Generation Z & the environmental impact of their digital media behavior

Transcription

1 Generation Z & the environmental impact of their digital media behavior Regula Keller, René Itten & Matthias Stucki Life Cycle Assessment Research Group Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR) (ZHAW) 1st Life Cycle Innovation Conference 30th August, Tagungswerk Jerusalem Kirche, Berlin, Germany 1

2 Contents 1. Aim of the study 2. Input data and data sources 3. Modeling approach 4. Results 5. Conclusions 2

3 Aim of the study The aim is to evaluate the environmental impact of digital media use by young people in Switzerland. Recommendations from this study will be used to promote environmentally-friendly behaviour among young people with a communication campaign lead by researchers focusing on sustainability communication. 3

4 Aim of the study Young people use digital media as a part of their everyday life. From an LCAperspective, the following questions are interesting: Which activities do young people persue? watching videos, writing s, chatting, browsing the internet, gaming, using social media, listening to music, making phone calls or watching TV Which devices do young people use? Mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktop, television What is the environmental impact of their behavior? Which aspects of their behaviour are relevant? Which recommendations can be given based on this analysis? 4

5 A B C Input data A B C

6 A B C Data sources: Survey Online questionnaire completed by 800 young persons (12 24 years), both in school classes as well as individually. Data was adapted to represent the average Swiss young person taking into account: age, sex (m/f), education level, urbanity (suburban areas vs. rural areas) 6

7 A B C Data sources From survey: Duration of different activities (watching videos, using social media) Type of internet connection (WLAN / mobile network) Lifespan of mobile phone (2 years) Other sources: recent Swiss studies Lifespan of other devices (Thiébaud, 2017) Data on ownership of devices (JAMES, 2016) 99% possess mobile phone, 30% possess television 7

8 3. Modelling Approach 8

9 3. General structure of modelling Device production Idling (electricity demand modem in stand-by and device) Usage (incl. data transfer) Using background functions (e.g. GPS) Usage of devices (data, direct electricity demand) Device disposal Environmental impact of the use of digital devices 9

10 3. Modelling of devices and usage Which devices were analyzed? Focus of widespread devices with multiple functions Mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop and television No other devices taken into account Which aspects of usage were analyzed? Direct electricity demand devices Data (WLAN or mobile network; data transfer; data centres) Duration of activities 10

11 Duration of activities in min per day 3. Duration of activities Mobile phone Tablet Laptop Desktop Television Video Chat Internet browsing Gaming Social media Music Calls Others Television Mobile phone is used longest; mainly used for chatting Watching videos is an activity with relatively long durations on all devices 11

12 4. Results 12

13 eco-points per day 4. Usage of digital devices per day (eco-points) calculated with user data from survey Mobile phone Tablet Laptop Desktop Television Router Device Usage Devices have highest impact (personal & shared in household): 76% of total impact Television has a high share of use (28%): data provision in data centres (25%), direct electricity demand (4%), data transfer (< 0.1%) 13 Television has highest relevance for impact (> 50% from total)

14 4. Usage of digital devices per day (eco-points) calculated with user data from survey eco-points per day Mobile phone Tablet Laptop Desktop Television Router 1 litre iced tea 1 burger 1 km bicycle 1 km scooter 1000 Energy resouces Mineral rescources Global Warming Radioactive Waste to deposit Air pollution Water pollution Other categories Total Relevant impact categories are: Mineral ressources, climate change, air & water pollution Indium is responsible for 65% of the impact in the category mineral resource use (of which TV: Zurich University 50%) of Applied Sciences 14

15 4. Savings due to substitution of non-digital media and multifunctionality (eco-points) Books eco-points per day Savings Newspaper Camera Total Mobile phone Devices Tablet Laptop Desktop Highest savings due to saved camera with multifunctional mobile phones Relevant savings for newspaper and books 15

16 5. Conclusions 16

17 5. Conclusions Devices improvement options Less devices = less impacts Smaller devices are better for the environment Sharing devices instead of buying new ones Maximise lifetime, reduce number of devices Usage improvement options Electricity demand is lower for smaller / portable devices Data transfer is not relevant; Data provision is only relevant for data-intensive use like high resolution TV. Multifunctionality can reduce environmental impacts 17

18 Questions? Regula Keller, René Itten & Matthias Stucki Life Cycle Assessment Research Group Institute of Natural Resource Sciences ZHAW Grüental, Postfach, CH-8820 Wädenswil Tel.: Internet: Facebook: 18

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