Arcom and Arcep, in association with ADEME, publish an unprecedented study on the environmental impact of audiovisual use in France in 2022 and 2030.

For the first time, the environmental impact of French audiovisual usage is being assessed in a ground-breaking study conducted by Arcom and Arcep in collaboration with ADEME, in accordance with the "Climate and Resilience Law" [1].

The study, carried out with the support of I Care by Bearing Point, assesses the environmental impact of the main audiovisuel broadcasting methods in 2022, taking into account all the elements that contribute to them: terminals (user equipment), networks (broadband and ultra-broadband fixed, mobile, terrestrial and satellite) and data centers. It covers the main audiovisual uses: linear and deferred broadcasting TV and radio, video-on-demand, audio and video streaming, and video-sharing platforms.

The audiovisual uses studied represent 2.9% of France's electricity consumption, or 13 TWh, and 0.9% of its carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of audiovisual uses represents 5.6 million tons of CO2 equivalent, or around a third of the carbon footprint of digital uses calculated in the Arcep-ADEME study for France [2].

Terminals, in particular televisions, are the main contributors to the environmental impact of audiovisual uses, and generate most of the environmental impact (between 72% and 90% depending on the indicators: carbon impact, mineral and metal resources or final energy consumption), followed by networks (between 9% and 26%) and data centers (between 1% and 3% ).

Fixed and mobile networks account for almost 95% of the carbon impact of networks used for audiovisual purposes, due to the predominant share of video-on-demand and linear IPTV. The remaining 5% corresponds to the terrestrial network used to show television (DTT) and radio (FM, DAB+).

As the impact of usage comes under the control of the terminal used, linear TV, which represents 70% of video usage and is mainly watched on TV sets, has the highest environmental impact (70% of the carbon impact of video usage), notably due to the significant footprint associated with the terminal manufacturing stage.

The study also shows that advertising can increase the carbon impact of video content broadcasting by up to 25%, particularly for uses requiring programmatic advertising (video-sharing platforms, catch-up TV, etc.).

Without action to limit the growing environmental impact of audiovisual uses, their carbon footprint could increase by 30% by 2030.A combination of eco-design and sobriety measures could, on the contrary, reduce it by a third.

The eco-design of terminals and the extension of their lifespan are therefore major levers for reducing the carbon impact of audiovisual use. Sobriety measures (such as lowering video resolution, particularly on mobile networks) could also reduce the impact of video on demand.

The study identifies a number of levers for action:

• increase the durability and repairability of terminals to extend their lifespan, and develop reconditioning ;
• encourage eco-design of audiovisual services to reduce the resources mobilized over the lifecycle of the digital service (for example, through the use of adapted codecs or open-source software).
• promote a sober digital approach by proposing sober settings (image and sound quality in particular) and limiting attention-grabbing strategies (e.g. banning automatic playback or limiting data capture for advertising purposes);
• make information available on the environmental impact of audiovisual use, to raise user awareness of environmental challenges.

These courses of action call for the mobilization of all stakeholders (service providers, equipment manufacturers, consumers, etc.) to do their part in reducing the environmental footprint of audiovisual uses.

Related documents

> Conference replay and study summary

> The infographic

> The full report