Reservatórios de usinas hidrelétricas instalados em regiões tropicais podem representar contribuição significativa para as emissões de gases efeito estufa (GEEs) para a atmosfera. Neste contexto, é relevante desenvolver métodos para avaliação da emissão de CH4 e CO2 causada pela instalação desses empreendimentos hidrelétricos. A UHE Belo Monte no Rio Xingu (leste da Amazônia) é a terceira maior usina hidrelétrica em potencial de geração de energia do mundo. A estimativa das emissões de GEEs associadas à UHE Belo Monte é exemplo de alta relevância que pode servir de base para futuros empreendimentos previstos para serem construídos na região amazônica. Neste estudo, foram realizados experimentos de incubação de solos e de inundação de testemunho de solos das áreas dos reservatórios da UHE Belo Monte. Estes experimentos auxiliaram na compreensão da resposta do fluxo de CH4 e CO2 tanto na resolução vertical (e.g. profundidade), quanto na resolução horizontal (e.g. contexto fisiográfico). Os resultados demonstraram alta produção de CH4 e CO2 na camada superior (10 cm), a qual apresenta conteúdo orgânico mais elevado. O solo de floresta de igapó apresentou a maior taxa potencial de produção de CH4 (15,59 nmol CH4 g-1 h-1), enquanto que o solo de pasto apresentou a maior taxa de produção de CO2 (34,96 nmol CO2 g-1 h-1). As emissões médias de CH4 e CO2 para os reservatórios da UHE Belo Monte foram, respectivamente, iguais a 54 ± 60 mmol CH4 m-2d-1 e 330 ± 149 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1. Esses resultados indicam incremento no fluxo de CH4 e CO2 em relação ao fluxo natural destes gases no Rio Xingu medido antes da instalação da UHE Belo Monte. Isto permite computar as emissões de CH4 e CO2 na energia gerada para a avaliação do custo-benefício do empreendimento hidrelétrico, em termos de emissões de CH4 e CO2 para a atmosfera. Além disso, foram realizadas projeções de emissões de carbono ao longo de 100 anos de operação da UHE Belo Monte e a elaboração de modelo do balanço de massa de carbono (\"C budget\") para os reservatórios da UHE Belo Monte. Estimou-se que o impacto em emissões líquidas do empreendimento ocasionaria emissões entre 2,3 e 15,1 Tg C para o período de 100 anos. Dessa forma, espera-se que este estudo sirva de base para avaliar casos análogos, já que o plano de expansão da matriz energética brasileira considera a instalação de outras usinas hidrelétricas em rios do leste amazônico / Hydroelectric reservoirs installed in tropical regions can represent a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to the atmosphere. In this context, it is relevant to develop methods to evaluate CH4 and CO2 emissions caused by the installation of hydroelectric reservoirs. The Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in Xingu River (eastern Amazon) is the third largest hydroelectric plant in the world in terms of installed capacity and is an example of high relevance that can serve as a study case to evaluate future hydroelectric projects planned to be built in the Amazon region. In this study, soil incubation and soil flooding experiments using samples from the Belo Monte reservoir areas were performed to understand the response of the CH4 and CO2 fluxes under impounding of the Xingu River, considering both vertical (e.g. depth) and horizontal resolution (e.g. physiographic context). The results showed a high production of CH4 and CO2 in the top layer (10 cm) of soils, due to higher organic content. The igapó forest soil presented the highest potential production rate of CH4 (15.59 nmol CH4 g -1 h -1), while pasture soil presented the highest CO2 production rate (34.96 nmol CO2 g -1 h-1). The mean fluxes of CH4 and CO2 from Belo Monte reservoirs were respectively 54.05 ± 60.73 mmol CH4 m-2 d-1 and 330.76 ± 149.83 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1. These results indicate significant increase in the CH4 and CO2 fluxes compared to the natural fluxes of CH4 and CO2 from the Xingu River before damming for construction of the Belo Monte reservoirs. This allows to calculate GHGs emissions associated with the energy generated by the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the first years of operation and its cost-benefit evaluation in terms of carbon emissions. In addition, carbon emission projections for the next 100 years were carried out and a model for carbon mass balance (CH4 and CO2 budget) was elaborated for the Belo Monte reservoirs. It was estimated that the net emissions of the Belo Monte reservoirs would vary from 2.3 to 15.1 Tg C for a period of 100 years. Thus, this study is expected to serve as a basis to evaluate similar cases, as the plan of expansion of Brazilian energy plans matrix considers the installation of other hydroelectric plants in rivers of eastern Amazon.

