Towards Sustainable 6G – Part II: Progress and perspectives from R&I Projects on greener network futures
The SUSTAIN-6G project was proud to take part in the second edition of the clustering workshop “Towards Sustainable 6G – Part II,” held during the Sustainable Places Conference in Milan from 8 to 10 October.
Joined by the 6G-TWIN, 6G4SOCIETY, CENTRIC, 6Green, Coalesce, IN2CCAM, and 6G-VERSUS projects, the workshop highlighted collective progress and cooperation toward designing environmentally responsible next-generation mobile networks.
Workshop chairs and organisers: Sébastien Faye (LIST) & Régis Decorme (R2M Solution France)
Dr. Hassan Osman (Real Wireless) presented the objectives and vision of the SUSTAIN-6G project during the “Towards Sustainable 6G” workshop, an important step in exploring how next-generation connectivity can align with broader sustainability goals. Through project pitches, moderated exchanges, and open networking, participants worked toward strategic alignment and practical actions for reducing the environmental impact of future communication infrastructures. The workshop reinforced a clear message: achieving sustainable 6G requires coordinated research, technology innovation, industry engagement, and policy support.
This workshop continued the dialogue started at Sustainable Places 2024 on integrating sustainability into the very foundation of 6G systems. That first edition resulted in the jointly published open letter Towards Sustainable 6G in Open Research Europe, which called for sustainability to become a core requirement of 6G design. Building on that shared vision, this year’s session gathered both ongoing and newly funded SNS JU and Horizon Europe projects to present advancements in energy-efficient network architectures, renewable energy integration, sustainable hardware development, and life cycle assessment methodologies.
New projects from the latest SNS JU calls contributed early insights into how their work aligns with Europe’s Green Deal goals, enriching the discussion and extending the network of active collaboration. Through project pitches, moderated exchanges, and open networking, participants worked toward strategic alignment and practical actions for reducing the environmental impact of future communication infrastructures. The workshop reinforced a clear message: achieving sustainable 6G requires coordinated research, technology innovation, industry engagement, and policy support.
Resources
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Video recording: https://youtu.be/mNZCTKOM1tM
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Download workshop presentations: https://www.sustainableplaces.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Towards-sustainable-6G-part-II-Progress-and-perspectives-from-RI-projects-on-greener-network-futures.pdf
Looking Ahead
The outcomes of this second edition reinforce a shared commitment to ensuring 6G contributes to a greener digital transition. The collaborative work showcased in Milan will continue to guide research priorities, technology development, and standardisation efforts as the 6G landscape evolves. SUSTAIN-6G remains dedicated to advancing this mission and working closely with partners across Europe to shape a responsible and sustainable network future.
Workshop Programme – Thursday 9 October 2025 (09:00–10:30)
| Time | Session / Activity | Speaker / Moderator |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00–09:10 | Workshop Opening | R2M, Régis Decorme |
| 09:10–09:50 | Pitches from Contributing Projects (5’ per project) | |
| 6G-VERSUS | University of Oulu, Sanna Tuomela | |
| SUSTAIN-6G | Real Wireless, Hassan Osman | |
| 6G4SOCIETY | Digital4Planet, Flavia Maragno | |
| 6Green | Unige, Chiara Lombardo | |
| COALESCE | Walton Institute, Indrakshi Dey | |
| IN2CCAM | Politecnico di Bari, Bartolomeo Silvestri | |
| 6G-TWIN | LIST, Sébastien Faye | |
| 09:50–10:20 | Q&A / Networking | R2M, Régis Decorme |
| 10:20–10:30 | Closing Remarks | R2M, Régis Decorme |
