes of CO2e emissions are already being avoided annually in the UK as a result of the deployment of these technologies.5

The opportunity

Government has to walk a fine line between transitioning to a low carbon energy system and minimising the cost impact for businesses and households. The deployment of renewables will need to continue but remains controversial due to cost and reliability concerns. A smarter energy system can overcome these concerns by putting customers in control, improving grid flexibility and by better managing peaks in demand.

A smarter energy system: SmarterUK has identified how ‘smart’ and IoT technologies will enable better management of our energy networks6, providing much needed flexibility and preventing costly network reinforcements to cope with rising demand. Demand-side response, storage and flexible generation reduces the need to build new capacity and avoids substantial network investments, while improving competitiveness for the benefit of consumers.⁷


Asset monitoring: By leveraging data to create ‘predict and prevent’ mechanisms, costly system faults are avoided through more efficient asset monitoring and early warning signals.


� Consumer confidence in smart energy.⁸ � Review energy flexibility services to deliver a cost-effective and user-friendly system.

� Network charging. � Continue to work with Ofgem in reviewing network charging, ensuring a holistic and open ended approach.

� System value pricing of services. � Further innovation funding to trial at scale.

Dynamic Demand: Open Energi’s Dynamic Demand platform enables businesses to manage their electricity demand in real-time.

Water firm, United Utilities integrated Dynamic Demand allowing for a ‘smart’ approach to when machines needed power. This flexible electricity consumption helps National Grid to balance the system. Retailer Sainsbury’s uses the technology across 200 stores to manage equipment and adjust consumption intelligently, without compromising performance.

Every MW of demand-side flexibility is a MW that doesn’t have to come from a fossil fuelled power station, saving 2,276 tonnes of CO2 per year.


buildings

A wide variety of technologies can be used to optimise energy use within buildings, reducing gas and electricity use in turn. Digital technologies allow for automation which do not rely on the active involvement of users. They allow for more effective human monitoring and control of energy use through devices and digital tools linked to smart meters. More sophisticated systems can adjust heating in line with weather forecasts and historical comfort data.

Current status

� Advanced building energy management systems: home automation allows for optimised use of electricity and heating, reducing domestic energy consumption. In turn⁹ smart thermostats like the 'tado' smart heating system offer savings of between £280- £413 and 771 – 1137kg C02 a year¹⁰ and smart lighting can deliver energy savings of up to 50%.¹¹ Smart plugs can also offer significant benefits by enabling devices usually left on standby to be completely turned off and remotely managed.

� Improved HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) controls: more effective monitoring and control of HVAC systems using connected sensors, including automatic response to occupancy levels of areas within buildings, leading to overall reductions in building energy consumption.

� Smart meter installation: providing greater visibility through detailed monitoring of energy and water use, raising awareness of where savings can be achieved and helping to positively encourage energy saving behaviour.

Connected buildings are already saving at least 2.9m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year within the UK.¹²

The opportunity

Amazon Web Services: the Amazon cloud platform worked with British Gas Connected Homes to deliver the app-controlled Hive smart thermostat, currently in 250,000 homes.

The Hive allows users to use their smartphones to control heating and hot water, saving up to £150 off energy bills and allowing homes to be leaner and more efficient with their energy.

The back end technology monitors and collects data on usage and spots problems before they happen. The cloud platform has helped to reduce the cost of the device to encourage take up and keep consumers assured that data is protected.


Decarbonising the UK’s housing stock remains a huge challenge. Energy bills have doubled in the last 10 years, yet progress to improve the efficiency of our homes has stalled. Technology has the potential to change this: smart meters and appliances have the potential to empower and engage consumers, and potentially allow them to become active participants in a flexible power grid.

Deeper market penetration of existing opportunities: delivers fast and measurable results in emissions reduction, as well as catalyses adoption of smart energy reducing measures.

Smart appliances: IoT-enabled smart appliances will enable everyday appliances to respond to remote commands and change behaviour. This can deliver energy efficiency benefits but could also, at scale, be used to help balance the grid at peak times.


� The timescale of the smart meter roll-out. � Explore incentives to reduce the initial cost of smart devices and appliances.

