Bio:

Etienne holds a Grenoble INP Master’s degree in industrial engineering specialized in supply chain and ecodesign.

He conducts LCA studies within the digital, electric and electronic, transport and building sectors following different objectives: research, environmental declarations (PEP ecopassport, FDES, EPD), ecodesign projects and decision-making support. He regularly assists firms and authorities on the methodological and technical aspects through trainings: LCA, environmental communication, etc.

Etienne also develops LCA data and databases, such as the EIME and Negaoctet databases.

Abstract:

The last decade saw the acceleration of new technologies adoption, shaping the digital landscape in terms of speed, quality and connectivity for multimedia contents and communication tools. While many activities have been able to benefit from the numerous innovations (4.0 industry, e-commerce, telecommunications, etc.) to develop, this growth has always been coupled with a significant increase of pressures on the environment and natural resources.

This study is part of an analysis process, but also of a prospection process related to digital technologies future. It covers the whole digital perimeter, from the network installations to terminals and considering the network, equipment and datacenters impacts.

Specifically, it consists in an evaluation of France digital technologies impacts with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.

It covers the 3 tiers of digital technologies: user terminals, networks and datacenters, and calculates a panel of 12 impact indicators, including climate change, natural resource consumption or particulate matter.

Results are presented a the France-wide scale, per inhabitant, and are detailed under several levels of analysis in order to get a more acute interpretation, and a better comprehension of direct environmental stakes related to digital technologies in France.

Limitations are discussed in order to highlight improvement opportunities.