2016 GEC Catalyst Awards

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) designs component processors for high-performance computing, immersive technology and datacenters. It and other semiconductor companies have long benefited from Moore’s Law, the doubling of the number of transistors on a chip about every two years as manufacturing technology advances allow for smaller and smaller transistors, and smaller computer chips. Historically, each smaller generation of these chips would consume fewer resources while providing ever greater performance. However, the near clockwork improvements derived from Moore’s Law have slowed substantially in recent years. This stems from the fact that the miniaturization of transistors is now bumping against physical limits, affecting the design parameters of processors. As transistors get smaller, leaking power current becomes a greater engineering challenge because transistor threshold voltages have been reduced to the point where the devices don’t completely shut off. This breakdown in Dennard scaling has resulted in higher power consumption for the highly integrated, high-performance devices that consumers need in medical, research, financial and other critical industries. Even so, AMD is on track to achieve a stretch goal to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of its microprocessors by 25 times from a 2014 baseline—a fundamental part of the company’s business strategy called the 25×20 Initiative. In 2015, AMD released the 6th Generation A-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), codenamed “Carrizo”. Carrizo consumes substantially fewer natural resources both in production and in use compared to its predecessor, resulting in a much smaller impact on the environment. This achievement is a result of intense engineering work that led to innovations including a new memory architecture, power efficient silicon to optimize voltage and reduce power consumption, high density libraries to reduce travel paths and reduce electrical leakage from the circuits, and intelligent power management that dynamically adjusts power in response to the tasks being run. When taken together, Carrizo achieved a 2.4 times increase in energy efficiency compared to the previous product. And significantly, upgrading to Carrizo from the previous product results in a 46 percent reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, based on a three-year service life. AMD has seen increasing momentum for the Carrizo 6th gen APU, especially for laptop computers. This is evident based on new design wins with technology manufacturers (OEMs), new large-scale commercial deployments, and the growing adoption of AMD technology that improves the visual experience during video playback and gaming. The new Carrizo processor offers all-day battery life, and excellent performance. As always, there is extreme competitive pressure in the computer market for new processors that provide even greater performance while minimizing power consumption. This is made more challenging due to the slowdown in Moore’s Law. Gains that once were largely a byproduct of manufacturing gains now must be augmented with advanced engineering and a total company commitment. Further gains will come from improvements in semiconductor architecture and innovative power management, as well as manufacturing process optimization. These gains will be embodied through new processor generations that will be released by AMD over the next several years, and with even greater energy efficiency improvements. With product releases on the company’s roadmap, AMD is on track for achieving the goal to improve APU energy efficiency 25 times between 2014 and 2020, that will lead to new and immersive digital experiences while at the same time limiting energy use and environmental impact.

O Superior Energy Performance® (SEP™) certifica instalações industriais e edifícios comerciais que implementam um sistema de gestão de energia que cumpre a norma ISO 50001 de sistema global de gestão de energia e que conseguem um melhor desempenho energético verificado. Um sistema de gestão de energia (EnMS) ajuda uma instalação a estabelecer as políticas e procedimentos para rastrear, analisar, e melhorar sistematicamente a eficiência energética. Sistemas de gestão de energia ISO 50001 - Requisitos com orientações de utilização (ou simplesmente "ISO 50001"), que foi desenvolvido com a participação de mais de 40 países, é a melhor prática globalmente aceite para um sistema de gestão de energia EnMS. O SEP é uma ferramenta valiosa para aumentar a eficiência energética e reduzir os gases com efeito de estufa (GHG) ao longo de toda a cadeia de fornecimento de produtos electrónicos. Os esforços de sustentabilidade concentram-se normalmente na utilização final de um produto ou na sua reciclabilidade, embora os processos de produção possam ser responsáveis pela grande maioria das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa de um produto. Por exemplo, a produção do Apple iPhone 6s é responsável por 84% das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa do produto, em comparação com a utilização pelo cliente a 10%. Este exemplo é um dos muitos que demonstra que todas as fases dentro de todo o ciclo de vida de um produto - desde a extracção de matérias-primas, produção de componentes por vários fornecedores, fabrico do produto, distribuição, retalho e utilização final pelo cliente - contribuem também para a sua energia total e pegada de carbono. As cadeias de fornecimento são complexas e multifacetadas, mas os processos de produção pelos fornecedores e fabricantes apresentam grandes oportunidades para reduzir a energia e a pegada de carbono de um produto. Os OEM de produtos electrónicos podem trabalhar com os seus fornecedores para utilizar o SEP para ajudar a revelar oportunidades ocultas de poupança de energia e embarcar na melhoria contínua do desempenho energético durante os processos de produção ao longo da cadeia de fornecimento. A gestão sistemática da energia é uma estratégia comprovada para reduzir o consumo de energia e os gases com efeito de estufa (GHG) ao longo da cadeia de fornecimento de qualquer produto. O quadro de certificação SEP utiliza a norma internacional ISO 50001 para ajudar as empresas ao longo da cadeia de abastecimento a implementar um EnMS para melhorar o desempenho energético de uma forma persistente e sustentável. Quase 50 instalações participam e 44 instalações foram certificadas para o programa SEP (38 nos EUA, 4 no México, e 2 no Canadá). Estas instalações encontram valor no resultado robusto de melhoria do desempenho energético, impulsionado por dados, que o programa SEP proporciona. O SEP demonstrou melhorar e sustentar significativamente o desempenho energético e a poupança de custos energéticos, resultando num retorno do investimento altamente atractivo. Embora a implementação de um EnMS possa ser vista pelas empresas como um grande investimento, os retornos positivos foram vistos por instalações certificadas em termos de poupança de energia e de custos, e a análise contínua mostra que o custo do SEP implementado continua a diminuir. Por exemplo, a análise nas instalações certificadas SEP revelou uma redução média de 12% nos custos de energia nos 15 meses seguintes ao início da implementação do SEP, e uma poupança anual de 36.000 a 938.000 dólares, utilizando medidas operacionais sem custos ou de baixo custo. A verificação por terceiros da poupança de energia do SEP proporciona poupanças mensuráveis e credíveis através de um processo transparente. O sucesso da demonstração inicial do programa levou a um interesse crescente no SEP e o programa continua a expandir-se. O SEP tem vários marcos a curto e longo prazo para aumentar o número de certificações e o impacto do programa. Várias certificações estão em processo durante o próximo ano. O DOE está também a estabelecer parcerias com sete agências líderes de tratamento de água e águas residuais para demonstrar os benefícios energéticos e de eficiência da implementação do programa SEP num programa piloto, com o objectivo de certificar pelo menos uma instalação de cada organização em 2017. A DOE está também a trabalhar com os criadores de normas electrónicas para considerar a incorporação do SEP através de parcerias OEM com um ou mais fornecedores. O trabalho da DOE com normas de sustentabilidade de produtos inclui a norma NSF 426 para servidores de centros de dados (actualmente em projecto de trabalho) e a DOE está também a colaborar com os programadores para normas adicionais, por exemplo, UL 110 - telemóveis e IEEE 1680.1 - computadores de secretária.