� Concerns over affordability. � Facilitate and encourage dynamic tariffs. � Low awareness among consumers. � Consider a public information campaign for home and

business energy users about the benefits of smart energy products.

� Lack of dynamic tariffs on the market. � Coordination failures.


ciTies

Over half of the global population now live in urban areas, and by 2050, two-thirds of humans are expected to live in cities. Addressing carbon emissions in cities will be a crucial part in tackling climate change. Integrating digital technologies into the fabric of our cities allows central control systems to remotely monitor, analyse and respond to data from multiple sources.

Current status

� Smart traffic management: with remote monitoring of traffic conditions, mobile technology can be used to change road signs or traffic signals to avoid congestion or curb excessive speed, give preference to public transport, or to enforce a congestion charging policy, helping to cut fuel use from vehicles.

� Intelligent street lighting: energy demand for street lighting is being reduced thanks to new lamps that contain sensors and can be controlled remotely to switch off or dim lighting when not required. If all local authorities deployed this technology annual, energy bills would be cut by £50m.¹³

� On-demand refuse collection (smart bins): using ‘smart bins’ that are able to report when they are in need of emptying can make refuse collection more efficient, allowing for route optimisation and minimising fuel use. A number of councils including Greenwich have taken the lead on installing such technology

� Parking space monitoring: tracking car parking space availability can help to route cars towards available spaces, reducing fuel consumption.

Despite not yet being deployed at scale, these innovations are already delivering savings of 435,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.¹⁴

Future opportunity

Technology is being deployed in numerous ways to enhance urban living, support smarter transport choices and improve the efficiency of city lighting. With further smart city projects being rolled out across the UK, this is a space alive with possibilities.


More efficient services: the Smart City and IoT markets are still nascent. It is therefore hard to predict which future opportunities, services or devices that will lead to substantial carbon savings. However, the level of ambition is undoubted; for instance Exeter aims to utilise technology to eliminate congestion and become energy independent by 2025¹⁵.


� A lack of leadership and capability within local authorities to deliver digital transformation.

� More scale-level demonstration projects for smart city projects.

� Retrofitting smart technologies to existing and legacy infrastructure.

� Use devolution deals to ensure that local authorities have the ability to develop and execute digital and smart city strategies.

� Affordability of retrofitting old infrastructure. � Facilitate city data exchange platforms. � Coordination failures between central and local

Government, grant awarders and industry.

Dassault Sytemes: 3DEXPERIENCity is a smart city platform that aggregates numerous data sources to create digital and accurate virtual models of entire cities. The data gained from these models helps solve challenges ranging from transport efficiency, town planning, resource management and public services.

The “Virtual Singapore” project gave researchers, business and Government a data rich environment to help meet sustainability and other urbanisation challenges as the city continues to grow. Geometric, geospatial and topology images were collected alongside data collected from various public agencies on demographics, transport and climate to look at how to develop mobile coverage, ease congestion and examine the impact of property developments on air quality.


TRansPoRT and logisTics

Digital technology can support a cleaner, more efficient transport network by shortening journeys, improving fuel efficiency and by improving driver behaviour. Smart grid connections and metering is supporting connected, autonomous and electric vehicles. Vehicle tracking systems and satellite navigation is helping to improve route planning and fleet management. While digital platforms have created access to car pools that allow people to access shared vehicles. Already smart transport is saving 2.34m tonnes of CO2e a year.

Current status

� Enabling smarter logistics: mobile technology can optimise multi-modal land and sea fleets to operate more efficiently through better routing, optimising vehicle loads and improving fuel efficiency.

� Changing individual transport choices and driving behaviour: mobile connectivity can help individuals to make lower carbon transport decisions though improved route guidance using satellite navigation; supporting access to on-demand car sharing services through car clubs; improving the public transport user experience with mobile ticketing and better journey planning; and enabling insurance policies that actively monitor driving to reduce premium costs for safer, more fuel efficient driving.

The opportunity

By 2032, the way we travel and the vehicles we use could look extremely different to today. Connected and autonomous vehicles could lead to quicker, cleaner journeys, more capacity on public transport networks and a more efficient logistics sector driven by new insights gleaned from data driven management of supply chains.

