Sustainable IT management - SUM: Sustainability Management Wiki

Authors: Evin Ediz, Mareike Sundermann, Lukas Dannenberg
Last updated: June 22, 2022

1 Definition

The Capgemini Research Institute defines sustainable information technology (Sustainable IT) as a “term that describes an environment-focused approach to the design, use, and disposal of computer hardware and software applications and the design of accompanying business processes”¹. The broad scope of the term is also supported by Mobbs, who depicts sustainable IT visually as a flower, where the components of resources, such as hardware, software, networks, storage, care, and disposal, are arranged around the central element of information and are based on the sourcing of renewable energy.² While IT mainly refers to technology that enables electronic data processing, such as computer hardware and software, as well as their development,³ information and communication technology (ICT) is mainly the provision of access to information through communication technologies.⁴ In many cases, however, the notion of ICT is enveloped in that of IT.⁵ Since there is a significant overlap between the two technologies and this article considers both, only the term ICT will be used. Moreover, several expressions are synonymously used for sustainable ICT, such as green IT,⁶ green ICT,⁷ greening ICT,⁸ or green computing.⁹ In some cases, these terms complement the definition of reducing the direct negative impacts of ICT by using it specifically to increase sustainability in other industries and solve global problems, such as climate change or biodiversity loss.¹⁰^,¹¹^,¹² This field of action is sometimes referred to as ICT for environmental sustainability or sustainable ICT services.¹³

In the modern society, ICT has become an integral part of life. The research on the relations between ICT and environmental aspects – Green IT – intensified in tandem with sustainable development and global warming in the late 1900s.¹⁴ Starting in 2007, Green IT became a trend¹⁵ and several (non-profit) organizations like The Green Grid¹⁶ were formed. In general, Green IT started to take a broader and more proactive approach to address sustainability in IT.¹⁷ This approach not only included using Green IT to reduce ICT environmental impact but also exploiting the potential of Green IT to improve sustainability.¹⁸ In 2008, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) researched the role of ICT in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. As claimed in 2015 by GeSI, smart ICT solutions have the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 20% until 2030, keeping them on 2015 levels.¹⁹

2 Sustainability impact

ICT has a range of positive and negative impacts on the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development.²⁰^,²¹ One commonly used approach to assess the function’s sustainability impacts is to differentiate between the affected impact categories and the different life cycle stages during which they are caused. This is commonly done in the process of measuring energy and material flows using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method.²² The impact categories that are most affected by ICT are global warming, primary energy use, water use, non-energy resource depletion, toxicity, and biodiversity destruction. The share of impacts that are attributed to the three main life cycle stages – production, use, and end-of-life – varies considerably across the literature and depends mainly on the type of product or service that is investigated and the set of assumptions that is made concerning the average product lifetime, power consumption, disposal, and recycling.²³

Another common method used to analyze the function’s sustainability impacts is based on the relationship between the function and its impacts. For example, Hilty and Hercheui, Dompke et al., and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) differentiate between the three types of sustainability impacts, as outlined in the following paragraph.²⁴^,²⁵^,²⁶

Direct impacts are caused directly by the physical existence of ICT goods and services and related processes.²⁷ These are typically connected to the function’s consumption of resources, use of non-renewable energy, and generation of waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), often referred to as e-waste. Indirect impacts (also referred to as “enabling impacts”) are caused by the use of ICT applications but affect society and the environment only through other processes, such as better traffic management or more efficient industrial production. Systemic impacts are caused by behavioral changes introduced by ICT products and other non-technological factors,²⁸ of which rebound effects are a typical example.

2.1 Direct impacts

2.1.1 Contribution to global warming

Research on the function’s contribution to global warming can be considered the most robust across all impact categories due to the straightforward observation and quantitative measurements it provides of a product’s greenhouse gas emissions over its life cycle.

