ICT EnergyLife+ project
Using eco‑design to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions over the lifecycle of ICT devices
The environmental impacts of the ICT sector are significant: its emissions are growing faster than in any other sector, and toxic electronic waste is the fastest‑growing waste stream in Europe. The manufacture of electronic products also requires increasing amounts of rare earth metals to be mined.
Why this concerns you
Energy efficiency, eco‑design, repairability and longer device lifetimes are becoming increasingly important competitive factors for companies and ever more important procurement criteria for organisations.
These goals are also driven by EU and Finnish climate policy, as well as tightening regulation under the Eco‑design Regulation – for ICT devices as early as during 2027. In addition, standardisation bodies are preparing stricter requirements for energy‑efficiency standards.
The challenge: lack of expertise and practical guidance
However, the implementation of EU and Finnish climate targets in the ICT sector is progressing slowly, and markets are not shifting sufficiently towards more sustainable solutions: manufacturers of ICT devices and components, design offices and software developers lack adequate information, practical tools and guidelines to significantly reduce energy consumption and emissions from current levels.
Organisations that procure new ICT devices and run procurement tenders also lack sufficient expertise to conduct tenders and purchases in ways that ensure the most energy‑efficient devices are taken into account.
As a result, the use of eco‑design in the sector is fragmented.
The new Green ICT project, ICT EnergyLife+, will change this.
Target‑group‑oriented materials for integrating energy efficiency into the ICT sector
The project’s key target groups are ICT device manufacturers and suppliers, design and product development organisations, software companies, public procurement units and large ICT user organisations operating in Uusimaa.
ICT EnergyLife+ provides these target groups with new knowledge and concrete tools for developing energy‑efficient, low‑emission, repairable and long‑lasting ICT devices and their software. The project strengthens expertise in eco‑design, competence related to measuring energy efficiency, and practical know‑how in sustainable procurement.
For companies, this means better capabilities to meet tightening EU requirements, develop competitive products, and leverage the business opportunities offered by the green transition. Procurement organisations, in turn, receive tools for tendering and purchasing energy‑efficient ICT devices, thereby supporting the emergence of more sustainable markets.
Bringing the entire ICT value chain to the same table
The novelty and added value of the ICT EnergyLife+ project lie in the fact that it brings together, for the first time, expertise from the entire value chain: industrial design, software development, energy‑consumption measurement, the development of procurement processes and criteria, as well as the sector’s extensive networks. This makes it possible to develop solutions simultaneously for the design, use and procurement of ICT devices.
The project also promotes modular, repairable and long‑lasting device solutions that can reduce both energy consumption and the need for new devices.
What are the benefits for different target groups?
- Capabilities to comply with upcoming eco‑design and energy‑efficiency requirements
- Practical tools for developing energy‑efficient, repairable and long‑lasting ICT solutions
- New expertise in sustainable ICT procurement
- Opportunities to participate in pilots and co‑creation
- New competence that opens up possibilities for improving competitiveness and developing business
Key project activities and outputs
The project will produce:
- visual and hands‑on eco‑design guidelines for product designers
- a database of energy‑consumption profiles for typical ICT devices
- a prototype of a device‑specific and web‑based utilisation‑rate monitoring application
- a method and report for assessing the energy consumption of hardware and software, as well as assessment results for selected examples
- a report on the implementation and application of ICT system optimisation in a test case
- example models/prototypes and pilot solutions on modularity requirements and implementation in product design
- workshops and company interviews to map the current practices and development needs of design and manufacturing companies, plus a publication on the findings and development recommendations
- a study on the compliance of Motiva’s device‑procurement criteria bank with the Eco‑design Regulation and on the usability of the criteria
- a procurement process model developed in collaboration with procurement organisations
- webinar trainings on the use of criteria in device procurement
- proactive market dialogue on the possibilities of buyers to use, and suppliers to meet, the device‑procurement criteria, as well as a report on the results of the market dialogue
- a pilot with procurement organisations applying service‑design methods
- a publication assessing the project’s impact based on baseline and final surveys
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Green ICT guides and tools compiled at the greenict.fi portal
ICT EnergyLife+ is one of several Green ICT projects. All material produced within the Green ICT projects is updated to the Green ICT portal maintained by TIEKE.
This text draws on the following sources: Energy Authority (Energiavirasto), ekosuunnitteluinfo.fi, Nature, E‑waste Monitor, Market.us, TBRC and Precedence.
ICT EnergyLife+: Using eco‑design to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions over the lifecycle of ICT devices
The Green ICT project ICT EnergyLife+ supports the ICT sector’s green transition and regulatory compliance by reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions arising from the use and entire lifecycle of ICT devices, strengthening eco‑design and energy‑efficiency expertise, and developing sustainable procurement criteria and processes. The project also promotes the adoption of longer‑lasting, more repairable and more energy‑efficient ICT solutions.
For the target groups, this will take the form of practical guidance and training materials, tools, trainings, pilots and peer‑to‑peer meetings.
Project duration
1 March 2026 – 31 May 2028
Project partners
The project is coordinated by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The project partners are LUT University, TIEKE (the Finnish Information Society Development Centre) and the University of Vaasa.
Funding
The project is co‑funded by the European Union. Funding has been granted via the Regional Council of Uusimaa and the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia.
Projektipäällikkö
- European Regional Development Fund
- Uudenmaan liitto