Connected and autonomous vehicles: whether a car is simply connected to a city’s information on available parking or traffic avoidance, enables ride-sharing or is fully autonomous, technology, if implemented properly, will make journeys quicker, less fuel intensive and could see 135 million less cars globally¹⁶. In the logistics and commercial sector, intelligent convoys, data driven automation of supply chain management and more efficient drivers will deliver further savings.

Digital Railways: upgraded signalling technologies can increase capacity on the rail network by allowing trains to run closer together. This helps reduce wasted energy of stationary trains, increase confidence in public transport and potentially takes more cars off the road.



� The current policy framework does not fully support autonomous vehicles.

� Use the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill to drive the policy framework for autonomous vehicles.

� Coordination failures for nationwide EV charging station roll out.

� Set out a clear plan for a nationwide Electric Vehicle charging station roll-out.

� Lack of available open data for all metropolitan areas. � All metro transport systems should deliver open APIs to encourage the development of third party apps to make accessing public transport simpler.

� Poor connectivity on some road and rail networks. � Work with industry to improve and secure connectivity across transport corridors.

BT and Milton Keynes: BT and Milton Keynes partnered to deliver a better way for drivers to park. Currently there are 25,000 parking spaces in Milton Keynes, with an additional 12,000 required by 2020. Milton Keynes Council wanted to use smart technology to make sure current capacity was being fully optimised.

As a trial, BT and Deteq installed sensors in each of the train station parking bays that would send information over the air to lamppost mounted, solar powered repeaters which aggregate and send the information to the MK Data Hub, where its processed and analysed, before being sent to drivers via the Milton Keynes Council public information dashboard, or a Google Maps overlay that displays bay status as red (occupied) or green (free).

The initiative is part of the wider MK:Smart initiative, forecast to save 3% in energy use, and smart parking will contribute significantly to the target of reducing congestion by 50%, with corresponding benefits in reducing fuel use and emissions.


agRiculTuRe Technology has a key role in helping to improve the efficiency of farming, from simple advice about the weather or good farming practice, to providing highly granular data to support decision making.

By monitoring crops with satellites, radio-tags on livestock, airborne thermal imaging and ground-level sensors, precision agriculture can help to optimise yields with minimal resource input (such as fertiliser, water and pesticides), which in turn reduces emissions. Furthermore, big data modelling can predict and monitor pest outbreaks and support future crop planning. Drones with sensors and cameras also provide farmers with an enhanced insight into their land use, aiding decisions such as where best to lay crops and efficiently deploy resources.

Current status

� Enhanced agricultural equipment logistics: more efficient operational use of farm machinery such as tractors, harvesters and compactors through automatic machine setting, autonomous guidance, steering systems and telemetry can result in each farm saving around 10% of their fuel costs¹⁷.

� Improved crop management: providing information to farmers, controlling irrigation remotely and monitoring soil conditions to allow for less use of fertiliser, which can result in an overall increase in productivity and yields alongside reduced wastage.

Collectively, the deployment of these technologies have saved an estimated 53,000 tonnes of CO2e, according to the Carbon Trust¹⁸.

The opportunity

Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK but given that most farms are SMEs, the level of tech adoption varies, not least because of rural connectivity. Yet future mobile and fixed broadband roll-out will enable farmers across the country to bring technology to their farms, allowing them to become more efficient and cut costs.

It is expected that as these technologies become more commonplace, intuitive and user-friendly, best practice will be adopted to deliver further efficiencies.

18


� Cash flow pressures on farms. � Support farmers to invest in cost-effective, off the shelf technology.

� Engaging smaller farmers. � Expand support for the £4m Agri-Tech Catalyst. � Regulatory uncertainty. � Support demonstration farms with emerging and available

technologies. � Poor rural connectivity. � Improve digital skills for agricultural workers and rural

broadband connectivity.

Intel IoT platform: Intel developed an IoT platform that helped Malaysian farmers use less water and an expected doubling of yields. The platform monitors how water is distributed to farms via irrigation systems and water gates.

