Systems thinking and efficiency under emissions constraints: Addressing rebound effects in digital innovation and policy

Innovations and efficiencies in digital technology have lately been depicted as paramount in the green transition to enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the wider economy. This, however, fails to adequately account for rebound effects that can offset emission savings and, in the worst case, increase emissions. In this perspective, we draw on a transdisciplinary workshop with 19 experts from carbon accounting, digital sustainability research, ethics, sociology, public policy, and sustainable business to expose the challenges of addressing rebound effects in digital innovation processes and associated policy. We utilize a responsible innovation approach to uncover potential ways forward for incorporating rebound effects in these domains, concluding that addressing ICT-related rebound effects ultimately requires a shift from an ICT efficiency-centered perspective to a “systems thinking” model, which aims to understand efficiency as one solution among others that requires constraints on emissions for ICT environmental savings to be realized

Challenges and complexities in application of LCA approaches in the case of ICT for a sustainable future

In this work, three of many ICT-specific challenges of LCA are discussed. First, the inconsistency versus uncertainty is reviewed with regard to the meta-technological nature of ICT. As an example, the semiconductor technologies are used to highlight the complexities especially with respect to energy and water consumption. The need for specific representations and metric to separately assess products and technologies is discussed. It is highlighted that applying product-oriented approaches would result in abandoning or disfavoring of new technologies that could otherwise help toward a better world. Second, several believed-untouchable hot spots are highlighted to emphasize on their importance and footprint. The list includes, but not limited to, i) User Computer-Interfaces (UCIs), especially screens and displays, ii) Network-Computer Interlaces (NCIs), such as electronic and optical ports, and iii) electricity power interfaces. In addition, considering cross-regional social and economic impacts, and also taking into account the marketing nature of the need for many ICT's product and services in both forms of hardware and software, the complexity of End of Life (EoL) stage of ICT products, technologies, and services is explored. Finally, the impact of smart management and intelligence, and in general software, in ICT solutions and products is highlighted. In particular, it is observed that, even using the same technology, the significance of software could be highly variable depending on the level of intelligence and awareness deployed. With examples from an interconnected network of data centers managed using Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) technology and smart cooling systems, it is shown that the unadjusted assessments could be highly uncertain, and even inconsistent, in calculating the management component's significance on the ICT impacts.Comment: 10 pages. Preprint/Accepted of a paper submitted to the ICT4S Conferenc

Synopsis of global scenario and forecasting surveys scenarios in risk habitat megacity (RHM)

The main objective of the paper is to provide a synopsis of global scenario and forecasting surveys. First, the paper will give an overview on existing global scenario and forecasting surveys and their specific scenario philosophies and storylines. Second, the major driving forces that shape and characterise the different scenarios will be identified. The scenario analysis has been provided for the research project Risk Habitat Megacity (HRM) that aims at developing strategies for sustainable development in megacities and urban agglomerations. The analysis of international scenario surveys is an essential component within RHM. The scenario analysis will be the basis and source for the development of own RHM-framework scenarios and for defining specific driving forces of change.scenarios, megacities, risk habitat

Policies to promote sustainable consumption: framework for a future-oriented evaluation

Governments are today developing policies to promote sustainable consumption, yet policy makers face many uncertainties about policy impacts. These include uncertainties about how policy instruments influence consumption patterns and about the impact of changes in consumption patterns on ecological, social and economic sustainability. An assessment of such impacts must account for the fact that consumer action is interlinked with the dynamic activities of other market players and the path-creating effects of technologies and systems of consumption and provision

Business in the World of Water

The book aims to: 1) clarify and enhance understanding by business of the key issues and drivers of change related to water; 2) promote mutual understanding between the business community and non-business stakeholders on water management issues; and 3) support effective business action as part of the solution to sustainable water management. The report poses three scenarios about the possible future of water in 2025 which serve as catalysts for exploration into how businesses can contribute to sustainable water management

Facing the future : time for the EU to meet global challenges

There is a clear and growing need for the capacity to anticipate change to be embedded in policy. This is critical not only to be able to respond and adapt to new situations before they occur, but also to shape the future, building upon mutual understanding and common visions to be jointly pursued. For policy responses to address all the pressing current global challenges, especially when these are seen separately from one another, is clearly a demanding task. Institutions face greater complexity and difficulty in providing solutions in due time. In particular, this is true when the policy focus extends beyond the challenges that societies face today, seeking to anticipate future challenges and transform them into opportunities. This is the rationale for the report “Facing the future: time for the EU to meet global challenges” based on a study carried out in the course of 2009 by the Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) for the Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA) of the European Commission. The aim is to provide a comprehensive picture of the main trends ahead and possible future disruptive global challenges, and to examine how the EU could position itself to take an active role in shaping a response to them. The work described in this report brings a fresh perspective, by linking widely accepted quantified trends towards 2025 and beyond with experts’ and policy makers’ opinions on the likely consequences of these trends and wild cards

Facing the Future: Time for the EU to meet Global Challenges

What will the world look like in 2025? What are the possible future disruptive global challenges? And how can the EU position itself to take an active role in shaping a response to them? This publication offers possible answers to these questions through the identification of three main challenges and potential responses to these, and concludes that the main policy issues to be considered at EU level are: policy alignment towards sustainability; social diversity and the use of ICT for citizen empowerment; and the need to embed capabilities for anticipating future challenges to enable these to become new opportunities. The methodology applied combines widely accepted quantified trends by 2025 and beyond with the opinions of experts and policy makers on the likely consequences of these trends and wild cards. A multi-criteria quantitative analysis (Robust Portfolio Modelling) was used as a novel element to prioritise issues as a basis for discussion with selected experts and policy makers. This work has been undertaken in close cooperation with the Bureau of European Policy Advisors of the European Commission.JRC.DDG.J.3-Knowledge for Growt

Shifting the maturity needle of ICT for Sustainability

The ubiquity of ICT means the potential of ICT4S covers a broad range of sustainability topics and application domains. However, ICT4S research can be ill positioned with regard to the complexity of transforming society in such a way that people and environmental ecologies can coexist in a sustainable system. The danger is that ICT4S becomes partitioned into a small subset of sustainability and using a limited set of the levers at our disposal. Grounded in the Mann-Bates maturity scale for sustainability this paper performs an analysis of the ICT4S conference corpus to measure how mature the research is in our field with regard to sustainability. Based on this analysis we identify areas in which the ICT4S community can begin to shift the maturity of research in order to promote sustainable futures. By applying the Transformation Mindset our article demonstrates through a series of illustrative how ICT4S can apply this mindset to shift ICT4S research towards more sustainable trajectories. This is an essential first step in taking stock, highlighting shortcomings and identifying opportunities in ICT for sustainability

Futures of Fixing : Exploring the life of product users in circular economy repair society scenarios

A Circular Economy (CE) constitutes one pathway towards realising sustainable productionand consumption. Here, the repair of broken products (compared to replacement) consti-tutes an important strategy to keep products in the economy for longer, thereby reducingwaste, as well as the need to extract resources and emit pollution in the manufacture of areplacement product. In today’s world, repair does not necessarily constitute the naturalresponse to product breakage. However, increasing legislative efforts and grassroots move-ments are attempting to change that and make repair accessible, affordable and culturallyacceptable. The question is what such a society – where repair is normalised – would be like