Brown macroalgae or brown seaweed is a promising source of ethanol that may avoid the challenges of arable land use, water use, lignin content, and the food vs. fuel debate associated with first generation and cellulosic ethanol sources; however, this promise is challenged by seaweed’s high water content, high ash content, and natural composition fluctuations. Notably, lifecycle studies of seaweed ethanol are lacking in the literature. To address this gap, a well-to-wheel model of ethanol production from farmed brown seaweed was constructed and applied to the case of Saccharina latissima farming in British Columbia (BC), Canada, to determine energy return on energy invested (EROI), carbon intensity (CI), and near shore seaweed farming production potential for seaweed ethanol and to examine the production cost of seaweed ethanol. Seaweed farming and ethanol production were modeled based on current BC farming methods and the dry grind corn ethanol production process; animal feed was included as an ethanol co-product, and co-product credits were considered. A seaweed ethanol yield calculation tool that accounts for seaweed composition was proposed, and a sensitivity study was done to examine case study data assumptions. In the case study, seaweed ethanol had lower CI than sugarcane, wheat, and corn ethanol at 10.1 gCO2e/MJ, and it had an EROI comparable to corn ethanol at 1.78. Seaweed ethanol was potentially profitable due to significant revenue from animal feed sales; however, the market for seaweed animal feed was limited by the feed’s high sodium content. Near shore seaweed farming could meet the current demand for ethanol in BC, but world near shore ethanol potential is likely an order of magnitude lower than world ethanol production and two orders of magnitude lower than world gasoline production. Composition variation and a limited harvest season make solar thermal or geothermal seaweed drying and storage necessary for ethanol production in BC. Varying seaweed composition, solar thermal drying performance, co-product credits, the type of animal feed produced, transport distances, and seaweed farming performance in the sensitivity study gave an EROI of over 200 and a CI of -42 gCO2e/MJ in the best case and an EROI of 0.64 and CI of 33 gCO2e/MJ in the worst case. Co-product credits and the type of animal feed produced had the most significant effect overall, and the worst cases of seaweed composition and solar thermal seaweed drying system performance resulted in EROI of 0.64 and 1.0 respectively. Brown seaweed is concluded to be a potentially profitable source of ethanol with climate benefits that surpass current ethanol sources; however, additional research into seaweed animal feed value, co-product credits, large scale seaweed conversion, and the feasibility of solar thermal or geothermal seaweed drying is required to confirm this conclusion. / Graduate

Countries' long-term climate targets are described by different concepts who, over time, have become increasingly dependent on negative emissions technologies (NETs) in order for the targets to be reached. This thesis is a cross country comparison, examining similarities and differences in the concepts used by seven countries to express their long-term climate targets, focusing on their plans for implementing NETs. The empirical material was collected from interviews with experts from each country. Concepts in long-term climate targets can have various interpretations and there are uncertainties about what emissions that are covered within the different concepts. NETs are crucial for achieving any type of net-zero target however they are in nascent stages, except for forest management, and there are several factors affecting the possibilities to implement NETs. It is important not to focus too much on NETs to comply with the long-term climate targets, NETs should function as a complement to emissions reduction and target the unavoidable emissions. We recommend that countries clarify what emissions are included within their concept, set out specific targets for NETs and lastly put a great effort into clarifying policy instruments related to NETs. / Ländernas långsiktiga klimatmål beskrivs av olika begrepp som är beroende av negativa utsläppstekniker för att målen ska nås. Denna avhandling är en jämförelse mellan sju länder där ländernas likheter och skillnader undersöks genom deras val av begrepp och även deras planer för att implementera tekniker för att nå negativa utsläpp. Det empiriska materialet samlades in från intervjuer med experter från varje land. Begrepp i de långsiktiga klimatmålen kan ha olika tolkningar och det råder osäkerhet om vilka utsläpp som täcks upp inom de olika begreppen. Negativa utsläppstekniker är avgörande för att uppnå alla typer av netto-nollmål men de befinner sig i väldigt tidiga faser av utveckling, förutom skog som redan finns på plats och det finns flera faktorer som påverkar möjligheterna att implementera negativa utsläppstekniker. Det är viktigt att inte fokusera för mycket på negativa utsläppstekniker för att uppfylla de långsiktiga klimatmålen, de bör fungera som ett komplement till utsläppsminskning och rikta in sig på de oundvikliga utsläppen. Vi rekommenderar att länder klargör vilka utsläpp som ingår i begreppen, fastställer specifika mål för negativa utsläppstekniker och slutligen satsar mycket på att klargöra policyinstrument relaterade till negativa utsläppstekniker.

