Projects

According to GeSI’s SMART2020 report, applying ICT solutions to sectors such as energy, buildings, transport and commerce can enable global carbon reductions of up to 15%, save €600 billion and create 15 million green jobs globally by the year 2020.

GeSI is collaborating with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), World Resources Institute (WRI) and Carbon Trust on developing a tool for ICT companies to measure the carbon footprint of their products and Services.

The GeSI report “Evaluating the Carbon-Reducing Impacts of ICT: An Assessment Methodology” contributes to realising ICT’s promise through providing a practical and consistent methodology and roadmap for assessing ICT’s capacity to enable the transition to a low-carbon economy.

GeSI published “SMART 2020 Enabling the low-carbon economy in the information age” in June 2008 – the first major study identifying the significant contribution the ICT industry can make to creating a low-carbon economy.

GeSI communicates with policymakers and key stakeholders to explain the significant contribution that ICT can play in addressing climate change globally and facilitating low-carbon development. GeSI wants the contribution of ICT to be recognised and integrated in government policies to achieve sustainability goals – at national, regional and global level.

GeSI in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and a coalition of stakeholders including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and United Nations Environment Progamme (UNEP) launched the award Transformative Step of the Day at COP17 in Durban.

The Coalition on ICTs and Climate Change brings together in an informal group key actors working in the area of ICT and climate change. Initiated by GeSI and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the coalition is a response to a call for a united ICT voice on the virtues of technology in combatting climate change.

In October 2011 GeSI launched a benchmark and a web-platform that for the first time made it possible to compare different policy approaches to the adoption of transformative solutions for climate change.

In 2010, GeSI took an excellent first step in putting ICT on the climate agenda during the global climate change negotiations- COP16- in Cancun with the launch of the Guadalajara ICT Declaration for Transformative Solutions.

GeSI members are engaged in efforts to promote human rights and responsible business practices. Our activities focus on supporting efforts to ensure that ICT products do not contain “conflict minerals” whose sourcing has been linked to human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries.