IT'S NOT AS IF THE cellphone industry is immediately associated with the energy crunch and climate change problems the world is facing. After all, mobile phones don't emit carbon dioxides (perhaps harmful radiation that's slowly cooking our brains, but that's another story) and powering a base station isn't the same as supplying a smelter.

However, high on the agenda at this year's Mobile World Congress - the annual talk shop for the industry that now serves 3bn people worldwide - is going green. Wang Jianzhou, chief of the world's largest network operator China Mobile, devoted his entire speech to the issue at the opening of the event that draws 55 000 delegates from around the world.

When it comes to China, the figures never cease to astound. Jianzhou is in charge of an organisation with 370m subscribers and another 5,7m new customers sign up every month. And growth isn't slowing: the number of monthly additions is double what it was three years ago. Jianzhou says that when they launch a new service and only 10% of the subscribers sign on, they've nevertheless created a new industry.

Overall cellphone penetration is still only at 40% in China and even less in India, where 100m people became subscribers last year. That compares with an average of 108% in Europe and close to 75% in South Africa.

Given the numbers - China Mobile consumes 7,5bn KWh/ year - even a small change in organisational behaviour would make an impact. China Mobile is phasing out wood for its packing crates and saved 57 000 cubic metres last year. The US$300bn market cap company plans to reduce energy consumption by another 30%, which equates to that used by 1,3m cars over a year. The Chinese network also has a battery recycling initiative; when you hand in your old cellphone, you get airtime and gifts. MTN and Vodacom, take note.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, the company responsible for more than 50% of the network infrastructure that carries Internet traffic, told a similar story at the opening event. With only 174 telepresence centres (video-conferencing on steroids) scattered among its operations worldwide, Cisco has been able to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% - thanks to the decrease in travel - and saved itself US$150m in the process.

Videoconferencing is coming to a TV near you, and telepresence is only five years away for consumers. Nokia, through its president, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, also had a surprise in store. It showed for the first time a new cellphone called the Remade. It's made from 100% recycled and renewable materials, such as soft drink cans and tyres, and uses other green technologies in its circuitry. And it still manages to look cool, sleek and fashionable.

This emphasis on the environment wasn't co-ordinated, otherwise someone would have told Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone, to make more of the company's base stations in Namibia that run on solar power and wind.

Eskom has asked SA businesses to cut energy consumption by 10%. It took a crisis and a few cold showers for households and cold product for companies to realise the importance of that. If China, not exactly the paragon of energy efficiency or First World industry, has begun making work of it, we should too. Shows you how motivating the prospect of a warm bath can be.

Frik Els - frike@finweek.co.za