The residential building sector plays an important role in combating climate change in Canada. Many energy efficiency solutions along with new building energy standards have been implemented to improve building energy performance. However, their effects on energy saving and GHG emissions reduction vary due to the complexity of the building systems and the variability of their operational conditions. This work quantifies such variability in both energy efficiency devices and building energy standards implementation, respectively. The first study in this dissertation assesses the energy savings from sensible heat recovery in a residential apartment suite in various locations across Canada. A series of detailed building energy performance models are developed in TRNSYS. The HVAC system’s annual energy consumption is simulated and the results are compared with and without HRV for each climate zone. The results show the heating energy savings of employing the HRV vary from 17 to 34% depending on the winter climatic conditions; while, the building cooling energy use can be increased due to the undesired thermal recovery occurring in the HRV during the cooling season. The second study investigates the free cooling potential of outside air in various Canadian cities. A series of thermal models developed using BEopt 2.8 for a hypothetical single-family house with various window-to-wall ratios and building aspect ratios simulates hourly building cooling load profiles. The free cooling potential is analyzed by comparing the maximum available and the actual usable free cooling for various building features and different climates. The results indicate that, although free cooling is widely available in most areas of Canada during the summer and shoulder seasons, only 17-42% of such free cooling is usable without the use of thermal storage. The last study examines the effects of two building energy standards - the BC Step Code and the Passive House criteria - on reductions in residential household space heating GHG emissions under different enforcement scenarios. The space heating energy and the GHG emissions are estimated using the forecast growth of single detached households for the period from 2020 to 2032. The results show that the space heating GHG emissions can be reduced by 77% and 89%, respectively if the BC Step Code or the Passive House criteria is implemented in Canada. It is also found the impacts of energy code on GHG emission mitigation are less significant in regions where the carbon intensity of the dominant heating fuels is low. / Graduate

Cloud gaming over mobile networks enables players to play high-resource consuming games on low-end devices with various intrinsic restrictions such as limited battery lifetime and computational capacity. For mobile cloud gaming(MCG), the remaining battery level on the device is one of the critical factors that affect the sensitivity of user satisfaction. Thus, an android application is developed to measure the energy consumption of mobile devices that measure the power consumption of the device such that the obtained values correspond with the specific network conditions and users. The collected values are studied to identify if the energy consumption of the device is impacted by the network degradation that might occur during MCG in cellular networks. Results demonstrate that the energy consumption is at its highest when packet loss is 45% at 2ms RoundTrip Time (RTT) delay. Moreover, a qualitative study on the perceived Quality of Experience (QoE) of MCG over mobile networks is conducted and its impact on the energy consumption of the device is investigated where 31 users play a cloud-based First Person Shooter (FPS) for approximately 2 hours each. The results demonstrate the existence of the relationship between energy consumption and perceived QoE whereas negates the hypothesis of the existence of the relationship between QoE and CPU resources. In addition, to make comparisons of energy consumption of MCG with online mobile gaming (OMG), another test is carried out where each user plays another non-cloud-based FPS game and it is found that MCG is more efficient than OMG under the least energy-consuming network condition (2ms RTT delay) by 33.3% and the most energy consuming network condition (45% packet loss at 2ms RTT) by 32.7% in 4G cellular network.