The Environment Agency estimates water contributes 0.8% of total UK emissions, so IoT platforms could minimise water usage and prevent excessive water being drained into the soil (and therefore prevents the soil from absorbing CO2).

The Intel platform helps farmers determine the minimal amount of water required for crops by using a combination of historic data (ie. previous water levels, rain patterns and temperatures) as well as data from sensors measuring temperature, water levels, air pressure etc. Whist this solution is very much focused on water, the platform can be extended into more intensive resources such as fertilisers.


ciRculaR economy and wasTe

Technology has an important role in helping to dematerialise the economy and a conservative estimate by the Carbon Trust suggests 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is already being displaced as a result of a shift from physical to digital goods and services. Nearly half (49%) of respondents in a survey by the Carbon Trust said they were now purchasing digital instead of physical products, such as newspapers, music and books.¹⁹

It is recognised that we must go further to reduce material consumption, particularly in the context of a long-term decarbonisation strategy²⁰. A growing body of thinking suggests emerging technologies and tech platforms will be fundamental in ensuring improvements in material efficiency is efficient, profitable and customer-friendly.

Current status

� Multifunctional devices: in the home, laptops, smart phones and tablets can replace the need to own a separate camera, map, music player, video player, home telephone, calculator, alarm clock and so on²¹.

� Access to digital media: overall, the largest current reductions are being made in the replacement of physical media such as newspapers, magazines, CDs and DVDs, with digital media. This in turn, is reducing emissions associated with the extraction of raw materials, the processing of the materials, manufacturing and the logistics, and disposal at end of life.

The opportunity

The waste and recycling industries contribute billions of pounds to the UK and are a fundamental part of the drive to a more sustainable and resource efficient future. Digital solutions can be deployed to support a better understanding of resources, giving better insights into how materials flow in and out the economy, with the potential to open up new markets around them.

� The Internet of Things: IoT enabled products could prove to be a powerful driver of the circular economy. Sensors embedded in products can monitor their condition and use allowing manufacturers or service providers to initiate predictive maintenance, repair activities, decommissioning or recommendations to change use patterns to minimise wear and tear. Manufacturers, armed with more granular information on how their products are used, can leverage improvements in product design.


� Increasing resource utilisation: blockchain and sensors could in future generate data enabling greater visibility and transparency of materials, components and products through their supply chain and life-cycle to inform resale, remanufacture, longer use, rent and lease.


� Data security and user trust. � Support R&D within companies to explore how tech can deliver circular business practices.

� Interoperability of IoT networks. � Business risks in adopting new business models.

Samsung Remote Service App: Samsung’s app enables trained engineers to remotely view and control Samsung TVs and Smartphones to optimise device settings, update software and resolve issues being experienced by their customers.


secTion ThRee | encouRaging behaviouRal change

Encouraging low carbon behaviours will increasingly be a fundamental element of the transition to a low carbon society. Technology is already having a transformative effect: simple, accessible mobile tools are already encouraging the uptake of lower carbon options and services. In 2015, the Carbon Trust conservatively estimated that mobile technology is currently enabling a total reduction of 9.6 million tonnes of CO2e in the UK, 20 per cent of which comes from the use of smartphones to enable behaviour change in lifestyles and working patterns²².

Current status

� Keeping in touch virtually: the use of devices to connect businesses, customers, family and friends through voice and video calling can help to reduce the frequency of travel.

� Remote access to goods and services (mobile banking and shopping): prevents journeys to retail locations in order to shop for goods or access services such as banking.

� Smart home control: smartphones can be used to remotely operate appliances, heating and cooling within the home, helping to reduce electricity and gas demand.

� Improving route planning and eco-driving: map or satnav apps on smartphones can be used to plan journeys more efficiently, minimising the distance to travel and avoiding traffic. Similarly, eco-driving apps can minimise fuel use by providing guidance and supporting behavioural change.

The opportunity

Research points to a large number of digitally-aware consumers who are poised to take advantage of opportunities if linked to the right incentives and the benefits are clearly explained.

What can government do?

� Support improved connectivity.

� Developing appropriate regulatory oversight to support consumer trust in digital services.

� Work with the tech sector when exploring open data initiatives.


