posted 1st June 2026
This white paper examines how sustainability can be embedded by design into future 6G systems, moving beyond energy efficiency toward a holistic, system-level approach. Drawing on insights from European SNS research, it identifies key gaps in current practices, including limited integration of lifecycle, circularity, and social and economic dimensions. The paper highlights the role of AI-native programmability, distributed architectures, and sustainability-aware orchestration, while addressing their associated challenges. It also emphasises the importance of decision support tools such as network digital twins and knowledge graphs to operationalise sustainability trade-offs. The findings provide a structured pathway for making sustainability a core, measurable, and enforceable property of 6G systems.
You can download the full paper here.