Modern ICT equipment is characterized by relatively short lifetimes due to the material, functional, economic, and business model-driven obsolescence of hardware and software. For products with short lifetimes and low energy consumption (for example, wearable technology, smartphones, tablets, and notebooks), the environmental impacts of the production phase are usually the most significant. The production of printed circuit boards, integrated circuits, and displays is typically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions.²⁹

For stationary products, such as server racks in data centers, however, the environmental impacts are dominated by the equipment’s energy consumption during the use phase due to greenhouse gas emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels. While estimating the global energy use of data centers is challenging, since there is no bottom-up information regarding their types, locations, ICT equipment used, and energy efficiency, recent studies have calculated their total electricity demand to be 230 TWh, or around one percent of global energy consumption.³⁰ Predicting the future energy use of data centers is even more difficult, as it depends on a number of uncertain factors, such as the future development of service demand and market structure (for example, the shift toward energy-efficient cloud and “hyperscale” data centers) as well as on the potential introduction of more energy-efficient technologies and processes (for example, quantum computing, computing resource and infrastructure management using artificial intelligence, new cooling technologies, and the development of new materials for higher density storage).³¹

The non-profit organization The Green Grid has developed a set of metrics to measure the energy and resource efficiency of data centers, which are widely used in the industry. The so-called power usage effectiveness (PUE) indicator is the ratio of the total amount of energy consumed by the data center and the energy used by its ICT equipment (both in kWh).³²^,³³ The carbon usage effectiveness (CUE) indicator, which is the ratio of the data center’s annual carbon emissions (in kg of CO₂ equivalents) and the energy consumption of its ICT equipment (in kWh), has gained popularity since the introduction of federal green computing incentive schemes in some countries.³⁴ Additionally, metrics to assess the effectiveness of reused energy include the energy reuse factor (ERF), which is the ratio of the energy reused inside the data center and its total consumed energy (both in kWh), and the energy reuse effectiveness (ERE), which connects ERF and PUE.³⁵

Another contributing factor to global warming is the inappropriate management of e-waste. Older generations of cooling equipment contain gases with high global warming potential, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The inferior recycling of these units reportedly contributed a total of 98 megatons of CO₂ equivalents in 2019. However, if done properly, e-waste can also become an opportunity to decrease the function’s greenhouse gas emissions: in the same year, net savings of 15 megatons of CO₂ equivalents were generated through the recycling of e-waste and re-use of the contained iron, aluminum, and copper as substitutes for virgin materials.³⁶

Despite its immaterial nature, software is another factor to consider when assessing the function’s contribution to global warming, as it is the software that ultimately determines the energy use of the hardware on which it runs and thus also its greenhouse gas emissions. This has led to the introduction of a relatively new research field called “green software”, a subfield of green IT that focuses on analyzing the sustainability of software products.³⁷ For example, Kern et al. developed a set of 77 indicators for assessing the environmental friendliness of software products, which include criteria from these categories: resource efficiency, potential hardware operating life, and user autonomy.³⁸

Another relatively new factor is the electricity consumption of some cryptocurrencies. According to recent estimates, the electricity consumption caused by the “mining” of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in China is expected to peak at almost 300 TWh in 2024 – which is about 50% more than all of the world’s data centers combined – and emit about 130.5 megatons of CO₂.³⁹

For companies and other organizations that want to measure their ICT-induced impact on global warming, their annual consumption of fossil energy is the most important indicator.

2.1.2 Impact on the availability of abiotic resources

The production of ICT equipment (especially integrated circuits, displays, printed wiring boards, batteries, and power supply components) requires large amounts of raw materials, including critical resources and rare earth elements, leading to a reduced availability of abiotic resources.⁴⁰ Due to the continuous growth of global demand for ICT equipment, this problem is expected to worsen in the future: while an estimated 39 megatons of iron, aluminum, and copper were used for the production of new ICT equipment in 2019, the total amount of these materials contained in e-waste in the same year was just 25 megatons. This means that even with theoretical global e-waste collection and recycling rates of 100%, the annual demand for virgin materials would still have been 14 megatons.⁴¹

The inappropriate collection, recycling, and disposal of e-waste only adds to this problem. Globally, a total of 53.6 megatons of e-waste was produced in 2019 (equivalent to about 7.3 kg per capita), and this number is expected to grow by almost 40% until 2030. The majority of this e-waste is not properly collected and recycled. Even though the share of the global population that is covered by some form of e-waste legislation, policy, or regulation has risen continuously over the last few years to 71%, as estimated in the year 2019,⁴² the documented recycling rate has remained low: of the 53.6 megatons of e-waste produced in 2019, only 17.4% was documented to be collected and properly recycled. The remaining 82.6% of e-waste is handled informally. However, the data on e-waste vary considerably across geographical regions: while the amount of e-waste produced per person in Europe in 2019 was estimated to be 16.2 kg, the corresponding number for the African continent was just 2.5 kg per capita. The share of e-waste documented to be properly collected and recycled was 42.5% in Europe and just 0.9% in Africa.⁴³ According to the European Commission’s recast of its WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU), all member states have been required to reach a minimum collection rate of 65% since the year 201927, but so far, the majority of member states has failed to reach this target.⁴⁴

