BT has revealed a report that sets out how companies can reduce carbon emissions in line with the government's targets.
The company's strategy puts forward ways the ICT industry can actually be used to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency via virtualisation, connected vehicles and "smart manufacturing."
Using the ICT sector to lead such initiatives could help reduce UK carbon emissions by 24 per cent a year by 2030, which would be 12 times the carbon footprint of the ICT sector itself.
"The UK has always taken a leading role in ensuring we tackle climate change effectively, and our strong credentials in ICT can help ensure we continue to do so," BT chief sustainability officer, Niall Dunne said at the launch of the report.
"The ICT industry has been at the forefront of innovation for the past three decades. We have the opportunity now to make it the forefront of the global battle against climate change, and help the UK reach its 2030 targets and beyond."
BT's report revealed that if the government were to recognise the ways ICT could be used to help bring carbon emissions down and utilise the benefits, it could bring an additional 122m value to the British economy, of which 58.5m would be cost savings.
On a global scale, ICT has the potential to reduce carbon emissions worldwide by 20 per cent in the next fifteen years.
"It is clear there is a significant opportunity for the ICT sector to help move the world closer to achieving its carbon targets," Dunne added. "Whether these benefits will be realised depends on the collective actions of government, business and consumers they hold the key to unlocking the potential of ICT."
