Arcep has been collecting indicators from France’s four main electronic communications operators since 2020, to be able to track the progression of their environmental footprint, and relay that information through the publication of its annual “Achieving digital sustainability” survey. This data collection has been steadily expanded, to obtain a more detailed understanding of ICT’s impact on the environment. It was initially expanded to include device suppliers and data centre operators, and incorporated indicators on the energy consumed by modems, set-top boxes and Wi-Fi repeaters and extenders. The latest edition of the survey, published in April 2025, was further expanded to include mobile network equipment suppliers. The next edition, which is due to be published in early 2026, will include monitoring of the environmental footprint of fixed network equipment suppliers that manufacturer optical fibre.
The 2027 edition will include an accounting of the environmental footprint of cloud computing service providers
With this new Decision, approved on 21 January 2026, the data collection carried out in 2026 will be enhanced with a view to the publication of the 2027 edition of the annual “Achieving digital sustainability” survey.
Arcep is expanding its data collection to add a new category of stakeholder: cloud computing service providers. The indicators provided by these companies will include their greenhouse gas emissions, their energy consumption and the amount of water used to operate their servers. Indicators have already been incorporated to this new data collection campaign to assess the impact of generative AI on this consumption of resources, and on the volume growth and replacement rate for cloud providers’ servers and storage equipment.
New indicators collected from device and mobile network equipment manufacturers
In addition to the data already being collected from these stakeholders, the 2027 edition will also make it possible to:
assess the emissions generated across the entire life cycle of mobile phones, televisions, laptop computers and computer displays;
streamline analysis of the carbon footprint of certain equipment that comprises a cell site.
The stakeholders affected by this data collection will be required to send all of their data to Arcep by 31 March 2026
These new indicators were defined following a series of discussions with the stakeholders affected by this data collection process, then submitted for public consultation. Roughly ten contributions from businesses and business federations were received. Along with the Decision on data collection, the questionnaires that every category of player must complete, and the handbook of indicator definitions are also being published today.
Annual “Achieving digital sustainability” survey: a tool to inform public debate and discussions over a low-carbon strategy for ICT
There are four main objectives attached to Arcep’s annual “Achieving digital sustainability” survey:
- Inform citizens, public sector players and all of the stakeholders on the digital technology sector’s environmental footprint;
- Identify economic players’ activities that are likely to have an impact on the environment;
- Encourage stakeholders to take steps to achieve the most efficient measurement of their environmental footprint;
- Monitor the progression of these indicators over time, creating the ability to assess the impact of environmental protection actions put in place by businesses, and to supply relevant information for evaluating public policies on digital technology and the environment, and particularly the Authority’s actions in this area.
Working to “Achieve digital sustainability” and Arcep’s role in it
In June 2020, Arcep launched the “Achieving digital sustainability” collaborative platform, calling on associations, institutions, operators, tech companies and interested experts to contribute. Among the proposals to emerge from this work was the creation of a Green Barometer.
In 2021, the Government entrusted Arcep with the task of creating this Green Barometer, covering the entire digital ecosystem. The “Chaize Act”, on reinforcing regulation of the digital sector by Arcep, entrusted the Authority with newfound powers by giving it the ability to collect environmental data not only from electronic communications operators, but also from providers of public online communication services, data centre operators, consumer device manufacturers, network equipment suppliers and operating system providers. The “SREN Act”, adopted in May 2024, expanded Arcep’s data collection powers to include cloud computing providers.
To find out more: Core issue: “Digital technology’s environmental footprint”