Software also influences the function’s impacts on abiotic resources, as it determines the level of capacity utilization and thus how much physical hardware is required to execute a certain task. Software-induced hardware obsolescence, which describes the need to replace operational devices with new hardware in order to run up-to-date software, is another factor that influences the lifetime of ICT hardware and thus its resource consumption.⁴⁵^,⁴⁶^,⁴⁷

For companies and other organizations, the weight of e-waste generated annually and the number of electronic devices used are important indicators. Other measures include the number of years of product warranty and guaranteed software updates offered by the manufacturers.

2.1.3 Impact on water quality and availability

The majority of the function’s water usage is caused during the production phase due to the high water intensity of the extraction and processing of raw materials and the manufacturing process of semiconductors. Some water usage occurs in regions of Asia and Africa that are already facing high water stress. Additionally, the extraction and refinement of rare earth elements, which are essential for the production of many ICT products, causes the acidification of large amounts of sewage water.⁴⁸

For data centers, the situation is again different. Operating data centers require large amounts of cooling water (in the order of millions of liters per day), which means they often compete for freshwater with the local population. The water usage of data centers can be grouped into direct and indirect water usage. To elaborate, direct water usage refers to the use of water to maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels within the data center (that is, cooling of the servers), whereas indirect water usage is the use of water at power plants that generate the electricity needed to run the data center. According to various studies, the majority of water usage in data centers is indirect and thus depends strongly on the energy source.⁴⁹

A useful tool to measure the effectiveness of a data center’s direct and indirect water usage is the so-called water usage effectiveness (WUE) indicator. To obtain WUE, the data center’s annual water usage (in liters) is divided by the annual energy consumption of its ICT equipment (in kWh).⁵⁰

2.1.4 Other environmental impacts

Linking the production, use, and end-of-life of ICT to the global loss of biodiversity is challenging due to complex and heterogenous cause–effect relationships. However, pressures on natural habitats and species caused by ICT goods are assumed to be significant. Similar to the function’s impacts on abiotic resources, research suggests that most impacts on biodiversity are caused by pollution and the release of hazardous substances into the environment during the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing process of semiconductors, and inappropriate disposal of e-waste.⁵¹

The impacts of ICT equipment on land use and land use change are also difficult to measure, and attempts to quantify them are based on a range of assumptions and allocations.⁵² However, it can be assumed that the biggest share of the impact occurs during the extraction of raw materials. In fact, an analysis of the value chain of the German electronics industry showed that 89% of the land-use impacts of ICT goods are caused by resource extraction.⁵³

Furthermore, other direct environmental impacts, such as those of underwater communication cables, require further scientific investigation.

2.1.5 Social issues and impacts on human health

The sourcing of various materials commonly used for the manufacturing of ICT products has severe adverse social impacts and is linked to numerous violations of human rights. For example, heavy metals and sulphur dioxide are released in the process of extracting palladium, which causes harm to the local population and environment.⁵⁴

Other resources, such as cobalt, are extracted using artisanal mining methods that entail extremely physically demanding activities, long working hours, and oftentimes occupational accidents. Because miners often have to work without any protective gear, many are exposed to health hazards, such as the inhalation of toxic dust, which causes respiratory problems; they are also exposed to direct contact with the material, which can cause severe dermatitis.⁵⁵

Another social issue linked to the production of ICT equipment is child labor, which is still quite commonly perpetrated in the processing of ores and even in some underground mines. Artisanal mining often leads to conflicts among the local population, in part due to its negative impacts on alternative land uses, such as agriculture and housing. The mining and trade of some resources (for example, tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) are also linked to the financing of armed groups, which have caused instability and even civil war in the respective regions.⁵⁶