iFixit is the largest free repair manual in the world. It’s nearly 20,000 guides have taught millions of people how to fix complicated electronic devices that might have otherwise gone into the landfill. The organization concentrates on electronics because e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams on earth. Teaching consumers how to repair their own electronics gives them an alternative to the dump. Moreover, repair is a more effective end-of-life strategy than recycling. Keeping a device out of the shredder and in use conserves the energy and materials that went into manufacturing the device. Electronics are some of the most resource intensive products humans know how to make. Despite the heavy environmental impact, we are consuming more electronics faster than ever before. The best shot we have at reducing the environmental impact of our electronics is to keep them around for as long as possible. iFixit is a complete repair resource to help owners extend the life of their electronics, ultimately conserving raw materials and reducing the demand for more electronics. iFixit has made the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest growing companies several times. The company designs specialty electronics repair tools and kits based off of data gathered from creating thousands of repair manuals. The company also sources and sells replacement parts. iFixit has pioneered several key partnerships with recyclers and universities, in order to keep expanding iFixit as a free repair resource. The result is that iFixit has been able to maximize its impact, while still keeping its team comparatively small. Despite the project’s success, iFixit has encountered several challenges to teaching DIY repair. Manufacturers haven’t been incentivized to integrate repairable, upgradeable design into their device development strategies. But as major manufacturers transition towards less upgradeable, more integrated designs—solidifying the link between repairable technology and sustainable technology has never been more important. It has taken iFixit more than a decade of advocacy, but repair is beginning to make inroads back into the global consciousness. And iFixit is actively participating in discussions involving the Circular Economy and encouraging manufacturers to incorporate repairable designs into their products. In the coming years, iFixit expects to continue to expand the number of free repair guides it offers to the public and will work to strengthen the ecosystem for repair. The project’s short term goals include more advocacy-related initiatives—including legislation—to promote repairability in devices. Its long term goals include building a more robust free resource for repair.

WorldLoop works to promote responsible use, reuse and recycling of IT devices. This not only extends the original life of a product whose most intensive resource consumption is accounted for in the production phase of its life but also ensures that at the end of its intended life, the resources used can go back into new material production, avoiding landfills or incineration. WorldLoop partners with social entrepreneurs who work as e-waste collectors and recyclers in Africa by offering financial support, technical and managerial capacity building, and facilitating the reverse logistics of complex and hazardous fractions under the ‘Best of Two Worlds’ approach1 (Bo2W). First, seed funding is provided after the presentation of a strong business plan. Then WorldLoop provides technical training on how to test and repair products for reuse and to determine their reuse potential of ICT products and safe store and dismantle techniques for resource recovery. The social entrepreneurs also receive ongoing business management training to drive marketing, HR and accounting needs including cashflow management. Finally, WorldLoop facilitates the legal transboundary movement logistics related to shipping complex and hazardous waste ensuring that all relevant stakeholders and competent authorities are involved. WorldLoop has operationalised the Bo2W model combining local collection and dismantling efforts in developing countries with best-available-technologies for advanced recycling solutions available in industrialised countries. By providing an alternative to primitive recycling practices, and a solution for the non-valuable toxic material, WorldLoop creates a win-win-win for the economy, environment and society. WorldLoop is therefore an innovative social enterprise that truly helps in decreasing environmental and health threats by sharing savoir-faire and offering training that will have immediate positive impacts.