Information and communication technology (ICT) products are one telling
example for increasingly globalized production and consumption patterns and
resulting distributional effects on a global scale. Consumption, which still
takes place primarily in ‘Northern’ countries, is connected to a flow of
valuable resources from developing countries to the industrialized world and
at the same time leads to increasing environmental and social pressures mostly
in developing states, where environmental costs are not internalized. For
example, the mining of rare materials that are crucial for the production of
electronic devices often involves poor working conditions and high
environmental impacts; or an increasing quantity of electronic waste is
exported to developing states where disposal and recycling takes place under
dire working and health conditions. Both phenomena imply shifts of
environmental burdens into developing countries. Therefore, the paper touches
issues of international justice and equity. It deals with the questions how
‘Northern’ countries can cope with the issue of transboundary environmental
problems, which are caused by their domestic consumption, but which appear
outside their own territory and outside their authoritative reach. It will be
argued that achieving a more resource efficient society and economy would be
one way to deal with this problem. Drawing on an analysis of the main
obstacles on the way towards higher resource efficiency, and using the example
of ICT-products, the paper offers concrete policy proposals. In order to gain
better knowledge about global material flows and the material input (incl.
'ecological rucksacks') per product, the implementation of information
obligations following the 'No Data, No Market' principle could be a promising
approach. On this information basis, dynamic standards and green public
procurement could foster the production and consumption of resource efficient
ICT-products. This policy mix of both supply- and demand-side instruments
would have the potential to minimize translocated environmental burdens