E-waste often contains toxic additives and hazardous substances, including heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium, and lead) as well as brominated flame retardants (BFR). Annually, approximately 50 tons of mercury and 71,000 tons of BFRs arise from undocumented flows of e-waste.⁵⁷ If inadequately disposed of, these hazardous substances pose serious risks to human health and the environment. It is assumed that most e-waste either ends up in landfills or incinerators; alternatively, it is disassembled inappropriately in developing countries across Africa and Asia, where it causes water and air pollution, soil contamination, and adverse health effects for the local population.⁵⁸

2.2 Indirect impacts

ICT applications have a variety of indirect impacts on sustainability (also called second-order effects). They can have both positive and negative social, ecological, and economic effects. Ultimately, these impacts are expressed as first-order effects.

Vickery distinguishes the four main ways in which ICT products indirectly affect the environment:⁵⁹

Innovation and the digital optimization of products and processes lead to increased energy efficiency and the reduced consumption of resources across all economic sectors. Examples of this include the prevention of energy losses through sensors and smart grid applications, more efficient land use, the reduction of fertilizer and pesticide use through digitally optimized precision farming methods, and the reduction of raw material consumption through the use of 3D printers⁶⁰^,⁶¹^,⁶² Dematerialization, another mechanism through which ICT facilitates sustainable development, is the substitution of physical goods with digital alternatives. A typical example is the replacement of CDs and DVDs with digital audio and video streaming. The substitution of private and business travel through the use of digital tools, such as videoconferencing and teleworking software, is another example of a positive indirect impact. Dematerialization sometimes leads to a reduction in resource consumption but an increase in energy consumption.⁶³ The integration of ICT devices into formerly non-ICT-related products, such as wearables or smart textiles, can lead to the degradation of the recyclability of the goods. Finally, induction effects refer to the phenomenon in which the use of ICT equipment leads to an increase in the demand for other goods. According to Vickery, the development of more efficient printers has led to an increased demand for high-quality paper.⁶⁴ Another example is the stimulated demand for smartphones due to the increased capabilities of low-energy processors. Other researchers consider this type of effect systemic, as it affects human behavior.

ICT also has far-reaching, indirect social and economic impacts. For example, it has drastically increased the human ability to connect to and communicate with others (even across space and time) and is expected to revolutionize mobility, education and working environments, finance, and many other economic sectors.

2.3 Systematic impacts

Systemic impacts (also referred to as third-level effects) of ICT applications include sustainability impacts that are caused by changes seen in individual behavior and lifestyles.⁶⁵

On the other hand, rebound effects are a common example of such systemic sustainability impacts: initial efficiency gains in the production and use of ICT equipment and applications can induce a change in user behavior in the form of increased demand for products and services, which in turn leads to a situation where the initial energy and resource savings are partly or even overcompensated by the direct negative impacts of the provision of an increased number of devices or services.⁶⁶ For example, the ability to connect with people from around the world through the use of digital communication technologies has also led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by international air travel.⁶⁷

Another form of systemic sustainability impact occurs through the provision and disclosure of information on the natural environment and the ecological impacts of human activities.⁶⁸ For example, researchers use ICT equipment to monitor the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere so that they can analyze and interpret the resulting data; then, the data are displayed to their audience. Households and businesses can then access this information and use it to adopt more sustainable behavior. Digital tools, such as personal carbon footprint calculators, can increase public awareness of environmental issues and sustainable consumption patterns.⁶⁹ The provision and disclosure of information on prices can also contribute to more sustainable individual and collective behavior. For instance, smart meters provide households and businesses with information on current electricity prices, which can lead to more sustainable usage patterns, while emission trading schemes facilitate an efficient transition to an economy based on renewable energies.⁷⁰

Systemic impacts are the most difficult to assess quantitatively due to the high level of complexity and uncertainty involved.⁷¹ According to the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), there is an abundance of assumptions on and expectations for the future development of these impacts, but quantitative research and systematic analyses of the opportunities and risks involved are still lacking.⁷² Other researchers also see an urgent need for more research on the systemic impacts of ICT on individuals, society, and the environment.⁷³^,⁷⁴

3 Processes, measures, and tools for sustainable IT

ICT provides several solutions through which sustainable development can be facilitated. Nevertheless, it also leaves a global footprint and causes negative environmental and social impacts. For this reason, there are two approaches that companies can adopt to link ICT to sustainability goals. On one hand, the negative effects of ICT can be mitigated.⁷⁵^,⁷⁶ This refers mainly to influences that arise from the physical existence of ICT goods, services, and processes and thus to the direct impacts of ICT1. On the other hand, companies can leverage the potential and solutions that ICT provides in order to achieve sustainable objectives.⁷⁷^,⁷⁸ This refers mainly to the indirect and systemic impacts of ICT.

