1. Optical networks face several environmental challenges including high power consumption that outpaces efficiency increases, e-waste generation that exceeds recycling capabilities, and reliance on critical raw materials. 2. Timely equipment replacement aims to minimize total lifetime emissions but contradicts circular economy goals, demonstrating the complex tradeoffs between climate mitigation and adaptation that optical network design entails. 3. Both maximizing the carbon savings enabled by digitalization and improving the sector's climate change adaptation are necessary to help meet climate targets while ensuring raw material and waste sustainability.

1. Optical networks and the ecodesign tradeoff between climate-change
mitigation and adaptation, and critical-raw-material depletion
ECOC 2022, Workshop, Optical Networks – Will they destroy the planet or save humanity? Basel, September 18, 2022
Dr. Klaus Grobe, ADVA
Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on
forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.
Kenneth E. Boulding, 1910-1993, English-born American economist, educator,
interdisciplinary philosopher, and inventor of the Circular Economy concept

2. © 2022 ADVA. All rights reserved.
2
OVERVIEW
/
CONTENT
Relevant environmental aspects of optical networks
1.
Conclusions
2.

3. © 2022 ADVA. All rights reserved.
3
Relevant environmental aspects of
optical networks

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4
Environmental aspects and risks (not ICT-specific)
Physical climate risks (examples, from our TCFD* analysis 2020)
Extreme precipitation events in Asia and the Mediterranean – and not only there…
More consecutive hot days, soil-moisture decrease, higher risk of droughts in Europe, southern US
Sea level rise 0.3-0.6 m (toward 2100), especially at US west coast and in Asia
Critical environmental aspects (globally, in reporting, assessment, …)
Climate change
Circular economy
(raw material, waste)
Water,
pollution,
ecosystems
Mitigation Adaptation
Own
performance
Enabling
activities
Adapted
activities
Enabling
adaptation
*) Task force for climate-related financial disclosure

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5
Network infrastructure power consumption
[H. Mellah, B. Sansò, June 2011, DOI: 10.1109/WoWMoM.2011.5986484], [Vereecken et al., IEEE COMMAG, Vol. 49, No. 6, 2011],
[Tucker et al., ECOC 2008, based on METI, 2006, Nordman, 2007], [ADVA research and specifications]
• Following Internet
bandwidth increase,
router, switch and WDM
power consumption is
exponentially increasing
• Energy efficiency increase
cannot cope with bitrate
increase – and is saturating
• Must work on photonics
energy efficiency
1E+0
1E+1
1E+2
1E+3
1E+4
1E+5
1E-1 1E+0 1E+1 1E+2 1E+3 1E+4 1E+5
Power
consumption
[W]
Throughput [Gbps]
Switches Routers WDM Transponders WDM Plugs
Per equipment class, almost linear in time

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6
1990 2000
0
10
20
Global
CO
2
emissions
[GtCO
2
/a]
2010 2020 2030
30
40
50
ICT emissions
Greening-by-ICT
carbon savings
ICT emissions …
[IPCC AR6, 2022] [#Smarter2030, Executive Summary, GeSI, 2015]
• ICT can over-compensate its damages
• ICT-enables GWP savings in other
sectors can be higher by ×10
• Is the 1.5°C pathway still feasible?
• Must work on maximizing
greening-by-ICT
[A.S.G. Andrae, Int. J. Science and Engineering Investigations Vol. 8, Issue 86, March 2019]

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7
WEEE …
[O.S. Shittu, I.D. Williams, P.J. Shaw, “Global E-waste management: Can WEEE make a difference? A review of e-waste trends, legislation, contemporary
issues and future challenges,” Waste Management, Vol. 120, Feb. 2021, pp. 549-563, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.10.016]
0
20
40
60
80
Global
WEEE
generation
[Mt]
2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030
• The amount of waste electronic and electrical
equipment (WEEE) is increasing globally
• Efficiency in reuse and WEEE recycling is limited
• Very complex material compounds
• Functional obsolescence
• Reverse logistics
• Must improve the circular-economy aspects
of reuse and recycling
WEEE : Waste electronic and electrical equipment

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Critical raw material
• ICT requires critical raw material
• The EU 2017/2020 Critical Raw
Materials lists include:
Rare-Earth elements, Gallium,
Germanium, Indium, Tantalum,
Platinum-Group Metals, …
• Must improve the circular-
economy aspect of highest
material efficiency
[Study on the EU's list of Critical Raw Materials (2020) Final Report, Technical Report, September 2020, DOI: 10.2873/11619]
5
4
3
2
6
3 4 5 6 7
Economic importance
Raw-material
supply
risk
Phosphorus
1
Light/Heavy Rare-Earth Elements
Magnesium
Titanium
Cobalt
Platinum-Group Metals
Niobium
Indium
Germanium
Gallium Tantalum
Antimony
Beryllium
Strontium
Scandium
(Not complete)

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Climate-change adaptation…
Must work on climate-
change adaptation –
of the ICT sector itself!
Ahr valley, Germany, July 2021
© SanGero – stock.adobe.com
© Heinz – stock.adobe.com

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10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2020 2030 2040 2050
Lifetime
GWP
[tCO
2
e]
400G/600G DWDM
No Replacement
Replace every 8 Years
Optimum Replacement
Reality is even more complex …
• How long should a WDM system be used –
until this gets GWP net-negative?
• New replacement system has better energy
efficiency, however, its production etc. cost CO2
• Problem : for certain equipment with very high
use-phase dominance, timely replacement makes
sense to minimize total lifetime emissions –
this contradicts certain circular-economy
recommendations and requirements
GWP : Global warming potential Equipment production emissions
Major classes of optical-networking equipment must be treated differently regarding ecodesign…!
This project has received funding from
the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation program
under grant agreement No 776714.

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11
Conclusions

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12
Conclusions
• Climate change may be most pressing today, but…
• Are we missing the 1.5°C pathway already?
• Through everything into lowest ICT emissions??
• ICT the only big emissions-reductions enabler (Greening-by-ICT)
• We might have to look much more at ICT climate-change adaptation
• Must also consider critical raw material, WEEE, and recycling
Optical networks are much more on the positive side of things …!
1
2
3
3
Author‘s choice only

13. Thank you
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