ICT has become so deeply embedded into the fabric of European society – in economic, political, and socio-cultural narratives, practices, and structures – that it has been constructed as holding tremendous untapped and inestimable potential for instigating and unleashing far-reaching societal transformation, addressing key societal challenges, and solving all societal problems. It has recently been seen, given its ubiquity, as a critical driver and powerful catalyst for sustainable urban development due to its potential to enable substantial energy savings and GHG emissions reductions in most urban sectors, especially buildings. However, related to this ubiquity, there are also a lot of visions (of limited modern applicability), hopes, myths, fallacies, and oxymora, which applies for the environmental subsystem of information society where debates focus on whether ICT can advance environmental urban sustainability. There are intricate relationships and tradeoffs among the multidimensional effects of ICT for the environment that flow mostly from the use and application of ICT – e.g. energy efficiency technology - throughout the urban sphere. Regardless, the technological orientation and framing of the sustainable city and the green economy has gained dominance in European society and become prevalent in what has come to be identified or known as the discourse of ICT for sustainable urban development (ICT4SUD). The aim of this study is to carry out a critical reading of the social construction of ICT4SUD, the underlying ideology about the ICT potential in advancing environmental urban sustainability. To achieve this aim, a Foucauldian-Faircloughian discursive approach is employed to examine the selected empirical material. This approach consists of nine stages: (1) surface descriptors and contextual elements; (2) historical-diachronic dimension; (3) epistemic and cultural frames; (4) discursive constructions and discourses; (5) social actors and framing power; (6) discursive strategies; (7) discursive mechanisms; (8) political practice, knowledge, and power; and (9) ideological standpoints.As a scholarly discourse, ICT4SUD is inherently part of and influenced by economic, societal, and political structures, and produced in social interaction. ICT4SUD is thus neither paradigmatic nor value-free, but rather socio-politically situated. It is shaped by cultural frames that are conventionalized by European society and attuned to its values, and it is a matter of a pre-intellectual space where ICT and sustainability constitute salient defining factors of the dominant configuration of knowledge, institutions, and material forces of European society. Indeed, ICT4SUD is impacted by earlier representations of reality and how they were reproduced in relation to the significance of discursive constructions of ICT and sustainability issues in the broader context of European culture. Moreover, the ICT4SUD discourse plays a major role in (re)constructing the image of the ICT industry as a social actor and in defining its identity and relation with other constituents of society, in that it is relocated new roles and attributed new societal missions. The dominant framing of the reports is clearly the one advanced by the ICT industry: it is constituted into the main definer of the represented reality. Further, positioning the ICT industry as the driver of the low-carbon city/economy aids the construction of an image of leadership in creating a low carbon society. The reports’ construction of energy efficiency technology is a powerful legitimation of the ICT industry’s views and actions. In addition, the ICT4SUD discourse is exclusionary, namely a number of facts and issues pertaining to structural, indirect, and systemic effects of ICT and the associated rebound effects are left out, concealed, or neglected. Also, the discourse is inclined to be deterministic, i.e. it postulates that ICT, supported by policy, will achieve SUD while it falls short in considering social behaviour and socio-economic relationships. It moreover tends to be rhetorical – that is, it promises environmentally SUD without really having a holistic strategy to achieve that goal. Furthermore, given the scientific discourse and the legitimation capacity of computing, climatology, and sustainability indicators, one can subsume a range of social and political effects under the category of discourse mechanisms through which ICT4SUD operates, which both show the power of discourse and potentially empower the ICT industry and its cohorts. There are different justifications for the development of energy efficiency technology in relation to decision-making processes. Plus, politics, as a consequence of its interaction with ICT4SUD, forces, though different mechanisms, the emergence and development of the ICT4SUD discourse, which is, simultaneously, influenced by the power/knowledge relations established in European society that bounds or expands its success. Finally, as to ideological reproduction, the ICT4SUD discourse reconstructs cultural claims, conveys ideological messages, and reproduces and legitimizes power structures.