Within these approaches, different actors can take different measures to promote either the sustainability of or through ICT. Technology companies develop and produce ICT devices and applications and, therefore, have a significant impact on their direct influences. At the same time, they determine the way in which ICT is used and, therefore, indirectly impacts systemic effects.⁷⁹^,⁸⁰ On the other hand, enterprises that use ICT within their business operations can take measures to lower the footprint of their ICT landscape. This mainly comprises the reduction of the ICT system’s energy consumption and, therefore, the generation of carbon emissions.⁸¹^,⁸² Sustainable entrepreneurs and companies with a sustainability-oriented business model can utilize ICT within their core business and use it to contribute to sustainable developments in their industry.⁸³^,⁸⁴

3.1 IT companies

The impacts that an ICT product or service has during its life cycle are already set to a large extent in the product development phase. Therefore, technology firms are actors with a particularly high level of influence.⁸⁵^,⁸⁶ In the case of ICT hardware, they make decisions about the design, used materials, and assembly of a device; therefore, they determine its influence on health, energy demand, longevity, and recyclability.⁸⁷ These effects can be linked to the direct environmental impact categories of global warming, the availability of abiotic resources, water quality and availability, pollution, social issues, and ill health among humans. To use this influence to foster sustainability, technology companies can follow the concept of eco-design.

Eco-design is a reference to a holistic and systematic approach that aims to reduce the environmental impacts of products by including eco-friendliness as a design criterion. According to the eco-design approach, products should be designed in a way that reduces the energy and resource demand as well as the emissions caused during the entire product life cycle. Materials and substances that are harmful to the environment and human health ought to be avoided, and renewable resources should be increasingly used. Moreover, the longevity, reparability, and recyclability of products should be increased.⁸⁸ To promote eco-design in the product development phase, the European Commission issued a recast of its Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) in 2009, which makes eco-design mandatory for product groups with relevant energy consumption (for example, televisions, washing machines, heating appliances).⁸⁹ An example of eco-design in the field of ICT hardware is the smartphone manufacturer Fairphone, which follows a business model centering eco-design and a circular economy; it develops modular smartphones, sourcing from responsible suppliers and assuring fair working conditions.⁹⁰

Besides companies that design ICT hardware, sustainability also needs to be taken into account by software developers. Software has an impact on the energy demand of the hardware that runs it as well as on its service life.⁹¹^,⁹² To estimate the energy consumption of software early during the programming process, software developers can use tools such as the FPGA Power and Thermal Calculator by Intel.⁹³ Apart from this, programmers should ensure that algorithms, which determine the way programs execute tasks or deliver information, are developed without any built-in biases.⁹⁴ Therefore, software developers need to be aware of their ethical responsibility and the environmental impacts of their coding.⁹⁵^,⁹⁶

3.2 Companies using IT

Firms that utilize ICT resources for the execution of their business processes mainly have an influence on the sustainability impacts that arise during the use phase of ICT. Above all, energy consumption and efficiency can be managed. As these factors determine the generation of carbon emissions caused by energy produced with fossil fuels, they can increase or mitigate the potential of global warming.⁹⁷^,⁹⁸ Other impacts, such as the depletion of abiotic resources, pollution, and the issue of e-waste, can mainly be tackled through sustainable procurement and recycling practices.⁹⁹ Apart from measures that directly refer to the design and operation of a firm’s ICT architecture, certain strategic and organizational measures should be considered first. They lay the foundation and establish preconditions, which are essential for the successful management of sustainable ICT.

