What's the carbon footprint of... a mobile phone

The GSM Association of mobile operators and manufacturers employed the Climate Change Group to look at this exact question to benchmark the current footprint of the industry.

They calculated that the industry as a whole used 245 Million Tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2009 based on the 4,600 Million users; equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of the Netherlands.
So each user has a footprint of 55 Kg of carbon per annum; most of this (84%) going on the power for the networks' masts and operations, the rest on the handsets.
The good news is that the mast technology is becoming more efficient and more networks are sharing masts so the carbon footprint per consumer is coming down.
By showing this matters to you we can bring further pressure to bear on the changes we would like to see.
GSM Green Manifesto http://www.gsmworld.com/documents/mobiles_green_manifesto_11_09.pdf

C Mobile gives customers the green alternative for their network choice.

From today Pay As You Go (PAYG) users will have the chance to go green with their mobile phone network. C Mobile - which is offering SIM only connections, with competitive tariffs - will donate 20 per cent of its profits to community-based renewable energy projects.
Jon Lobb, founder and MD of C Mobile, said: “The mobile phone industry is working hard to improve its green credentials, but we want to push from within to set a greener agenda. We are also committed to wider environmental projects, so will give 20 per cent of our profits to the C Mobile Trust to help get community renewable energy initiatives off the ground.”
No new masts will be built to run the C Mobile network as they will be using the Orange infrastructure – running the network is one of the biggest environmental impacts the industry has. C Mobile will also recycle all mobile phones which are sent to them and will also be selling a range of quality-reconditioned handsets.  Their SIM card will be plain white, to save printing and ink. C Mobile SIM cards are available initially online: from the C Mobile website (www.cmobile.co.uk) and from Affordable Mobiles (www.affordablemobiles.co.uk).
The choice of the community projects funded by C Mobile trust will be overseen by the Green Advisory Board, whose members include Julia Hailes, author of the Green Consumer Guide and Joanna Yarrow, co-founder and director of Beyond Green.
www.cmobile.co.uk
For additional information:
Tim Evans, C Mobile: 01258 808228
The mobile phone industry

• Annual greenhouse gas emissions from the mobile industry worldwide are more than the airline industry (245 mega tonnes of CO2 gas emissions – GSMA Climate Group Green Manifesto – 2009)
• Two thirds of the carbon footprint of the mobile industry comes from the network.
• Seven out of ten SIMs sent out FREE are thrown in the bin because this silicon chip is seen as disposable.
• Over 100 million old mobile phones in the UK not used - of which most have a monetary value.
• Life of an average handset is 18 months despite typical natural useable life of up to 7 years.
• 15 million mobiles are upgraded in an average year.
• One mobile phone battery contains enough cadmium to pollute 600,000 litres of water and many mobiles are disposed of incorrectly in landfill, with the risk of groundwater contamination.