This study endeavors to investigate the negative environmental impacts of the prevailing ICT design approaches and to explore some potential remedies for ICT design unsustainability from environmental and corporate sustainability perspectives. More specifically, it aims to spotlight key environmental issues related to ICT design, including resource depletion; GHG emissions resulting from energy-intensive consumption; toxic waste disposal; and hazardous chemicals use; and also to shed light on how alternative design solutions can be devised based on environmental sustainability principles to achieve the goals of sustainable technologies. The study highlights the relationship between ICT design and sustainability and how they can symbiotically affect one another. To achieve the aim of this study, an examination was performed through an extensive literature review covering empirical, theoretical, and critical scholarship. The study draws on a variety of sources to survey the negative environmental impacts of the current mainstream ICT design approach and review the potential remedies for unsustainability of ICT design. For theory, central themes were selected for review given the synergy and integration between them as to the topic under investigation. They include: design issues; design science; design research framework for ICT; sustainability; corporate sustainability; and design and sustainability. Findings highlight the unsustainability of the current mainstream ICT design approach. Key environmental issues for consideration include: resource depletion through extracting huge amounts of material and scarce elements; energy-intensive consumption and GHG emissions, especially from ICT use phase; toxic waste disposal; and hazardous substances use. Potential remedies for ICT design unsustainability include dematerialization as an effective strategy to minimize resources depletion, de-carbonization to cut energy consumption through using efficient energy required over life cycle and renewable energy; recyclability through design with life cycle thinking (LCT) and extending ICT equipment’s operational life through reuse; mitigating hazardous chemicals through green design - low or non-noxious/less hazardous products. As to solving data center dilemma, design solutions vary from hardware and software to technological improvements and adjustments. Furthermore, corporate sustainability can be a strategic model for ICT sector to respond to environmental issues, including those associated with unsustainable ICT design. In the same vein, through adopting corporate sustainability, ICT-enabled organizations can rationalize energy usage to reduce GHG emissions, and thereby alleviating global warming. This study provides a novel approach to sustainable ICT design, highlighting unsustainability of its current mainstream practices. Review of the literature makes an advance on extant reviews of the literature by highlighting the symbiotic relationship between ICT design and environmental sustainability from both research and practice perspectives. This study adds to the body of knowledge and previous endeavours in research of ICT and sustainability. Overall, it endeavours to present contributions and avenues for further theoretical and empirical research and development. / +46704352135/+212662815009

Využití vody, spotřeba energie a emise skleníkových plynů (GHG) jsou rozhodujícími ukazateli a do značné míry souvisí s udržováním nebo dosahováním environmentální a sociální udržitelnosti. Tato práce prezentuje vyvinuté metodiky. Představuje také provedené případové studie, které prozkoumaly a identifikovaly Water-Energy-GHG Nexus (WEGN) z pohledu dodavatelského řetězce. Pro analýzu a návrh sítě WEGN jsou navrženy tři metodiky, které jsou založeny na nové aplikaci a integraci modelu vstup-výstup (IO), geografického informačního systému (GIS) a sítě dodavatelského řetězce (SCN), a zároveň řeší výzvy, které dříve neumožňovali praktické implementace. Použitelnost těchto metod je prokázána třemi komplexními případovými studiemi zaměřenými na odvětvovou environmentální účinnost, regionální environmentální účinnost a kritické přenosy WEGN. Mezi