Would you be more likely to use public transport if you could find out when the next service would arrive via an app?

� More likely (49%)

� Unlikely (28%)

� Definitely not (12%)

� Don't know (11%)

Would you have a device fitted to your vehicle which records the way you drive, if driving in a safer, eco friendly way reduced your insurance?

� Yes, I would consider it (55%)

� Maybe (22%)

� No (12%)

� Yes, I already use one (8%)

� Don't know (3%)

Are you, or would you be willing in future, to use a mobile device to control your electrical appliances and heating/cooling at home?

� Willing to do this (68%)

� Not willing to do this (18%)

� Already do this (14%)


annex | FuRTheR case sTudies

Google | Green data centres

Data centres are fundamental to Google’s operations and power the everyday services like search, YouTube and Gmail and Google utilises a range of technologies to drive efficiencies and minimise carbon across the data centre network. Google strives to make the world’s most energy-efficient computing network and to squeeze more out of every watt of power we consume. Google data centres now use 50% less energy and have 3.5x computing power Megawatt compared with 5 years ago and this commitment to sustainability has resulted in Google being carbon neutral since 2007 and from 2017 will use 100% renewable energy.

Data centres are highly dynamic environments, making it difficult for humans to see the complex interactions between all of the variables. Machine learning models things like server temperature, IT loads, and pump speeds and used this to suggest precise opportunities for optimising performance. In partnership with DeepMind, Google’s data centre team built models to “learn” from patterns in large amounts of operational data, and are now 99.6% accurate in predicting power-usage effectiveness (PUE), resulting in a reduction of 40% of the energy used for data centre cooling (equating to a 15% reduction in overall energy overhead). These are lessons that will be applied across the group and shared with other data centre and industrial system operators so they, and ultimately the environment, will benefit. There are also other abatement opportunities, with Google using the natural environment too, for example the Finnish data centre uses seawater for cooling.

British Gas | Guaranteed Energy Savings Initiative

Hospitals are 24/7 operations and use a lot of energy. With £9m from the Welsh Government, British Gas and the Hywel Dda Health Board entered a 10 year partnership, the Guaranteed Energy Savings Initiative to modernise the aging energy assets of four hospitals in Wales and use the latest technology to reduce emissions, make patients more comfortable and save the NHS money.

The partnership saw a vast range of upgrades and technology installed across the estate. New building energy management systems meant the hospital staff could use web based tools and real time monitoring to manage energy usage and the benefits extended beyond environmental savings. There was reduced maintenance time, and minimal risk of unplanned and unbudgeted maintenance as well as helping to further embed carbon awareness in the culture of the organisation. The results of the contract have been impressive, guaranteeing an annual saving of £862,000 and a 30% reduction in energy consumption.


Northgate Public Services | Decarbonising social housing

Buildings are responsible for nearly 37% of all emissions, so making them energy efficient is vital if the UK is to meet its carbon targets as well as helping reduce energy bills and fuel poverty.

Northgate Public Services has been making homes more efficient since the early 1990s and are currently delivering BEIS’ Home Energy Project, a multi service platform to support existing and new policies. The platform provides a more responsive and cost effective platform for continuing Green Deal activity, and supports the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) whereby landlords are obliged to bring their properties up to a minimum EPC rating of E or better.

Modern technology enables more responsive implementation of energy policies, allowing new schemes to be created through the existing platform rather than having to design from scratch. The technology is easily upgradeable, and able to add new data sets from government and other registers. As a result, the overall quality of data will be improved and its usage enhanced. Services can look across stakeholders (eg Public Landlords) to improve customer service, deliver citizen centric service and improve government insight.

In collaboration with Elmhurst Energy Systems, Northgate developed systems to calculate Energy Efficiency in 42 Housing Organisations. Using the RdSAP methodology, properties are banded according to their energy efficiency. Carbon emissions and Energy costs are also produced against each property and the software makes recommendations improving energy efficiency. The software allows for data input to the calculation to be modelled and can suggest the most cost effective way to improve efficiencies.