3.2.1 Strategic and organizational measures

ICT carbon footprint: The first important measure that should be taken to move toward a sustainable ICT landscape is assessing the corporation’s ICT carbon footprint. The assessment consists of carbon emissions from the energy consumption of all ICT resources (for example, user devices, networks, servers, and cloud services) within the organization.¹⁰⁰^,¹⁰¹ Assessing the corporate ICT carbon footprint is crucial in order to understand which resources cause the biggest environmental impacts and to identify areas in need of mitigating action.¹⁰² Furthermore, it is important to determine a baseline value that can be used in the future.¹⁰³

Sustainable ICT strategy: Besides determining its ICT carbon footprint, the firm should implement a sustainable ICT strategy. This strategy will help it align individual measures with long-term sustainability objectives and accelerate progress. It should contain clearly defined goals and timelines that take the firm’s existing ICT capabilities into account and bring ecological and economic objectives together.¹⁰⁴^,¹⁰⁵ In order to ensure coherence, the sustainable ICT strategy needs to be linked to the overall corporate sustainability strategy. This can be achieved by including ICT leadership in the development of the corporate sustainability strategy and by using similar standards for measuring, managing, and reporting progress.¹⁰⁶ Two internationally accepted standards that are suitable for this are the GRI sustainability reporting standards (mainly standard 302: Energy, with regard to energy consumption, and standard 306: Waste, with regard to e-waste) and the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Furthermore, key performance indicators (KPIs) have to be defined in order to measure, track, and report the firm’s progress against the defined goals. Suitable KPIs with regard to the energy consumption and efficiency of ICT resources (focused especially on data centers) are total power consumption, PUE, ERF, and ERE. To measure environmental impacts, KPIs such as carbon footprint and CUE can be used.¹⁰⁷^,¹⁰⁸^,¹⁰⁹^,¹¹⁰^,¹¹¹

Sustainability culture and governance: Another important precondition for the successful management of sustainable ICT is the establishment of a corporate sustainability culture and governance for sustainable ICT. It is crucial for influential stakeholders, such as top management, to be committed to sustainability, understand the need for change processes, and support them. Moreover, a dedicated sustainability ICT team should be found, as it can drive progress in a more focused way and ensure coherence with the sustainable ICT strategy.¹¹²

Sustainable procurement policy: Since a large extent of the environmental and social impacts caused by ICT resources are determined by technology companies during the design phase, firms that merely utilize ICT can only indirectly exert influence through their procurement practices. A sustainable procurement policy should take the criteria of eco-design and energy efficiency into account.¹¹³ Despite the importance of factoring sustainability into purchasing decisions, a study by the Capgemini Research Institute from the beginning of 2021 found that among 1,000 organizations, only 3% had implemented sustainability initiatives within their procurement departments.¹¹⁴

Renewable energy: A fundamental and far-reaching measure to counteract the emission of greenhouse gases is to switch to electricity from renewable energy sources.¹¹⁵^,¹¹⁶ However, costs posed an obstacle in the past. In 2021, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported that new solar and wind projects are increasingly cheaper than even the least sustainable existing coal-fired power plants.¹¹⁷ Nevertheless, the availability of renewable energies remains an impediment, and although the share of renewables in global electricity generation has risen steadily in recent years, it only accounts for under one-third of the share in 2020.¹¹⁸ As a matter of fact, a company that already runs on 100% renewable energy in its global operations is Apple. As part of their plan to extend carbon neutrality to its entire supply chain and product life cycle by 2030, their manufacturing partners around the world are moving toward renewable energy as well. Additionally, Apple is investing directly in renewable energy projects.¹¹⁹ In addition to sourcing green energy, companies can take measures to reduce the energy consumption of their ICT landscape and increase energy efficiency.

3.2.2 Measures referring to the ICT architecture and its operation

As the characteristics of ICT hardware and software can only be influenced indirectly through sustainable procurement practices, companies can focus on their ICT architecture and user behavior to increase energy efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption. To this end, different parts of the firm’s ICT landscape can be considered in more detail.