mé příspěvky v této oblasti patří: i. Nový nástroj pro hodnocení založený na IO pro identifikaci regionální environmentální účinnosti z hlediska WEGN, zejména pro regiony, které jsou úzce propojenyobchodem. ii. Pokročilá integrace metodik GIS a IO (GIS-IO) za účelem odhalení a mapování sítě WEGN, sledování kritických meziregionálních a sektorových toků WEGN, vyjasnění regionálních, odvětvových a celosvětových vzorců sítě WEGN a určení souvisejících výhod pro různé regiony. iii. Efektivní metoda hodnocení založená na IO a SCN pro kvantifikaci sektorových koeficientů WEGN. Navrhované metodiky, s podporou sady komplexních základních rovnic, transformují komplikované výzvy identifikace a analýzy sítě WEGN do snadno srozumitelného formátu, z čehož vznikají robustní řešení pro zlepšení posuzování environmentální udržitelnosti a zmírnění environmentálních tlaků. Například v jedné z případových studií ukazují výsledky nového přístupu GIS-IO zjevné rozdíly mezi různými zeměmi v rámci EU27, mezi různými sektory a také pokud srovnáme EU27 jako blok zemí, s ostatními státy světa. Analýza ukázala, že země EU27 přispěly o 1.4 Gt nižšími emisemi CO2, o 64.5 Gm3 menší spotřebou vody a 4.9 × 104 PJ nižší spotřebou energie ve srovnání se zbytkem světa, přičemž generovaly ekvivalentní ekonomickou produkci. To má dramatický dopad na globální prostředí. Největší úspěch v CWE mezi zeměmi EU27 měly Německo, Francie a Itálie. Práce doporučuje, aby EU27 poskytovala více technické podpory zemím, které těchto výsledků nedosahují, aby se zvýšila účinnost využívání zdrojů.

A circular economy has been suggested to be able to respond to environmental challenges caused by over-production and consumption of products. Reuse is a circularity measure ranked high in the waste management hierarchy and is especially relevant for passive durable products such as furniture. Reusing furniture has the potential to contribute to the decarbonization of companies. This thesis aimed to explore the potential of reuse contribution to climate change mitigation. An Excel model was developed to explore different reuse scenarios from a life cycle perspective, accounting for potential avoided emissions by selling second-hand furniture. The results indicated that reusing furniture resulted in about 42% reduced climate impacts, although it depended on the characteristics of second-hand trade. Furthermore, the second-hand furniture trade characteristics that influence the GHG emissions were identified, such as replacement rates, second-hand transport, and variability of items sold. An improved scenario by optimizing the furniture trade characteristics can save up to 80% of climate impact. The results indicated that reuse could significantly contribute to the climate commitments of companies, although it cannot be the only mitigation measure to reach carbon neutrality. / Att implementera en cirkulär ekonomi har föreslagits för att kunna adressera miljöutmaningar orsakade av överproduktion och konsumtion av produkter. Återanvändning är ett cirkulärt mått som rankas högt i avfallshanteringshierarkin och är särskilt relevant för passiva och slitstarka produkter som möbler. Återanvändning av möbler har potential att bidra till att minska koldioxidutsläppen hos företag. Denna avhandling syftade till att undersöka potentialen om återanvändning kan bidra till att minska klimatförändringen. En Excel-modell utvecklades för att utforska olika återanvändnings- scenarier ur ett livscykelperspektiv som räknar ut potentiella undvikna utsläpp genom att sälja begagnade möbler. Resultaten visade att återanvändning av möbler resulterade i cirka 40 % minskad klimatpåverkan, även om det berodde på second-handhandelns egenskaper. Vidare identifierades second-handmöbelhandelns egenskaper som påverkar utsläppen av växthusgaser, t.ex. som ersättningstaket, second-handtransport och variation av sålda varor. Ett förbättrat scenario genom att optimera möbelhandelns egenskaper kan spara upp till 80 % av klimatpåverkan. Resultaten visade att återanvändning avsevärt skulle kunna bidra till företagens klimatåtaganden, även om det inte kan vara den enda begränsningsåtgärden för att nå koldioxidneutralitet.

