Energy and CO2 Implications of
Music Delivery Options
Jonathan Koomey
Visiting Professor, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
October 6, 2009
Outline
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Introduction
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This talk adapted from one given by Chris Weber of Carnegie
Mellon University in early October 2009
Report itself downloadable at
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/ecotech
Previous work of environmental effects of ICT
Modeled Scenarios
Data and Assumptions
Results
Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis
Summary
World data center electricity use doubled
between 2000 and 2005
Source: Koomey 2008
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Environmental Implications of ICT
Increasing interest of how informational and communication
technology (ICT) effects the environment
Previous studies have assessed:
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Telecommuting vs. commuting (Atkyns 2002)
Online vs. traditional retail (Matthews 2001, Abukhader 2004)
Electronic delivery of news (Toffel 2004)
Online vs traditional DVD rental (Sivaraman 2007)
Material intensity of online music (Turk 2003)
Generally ICT has won by:
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Dematerialization
Reduced Logistics
However, continuing energy use rise of internet data centers
and personal ICT products -> renewed interest in issue
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Goal and Scope of this study
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Examine as realistically as possible cumulative energy and CO2
emissions for delivery of 1 album of music via 6 alternative
scenarios:
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1) Album packaged on CD and delivered via traditional retail methods
2) Album published on CD and delivered by light-duty truck through
an online e-tail provider
3) Album published on CD and delivered by express air through an
online e-tail provider
4) Album downloaded as mp3/mp4 files from an online music service
and used digitally
5) Album downloaded as mp3/mp4 files from an online music service
and burned to CD-R for digital and CD use (no CD packaging)
6) Album downloaded as mp3/mp4 files from an online music service
and burned to CD-R for digital and CD use, stored in individual CD
packaging, i.e., slimline jewel cases
System Diagrams shown below
Traditional Retail Model
Jewel Case
Plastic
Wrap
Recording
Vis Artist
CD
Production
Liner
Printing
System
Boundary
CD
Printing
Packaging
Warehousing
Retailing
Use
Disposal
Logistics
along
arrows
E-commerce Delivery Model
Jewel Case
Plastic
Wrap
Recording
Vis Artist
CD
Production
Liner
Printing
System
Boundary
CD
Printing
Packaging
Warehousing
Logistics
Warehouse
Use
Disposal
Home CPU
and ordering
Logistics
along
arrows
Online Music Model
Online Music
Recording
Vis Artist
System
Boundary
Digital Music
Server
Home CPU
and DCordering
Use
Functional Unit Question
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Assumption: After burning digital album on CD, functionally
equivalent
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Can use in either digital or CD format
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Because of this, can ignore production of laptop, CD player, iPod, etc.
Sound quality not similar but do consumers care?
In practice, probably used differently
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Digital downloads used more in computers and digital music
players
CDs used more in cars, CD decks, etc
Assumptions and Data
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Gather >3 primary data points and assume triangular
distribution Monte Carlo simulation
Production location varied through assumed grid mix
uncertainty (300-900 g CO2e/kWh)
Data gathered for
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CD and packaging production (reports, Ecoinvent, IO-LCA)
Cardboard packaging for retail/etail (EPA WARM, EDF Paper
Calculator)
Distances and delivery energy (Logistics companies, GREET, previous
work), large range
Warehouse and Retail store energy use (gov’t sources, previous
work)
Home CPU use for ordering (assumption range, Energy Star data)
Internet Backbone Energy Use
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Taylor and Koomey (2008)
Assume 60-100 MB album size (iTunes, Amazon averages)
Customer Transport
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Shown in previous work to be significant in logistics
Difficult to model given large variation in fuel economy,
distance, etc
Assumed model simulates distance, fuel economy,
passengers per vehicle, and purchased items per person
using realistic ranges
Assumed correlation in distance and items/person-trip
and distance to retail/distance for etail delivery
Results
Cumulative Energy Demand/album
Similar for CO2 emissions
Summary Statistics
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CD/packaging production: 32-69% of total
Customer Transport and Last Mile: 52% of retail, 24-28%
etail
Other significant contributors (Retail/Etail)
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Warehousing
Retail Store
Individual cardboard packaging (Etail)
Upstream internet usage:
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As important as CD/CD-R production
Uncertainty and Variability
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Rank correlation importance shows variable’s
contribution to uncertainty/variability
Effect of Correlated Errors
100%
Cumulative Probability
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
-200
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Difference 6-2, g CO2e/album
1600
1800
2000
Discussion
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Dematerialization increases environmental performance
but partially offset by internet energy use
Sensitivity—what parameters could flip result
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Retail with zero customer transport emissions (bicycle/walk)
5 hours of web browsing for online shopping
260 MB data transfer (lossless files)
Suggested Future Work:
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Customer usage patterns: are they different?
Other types of online music: single song vs album, subscription,
etc
Energy use of streaming audio/video—large upstream data
transfer
Questions
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Contact: clweber@cmu.edu, jgkoomey@gmail.com
Reference for article: Weber, Christopher, Jonathan G.
Koomey, and Scott Matthews. 2009. The Energy and
Climate Change Impacts of Different Music Delivery Methods.
Analytics Press. August 17.
<http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/ecotech>
References
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Abukhader, S., and G. Jonson. 2004. "E-tail and the Environment: a Gateway to the Renewal of
Greening Supply Chains." International Journal of Technology Management. vol. 28, pp. 274-288.
Atkyns, Robert, Michele Blazek, and Joseph Roitz. 2002. "Measurement of environmental impacts of
telework adoption amidst change in complex organizations: AT&T survey methodology and
results." Resources, Conservation, and Recycling. vol. 36, no. 3. October. pp. 267-285.
Koomey, Jonathan. 2008. "Worldwide electricity used in data centers." Environmental Research
Letters. vol. 3, no. 034008. September 23. <http://stacks.iop.org/1748-9326/3/034008>
Matthews, H. Scott, Chris T. Hendrickson, and Denise L. Soh. 2001. "Environmental and
Economic Effects of E-Commerce: A Case Study of Book Publishing and Retail
Logistics." Transportation Research Record 1763. pp. 6-12.
Sivaraman, D, S Pacca, K Mueller, and J Lin. 2007. "Comparative Energy, Environmental, and Economic
Analysis of Traditional and E-Tail DVD Rental Networks." Journal of Industrial Ecology. vol. 11, pp. 7791.
Taylor, Cody, and Jonathan Koomey. 2008. Estimating energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of
Internet advertising. Working paper for IMC2. February 14.
<http://imc2.com/Documents/CarbonEmissions.pdf>
Toffel, M.W., and A. Horvath. 2004. "Environmental Implications of Wireless Technologies: News
Delivery and Business Meetings." Environmental Science & Technology. vol. 38, no. 11. pp. 29612970.
Turk,V.,V. Alakeson, M. Kuhndt, and M. Rithoff. 2003. The Environmental and Social Impacts of Digital
Music: A Case Study with EMI. Wuppertal, Germany: Digital Europe.