Data centers:Data centers are among an organization’s largest energy consumers.¹²⁰ Therefore, energy efficiency is an especially important criterion for the procurement of data center infrastructure.¹²¹ Next to that, data centers should be operated as efficiently as possible. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (MI), workloads can be managed dynamically based on the availability of renewable energy, energy price fluctuations, and cooling efficiency variations.¹²² Over a third of the data center’s energy consumption and large amounts of water are furthermore used for the cooling of data centers.¹²³ Again, machine learning can be utilized for optimized cooling management. The excess heat can moreover be used for heating purposes or transformed into electricity. To reduce the general demand for cooling, the location of data centers makes a significant difference.¹²⁴^,¹²⁵ Microsoft, for example, tested the operation of a data center underwater under the project name “Natick”. It resulted in a failure rate that was lower than that on land by eight times, continuous cooling through sea water, increased energy efficiency, and fewer emissions.¹²⁶

Server virtualization: Servers usually only use a small part of their processing power. During the process of server virtualization, a physical server is divided into several virtual servers with the help of software. Each virtual server can run its own applications and operating system independently, which leads to the improved utilization of existing server capacities. As a result, fewer physical servers are required, which in turn reduces energy and cooling demands as well as operating costs and infrastructure complexity.¹²⁷^,¹²⁸ Virtualization also builds the foundation for cloud computing.¹²⁹

Cloud computing: Cloud computing is a technology that allows users to access a shared pool of computing resources whenever and wherever needed against a service fee. The simplest form of cloud computing consists of the provision of infrastructure (“Infrastructure-as-a-Service”, IaaS), such as servers, networks, operating systems, or storage space.¹³⁰ Using IaaS is advantageous in that companies do not have to invest in the infrastructure and manage their operations themselves. Furthermore, it is possible to adapt the utilized capacities flexibly to the firm’s needs. Cloud services are usually characterized by a high level of performance, reliability, and security standards.¹³¹ After infrastructure, platforms and software can be provided via cloud servers as well. From the perspective of sustainability, the outsourcing of infrastructure to a cloud provider leads to more efficient power and cooling management as well as a better utilization of computing power. Amazon’s cloud “Amazon Web Services” (AWS) is, for example, over three times more energy efficient than the average corporate data center in the US.¹³² Regarding a study by the consulting company Accenture from 2020, shifting an enterprise’s computing infrastructure to a cloud can have a significant impact on the company’s ICT carbon footprint. Reductions of up to 84% were achieved by using the services of one of the largest public cloud providers.¹³³

Network management: Different network technologies, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, connect users with each other or with the World Wide Web and allow the transmission of data. Each data transmission requires energy, and the amount depends on the utilized technology and processing speed.¹³⁴ In order to keep the energy demand for the transfer of data low, companies can switch to edge computing, with which data is processed locally instead of being transmitted to a data center3. This, however, is in contrast to the virtualization of servers and cloud computing, where data are transferred to a central processing entity in order to utilize computing capacity more efficiently. Another measure to reduce the energy consumption of data transfers is to raise awareness among employees. They may, for example, be asked to avoid sending large e-mail attachments, such as media files, whenever possible.¹³⁵

User behavior: Sensitizing employees about the environmental effects of their use of ICT resources is an important precondition for sustainable user behavior. Apart from the reduction of sent data, employees can be encouraged to switch off devices when they are not in use and utilize power saving features.¹³⁶ To achieve this, it can be helpful to make the energy consumption of ICT hardware visible, as done by the European Patent Office (EPO), which uses printer dashboards that display the hardware’s energy consumption and are accessible to everyone.¹³⁷ Another measure comprises the implementation of an internal carbon price for ICT operations.¹³⁸ For example, Microsoft’s business units have been charged carbon fees for emissions from their globally operated data centers, offices, manufacturing processes, and business flights since 2012.¹³⁹

E-waste: In order to reduce the amount of e-waste and contribute to the development toward a circular economy, the “3Rs strategy” (reduce, reuse, recycle) should be followed by companies.¹⁴⁰ These principles will have the biggest effect if eco-design criteria are considered in the procurement decision. Hardware that cannot be repaired or reused can be given to designated recycling facilities or back to the producer, who is obliged to take it back under the European Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).¹⁴¹ Dell, for example, provides free end-of-life management to its customers in more than 75 countries and uses plastic for the production of new parts.¹⁴²

Advantages and risks of measures: In addition to the environmental benefits that arise through the reduction of carbon emissions, the sustainable management of ICT resources entails further advantages for an enterprise. They include cost savings through reduced energy demand, reduced investments in the operation of ICT resources, increased performance, and higher process efficiency.¹⁴³ On the other hand, there is the risk of rebound effects, which could lead to a partial or complete compensation of these efficiency gains through the increased use of ICT products and services in the company.¹⁴⁴ Moreover, the implementation of measures toward a sustainable ICT landscape requires financial and personnel resources that the enterprise needs to be capable of and willing to allocate.¹⁴⁵