With global emissions of human activities that drive climate change on the rise, global institutions and authorities are trying to introduce new regulations in the industry, in order to accomplish a significant reduction of carbon emissions. In order for companies to be more effective in reducing carbon emissions, not only from their products but also along their value chains and product portfolios, it is of vital importance to understand and quantify them. Following that need, tools that can measure the carbon footprint of various corporate operations (carbon calculators) have risen in popularity in the latest years. A sector in which companies can significantly improve their environmental impact is their IT equipment portfolio. WeCycle, as developed by Greener Scandinavia AB (partner of this project), is a platform that facilitates reselling of old IT equipment, while aiming to reduce its environmental impacts. This project then, in cooperation with WeCycle, aims to develop a software tool that calculates the environmental benefits (kg of CO2 eq. avoided) when reusing old IT equipment. This can help clients estimate this benefit, while also providing a CSR incentive. The specific methodological steps needed in order to complete the project included literature review concerning the state of e-waste and initiatives to minimize its environmental impacts, guidelines, and procedures related to LCA of IT equipment and various other carbon calculators, developing calculation model and assumptions in order to compile the database, interface design, and finally using and testing the software tool against a real case scenario - case study provided by WeCycle. The results, and design process of the project, were enlightening in the matter of understanding potential benefits of reusing IT equipment, but also in identifying the “hotspot” stages of an electronic device’s lifecycle. Even though variations were noticed depending on the type of the device (e.g. smartphones vs desktop computers), it is evident that the emissions that occur during the production phase are considered of major importance (ranked either 1st or 2nd most important/emission heavy stage), and therefore the benefits of reusing are of a high relative magnitude. All in all, this project resulted in a useful tool for WeCycle to measure the benefits of their practices, as well as for any user or company that would like to measure the carbon emissions that can be avoided when they give their old IT equipment up for resell. Hopefully, by easily quantifying these benefits, this tool can motivate both a behavioral change in the industry, as well as researchers to expand it in order to cover all sectors of the industry and everyday life. / När globala utsläpp av mänskliga aktiviteter stiger, försöker globala institutioner och myndigheter att införa nya regler för att minska koldioxidutsläppen. För att företagen ska vara mer effektiva när det gäller minskade koldioxidutsläpp, inte bara från sina produkter men också med sina värdekedjor och produktportföljer, är det viktigt att förstå och kvantifiera dem. För att uppnå detta, har verktyg som kan mäta koldioxidavtrycket av olika företagsverksamheter (kolkalkylatorer) ökat i popularitet de senaste åren. En sektor i vilken företag kan förbättra sin miljöpåverkan är deras IT-utrustning. WeCycle, ett projekt som utvecklats av Greener Scandinavia AB (partner för detta projekt), är en plattform som underlättar återförsäljning av gammal IT-utrustning medan den siktar på att minska miljöpåverkan. Projektet, i samarbete med WeCycle, syftar till att utveckla ett mjukvaruverktyg som beräknar miljöfördelar (kg CO2-ekv.) vid återanvändning av gammal IT-utrustning. Detta kan hjälpa kunder att uppskatta denna fördel, samtidigt som de ger ett CSR-incitament. Projektets resultat var till hjälp för att förstå de potentiella fördelarna med att återanvända IT-utrustning, men också för att identifiera "hotspot" -stadierna i en elektronisk apparats livscykel. Även om det märktes variationer beroende på enhetens typ (t.ex. smartphones jämfört med stationära datorer) är det uppenbart att utsläpp som uppstår under produktionsfasen är av stor betydelse (rankad antingen viktigaste eller näst viktigaste fasen) och därför ger återanvändning relativt stor miljönytta. Förhoppningsvis, genom att kvantifiera dessa fördelar med ett lättanvänt verktyg, kan detta projekt motivera både en beteendemässig förändring i branschen och forskare att vidareutveckla verktyget till att omfatta alla industrisektorer och hushållens konsumtion.