Bell Labs, the research arm of network infrastructure firm Alcatel Lucent, has announced a new initiative aimed at reducing the carbon emissions of the world's communications infrastructure, including the internet, by 1,000 per cent.

The project, entitled Green Touch, aims to bring together research bodies, government departments, and other network providers to help reduce the carbon emission levels of the IT industry from its current level of 300 million tons per year, said the firm.

Bell Labs president Dr Jeong Kim said that the initiative had been set up as part of a "wake up call to the industry that a clean slate approach is needed" to help create a more energy efficient communications network for the future.

"Our research indicates that it's possible to reduce the impact of the network infrastructure 1,000 times, but doing so will require the whole industry to get onboard. As such, we offer an open invitation to anyone in the IT industry to join the group," he said.

Around 15 key members have already joined the Green Touch consortium, including AT&T, China Mobile, Telefónica and MIT, with the goal of introducing new efficient technologies for networks within the next five years.

Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of Alcatel Lucent, explained that the move is very exciting for the company, and will lead to huge changes in the IT industry, especially at a time when demand on communication networks is growing massively.

"As people place more strain on networks for high-end services like video and email infrastructures across the world, it is vital we bring together those in the industry to attempt to overhaul the energy efficiency of the networks," he said.

Read the rest at Business Green.