How 5G is Driving the Future of Sustainability

While fifth-generation cellular connectivity (5G) is best known for delivering unprecedented wireless speed to consumers, it’s also poised to help solve a much more critical challenge: the push for sustainability, discusses Marisa Viveros, VP at IBM.

It comes as little surprise that the telecommunications industry is particularly focused on going green: a recent Institute for Business Value studyOpens a new window of over 3,000 CEOs—including 120 telecommunications leaders—in over 40 countries found that more than half (56%) of telecom CEOs rank increasing sustainability among their highest priorities for their organization over the next two to three years.

By upgrading equipment and leveraging the latest networking standards to help ecosystem partners spearhead environmentally beneficial strategies, telecommunications companies will not only realize increased revenue but play a key role in mitigating climate-change-related risks, realizing their ESG strategy, and improving the state of humanity in the process. 

See More: Delivering on Sustainability with 5G: Keys to the Kingdom

Reaching for Goals

In 2015, the United Nations published the UN Sustainability Development GoalsOpens a new window (SDGs), a list of 17 objectives for resolving the most pressing societal and environmental issues facing the global population. The goals cover a broad range of ambitious targets, from combatting climate change and conserving natural resources to ending hunger and poverty. 

Telecoms are in a strong position to make a meaningful contribution to many of the SDGs, and 5G will play a key role in their realization. Below, we highlight how the next-gen connectivity standard is poised to help achieve the UN’s guidelines for a more sustainable and equitable future. 

Combating Climate Change

Perhaps the most critical of the UN’s SDGs involves reducing global climate change and its impacts. According to a reportOpens a new window conducted by Accenture and commissioned by the wireless industry association CTIA, 5G and its associated uses could reduce the U.S.’s carbon emissions by 20% by 2025. Even before considering the carbon reduction benefits that 5G connectivity stands to provide to partners in fields from transportation to agriculture, the new standard is itself more environmentally friendly. 

A 2020 5G energy efficiency study from Nokia and TelefonicaOpens a new window found that 5G networks are up to 90 percent more efficient per traffic unit (W/Mbps) than 4G networks. This inherent efficiency is being boosted by further developments at the base station level, such as new energy-saving software to reduce radio equipment energy usage and liquid cooling technology that can slash CO2 emissions by 80%Opens a new window . Overall, a fast rollout of 5G could cut the global CO2 output from mobile network operations by 0.5 billion metric tonsOpens a new window over the course of this decade—the equivalent of more than one year of greenhouse gas emissions from all aviation globally. 

The most significant gains, however, lie in what 5G will enable. Its energy efficiency, low latency and high fidelity promise to unlock the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) and expand the reach of artificial intelligence (AI), which will transform countless industries—leading to better use of energy and natural resources, reduction of waste products and lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

In transportation, for example, 5G is enabling a revolution in vehicular communication, navigation and autonomous driving, as well as in logistical areas like truckload optimization and fleet management. Around 20 percent of all urban trafficOpens a new window is caused by people searching for parking. By helping drivers find available spaces, we can reduce congestion as well as unnecessary emissions. NTT DoCoMo, a leading Japanese mobile phone operator telco, and Vodafone each launched smart parking services to help address this.

Other key industries in which 5G is already making an impact include manufacturing and smart buildings, enabled by 5G Private Networks, IoT-based automation and intelligent HVAC systems slashing energy consumption and carbon emissions. 

Overall, the use of 5G networks for various use cases is expected to enable the abatement of 330.8 million metric tonsOpens a new window of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMtCO2e) across five industries by 2025. This level of improvement would account for 20% of the U.S. emission reduction target for this timeframe—the equivalent emissions of 71.9 million cars over the course of a year.

Improving Lives

The latest cellular technology holds the power to do more than just help save the environment; it’s proving critical in efforts to elevate the standard of living for populations around the world—especially those in traditionally underserved areas. 

The second of the UN’s SDGs pertains to ending hunger, a pursuit that 5G and associated technologies are already on their way to solving. Food waste is a major problem: according to some estimates, only 14 percentOpens a new window of the food produced reaches consumers. With IoT sensors connected over 5G networks, farmers can closely monitor numerous factors like humidity, temperature, soil moisture and crop health and deploy automated irrigation systems to maximize their crop yield. Autonomous machines, including tractors, ground robots, and imaging drones, are also playing an increasingly important role in raising the efficiency of food production.

In addition to “agrictech,” 5G is also boosting the efficiency of food distribution, from smart transportation and logistics to connected retail systems that can further help ensure that less produce is wasted. 

SDG number nine involves building resilient infrastructure, promoting industrialization, and fostering innovation—three large goals that telecom providers are working to achieve. In the U.S., tens of billions of dollars in grants have been earmarked for telecom providers to bring broadband infrastructure to rural and underserved areas, reducing the barrier to investment in bringing long-awaited high-speed connectivity to these populations. Among these is the FCC’s 5G Fund for Rural AmericaOpens a new window , which is helping to deliver broadband access to new markets.  

Delivering 5G connectivity to these populations opens them to new opportunities in education, work and commerce. With stronger overall communications technology, telecom operators have reportedOpens a new window direct increases in the national GDP in the places in which they operate—boosting financial prosperity and making progress on SDG number one: ending poverty. 

Taking Action

To secure the best outcomes in sustainability from 5G, it’s vitally important that telecom providers move quickly. Studies have detailed how a fast rollout – which would shift 99 percent of mobile traffic to 5G by 2030 in advanced economies – would lead to a twofold reduction in carbon emissions from the cellular network alone, compared to a slow rollout. 

Simply put, an accelerated shift to 5G is necessary to prevent escalating network energy demands from the rising volume of data traffic – and to address the urgent global problems that the latest cellular connectivity standard is uniquely positioned to solve. 

Do you think 5G is set to play an essential role in driving sustainability? Share your thoughts on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .

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