BT Group, the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related digital products, has launched new digital tools to help multinational customers measure and optimise the carbon impact of running applications and cloud workloads across their networks. The tools, the Carbon Network Dashboard and Digital Carbon Calculator will assist customers in reducing their carbon footprint by optimizing their network and scheduling digital workloads when renewable energy is available.
The Carbon Network Dashboard provides a real-time view of power consumption and uses machine learning to detect and predict anomalies based on historical usage. The dashboard also includes data from regional power grids to show their carbon intensity. It will eventually draw on wider real-time information sources, such as renewable energy on national grids and in data centres.
The Digital Carbon Calculator scans the customer’s network inventory to estimate its carbon footprint and tracks how this responds to changes and upgrades over time. It also includes lifecycle management, highlighting devices at the end of service to prioritize for replacement. Customers can choose to use the calculator by uploading an inventory of their network equipment for analysis.
The launch of the new tools marks the latest step in BT’s delivery of its manifesto pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. According to Gartner, Scope 3 emissions, which are generated across an organization from its supply chain through to product or service delivery, are the most challenging to measure, yet can account for over 95% of the total.
Sarwar Khan, Head of Digital Sustainability, Global, BT said, “With customers hosting more of their applications across multiple clouds, networks are now increasingly vital for all elements of business performance, including carbon impact. Our new tools empower customers to reduce their Scope 3 emissions by optimising their network or scheduling digital workloads when renewable energy is available, helping them to achieve their net zero goals.”
The launch of the new tools will be extended to BT’s UK enterprise customers soon. BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, which serves individuals and families in the UK; Enterprise and Global, which are UK and international business-focused units, respectively; and Openreach, an independently governed, wholly-owned subsidiary wholesales fixed access infrastructure services to its customers.