Sims Recycling Solutions | Technology and Mobility Refurbish and Reuse

Technological advances enable organisations to confidently and compliantly participate in the Circular Economy. Sims recovery and reuse process utilises advanced HMG Accredited data-wiping software to ensure that IT and Mobility equipment is data-safe prior to repair and refurbishment. Assets can then be reused; cascading within the original owner’s organisation or resold, avoiding landfill and the need to undergo recycling and remanufacturing processes. Sims employs additional efficiencies when equipment must be recycled. Innovative advanced separation techniques improve the reuse potential of raw materials by creating cleaner commodity streams for manufacturing next-generation products. Through partnerships and our responsible electronic waste management solutions, Sims’ entire global operations reuses on average 10million assets annually and reduces world CO2 emissions by 13.2 million tonnes, equal to the energy needed to power 14.2 million homes.


noTes1. BT, The Role of ICT in Reducing Carbon Emissions in the UK (2016) https://www.btplc.com/Purposefulbusiness/Ourapproach/Ourpolicies/UK-Carbon-targets-May-2016.pdf

2. Carbon Trust (2015) Mobile Impact, www.carbontrust.com/media/672238/mobile-carbon-impact-ctc856.pdf

3. EEF (2016) The 4th Industrial Revolution: A primer for manufacturers, www.eef.org.uk/resources-and-knowledge/research-and-intelligence/industry-reports/the-4th-industrial-revolution-a-primer-for-manufacturers

4. GESI cloud impact calculator www.gesicloudimpact.org/


6. SmarterUK (2017) ‘Smart, Flexible Energy System‘ response, http://www.techuk.org/insights/news/item/10042-smarteruk-responds-to-call-for-evidence-on-a-smart-flexible-energy-system

7. Imperial College London & NERA Consulting (2016) Understanding the Balancing Challenge www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48553/5767-understanding-the-balancing-challenge.pdf

8. Energyst Media found almost nine in ten businesses would help National Grid balance the power system if it did not adversely affect operations, but only 27% of businesses surveyed were actively participating, http://theenergyst.com/fear-of-disruption-hobbling-demand-side-response-uptake-by-uk-firms/

9. Consumer Technology Association (2016) Energy Savings from Five Home Automation Technologies www.cta.tech/CTA/media/policyImages/Energy-Savings-from-Five-Home-Automation-Technologies.pdf

10. Based on 150sqm family home built in 2000. See https://www.tado.com/gb/heatingcontrol-savings

11. Gartner (2015) Smart Lighting Market Trends, www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3093717

12. Carbon Trust (2015) Mobile Impact www.carbontrust.com/media/672238/mobile-carbon-impact-ctc856.pdf

13. Vodafone (2015) M2M in Local Government, http://mediacentre.vodafone.co.uk/pressrelease/local-councils-missing-out-on-more-than-400-million-possible-savings-from-m2m-technologies/


15. Exeter City Futures Programme (2016) https://www.exetercityfutures.com/

16. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America estimated a 2-4% reduction in oil consumption and GESI estimates automation and connected vehicles will deliver a total abatement of 3.8Gt of carbon dioxide globally by 2030. http://connectedvehicle.itsa.wikispaces.net/file/view/Vehicle+Electrification+and+the+Smart+Grid+Publication+FINAL+2012+ITSA.pdf/376146040/Vehicle%20Electrification%20and%20the%20Smart%20Grid%20Publication%20FINAL%202012%20ITSA.pdf

17. Nesta (2015) Precision Agriculture(http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/precision-agriculture-almost-20-increase-income-possible-smart-farming


19. Carbon Trust (2015) Mobile Carbon Impact, https://www.carbontrust.com/media/672238/mobile-carbon-impact-ctc856.pdf

20. For example Allwood et al (2010) Material Efficiency: A white paper. https://www.scribd.com/document/192094783/Material-efficiency-A-whitepaper-pdf

21. Analysis conducted by Fraunhofer IZM in 2014 found that smartphone manufacturing emissions were less than half that of separately producing five common single-function devices: an MP3 player, compact digital camera, feature phone, portable games console and navigation system.

22. Carbon Trust (2015) GeSI Mobile Carbon Impact, www.carbontrust.com/media/672238/mobile-carbon-impact-ctc856.pdf


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