Arcep and Arcom launch a public consultation on the general reference framework for the eco-design of digital services
The law on reducing the environmental footprint of digital services ("REEN" law) entrusted Arcep and Arcom with defining, in conjunction with ADEME, the content of a general reference framework for the eco-design of digital services. Today, the two authorities are launching a public consultation on a draft reference framework produced in collaboration with ADEME, DINUM, the French national data protection agency and Inria.It takes into account the preliminary work of the interministerial mission for eco-responsible digital technologies (MinNumEco). The aim is to establish a new reference framework by early 2024, as a common base of best practices for reducing the environmental footprint of digital services.
Supporting voluntary eco-design initiatives by digital service editors, developers and suppliers
The draft general reference framework for the eco-design of digital services, which has been put out to consultation, aims to provide a reference grid for digital professionals wishing to commit to an eco-design approach. It has 4 main objectives:
- To design more sustainable digital services that extend the lifespan of terminals;
- Promote environmental sobriety in the face of attention-grabbing strategies deployed by certain platforms in particular;
- Reduce the use of IT resources, including by optimizing data traffic and the use of digital infrastructures;
- Increase transparency on the environmental footprint of digital services.
In practical terms, the draft general digital eco-design reference framework brings together a series of criteria accompanied by practical information sheets, and thus lists the essential questions for ensuring that a service integrates environmental challenges right from the design stage (for example: "Is the digital service usable on older models of terminal?"). The standard takes into account the diversity of digital services and their development. It has been designed to apply equally well to a website, an application, a video platform or a tool based on artificial intelligence.
The repository will enable the calculation of a progress score to monitor the environmental performance of a digital service. It also calls on players wishing to use the standard to publish an ecodesign declaration, to ensure that users are adequately informed of the efforts actually made to reduce impacts.
Gather the opinions of the ecosystem in order to publish a comprehensive and robust standard, through a public consultation and a consultation workshop.
The opinions of all stakeholders will be sought from October 9 to November 9, 2023. A technical consultation workshop will also be held on October 30 at Arcep, in collaboration with the Institut pour un numérique responsable.
Once the contributions to the public consultation and feedback from the workshop have been analyzed, the final version of the general reference framework for the ecodesign of digital services will be published by early 2024.
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Integrating environmental challenges right from the design phase of digital services: a lever for reducing the sector's environmental footprint Often perceived as intangible, digital services rely on the use of infrastructure and equipment, and therefore on the exploitation of resources. Digital services account for 2.5% of France's carbon footprint. The sector also generates other environmental impacts, notably the depletion of abiotic resources (including metals and minerals). By 2030, if nothing is done to reduce the digital fingerprint, the environmental impact of digital technology could increase over the period, with, for example, a 45% increase in the carbon footprint of digital technology in France, and a 14% increase in the consumption of abiotic resources (metals and minerals) (source: ADEME-Arcep study on the environmental footprint of digital technology in 2020, 2030 and 2050). Ecodesign is within the scope of the levers identified in the study to reverse this trend and reduce the environmental footprint attributable to the life cycle of digital services. The general reference framework for the eco-design of digital services therefore aims to support the eco-design efforts deployed by the ecosystem.
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Link to the public consultation
Press release
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- in french