23 October 2008
ITU Urges ICT Industry and Standards Leaders to Reduce their Carbon Footprint
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21 October 2008: Speaking at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Global Standards Symposium, held on 20 October 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Malcolm Johnson, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau Director, called on the information and communication technology (ICT) industry to play its role in addressing climate change.

He underlined that the challenge for the ICT industry […]

Global Standards Symposium meets in Johannesburg
21 October 2008: Speaking at the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Global Standards Symposium, held on 20 October
2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Malcolm Johnson, ITU Telecommunication
Standardization Bureau Director, called on the information and communication
technology (ICT) industry to play its role in addressing climate change.

He
underlined that the challenge for the ICT industry to limit its emissions is
also its “biggest ever opportunity in terms of corporate social
responsibility.” The Symposium brought together ICT industry and standards leaders,
who were urged to commit to specific programmes to limit their emissions of
greenhouse gases, reduce their carbon footprint and help ensure the
environmentally-friendly expansion of the global communications network.
During
the Symposium, participants reached broad agreement on the need for action to
streamline standards work and to end the duplication of efforts within the
sector. Other issues discussed included: increasing developing country
participation in the standards setting process; accessibility to ICTs for
persons with disabilities; and the need for a standardized approach for
measuring the impact of ICTs on greenhouse gas emissions reductions. [ITU Press
Release
] [The
Global Standards Symposium
]