3.3 Sustainable business

For sustainable entrepreneurs and companies with sustainability-oriented business models, there are vast possibilities to utilize ICT resources in order to mitigate environmental and societal issues. Industries with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through ICT include agriculture, mobility, industrial production, housing, and energy, among others. In the mobility sector, it is estimated that 3.6 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through intelligent logistic solutions, car sharing, and optimized traffic management through real-time traffic information and the avoidance of commuting to workplaces in the first place. In the housing sector, the automized management of electronic devices, heating, and lighting are said to have a reduction potential of 2 gigatons of greenhouse gases.¹⁴⁶
Furthermore, the restoration and preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity can be supported by sensor technologies, which allow improved data acquisition, data visualization, and communication technologies.¹⁴⁷
AI and blockchains can play an important role in the mitigation of air pollution. While AI applications can be utilized for the prediction of air pollution levels and the provision of air-quality alerts, blockchain technologies can incentivize the reduction of air pollution through a blockchain reward system.¹⁴⁸
In the healthcare sector, ICT can foster human health by making educational information available to everyone and enabling the prevention of issues. Other possible uses include early detection, surveillance, and clinical management of diseases or mobile coaching in the treatment of chronic diseases.¹⁴⁹
In addition to these examples, there are many other ways in which ICT can be used for sustainability.

4 Drivers and barriers

Several factors drive or hinder sustainability within sustainable ICT as a corporate function. Barriers and drivers of sustainable ICT can be divided into three categories: (i) factors that affect sustainability within the function of ICT (function-internal), (ii) drivers and barriers in the firm’s environment (external), and (iii) firm-internal drivers and barriers (internal).

Fig. 1: Overview of sustainable ICT drivers and barriers

4.1 Function-internal drivers and barriers

The function-internal category of barriers and drivers for sustainable ICT focuses on the connection between sustainability and ICT as a corporate function. It consists of factors that indicate how ICT affects sustainability as well as how sustainability affects ICT itself.

4.1.1 Drivers

ICT plays a key role in sustainable development and has positive impacts on the environment.¹⁵⁰^,¹⁵¹ New technologies lead to a reduction in energy or resource inputs in different phases of a product life cycle – such as the production, use, or disposal phase.¹⁵² An example of this is auto switch-off technologies or dematerialization.¹⁵³. Among other aspects, sustainable ICT leads to the improvement of environmental performance and an increase in energy efficiency; it also supports existing telecommunication, information, and healthcare systems.¹⁵⁴ ICT’s role in sustainable development lies in modeling, monitoring, and managing climate impacts as well as providing information.¹⁵⁵ Increasing resource efficiency and decreasing resource consumption in the ICT sector are drivers of greening ICT.¹⁵⁶

Additionally, an indirect driver lies in the general function of ICT. Communication and the exchange of information play a crucial role in a globalized world, as it creates opportunities for developing educational, scientific, or economic systems further.¹⁵⁷ ICT tools enable communication and, therefore, enrich sustainable development through the dissemination and exchange of relevant information.¹⁵⁸^,¹⁵⁹ Enhancing access to climatic information provides a fundamental basis for decision-making processes at both local and global levels.¹⁶⁰

Correspondently, labels and ratings provide communication on ICT’s capabilities to integrate sustainability.¹⁶¹ Through labels, such as the blue angel label from the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), the American label Energy Star,or the EU Ecolabel, sustainability in ICT, its software development, and use are assessed.¹⁶² The global ecolabel for technology products, EPEAT,lists various technological products that comply with certain sustainable criteria. Further, the EU energy label ranks electronic products in terms of their energy efficiency.¹⁶³ Several of these labels are not specific to ICT products but cover a broad range of technologies. Labels and ratings function as drivers for sustainability in ICT.¹⁶⁴^,¹⁶⁵

Another function-internal driver of sustainability is the impact of ICT on innovation. ICT fosters innovation in several areas, such as telecommunications or transport, and enables it through various measures and tools.¹⁶⁶ Corresponding to this, the urgency of climate change drives a fast increase in the innovation of ICT functions and applications.¹⁶⁷ Innovation, briefly defined as the fruitful application of new ideas, is one of the key forces driving sustainable development and is crucial for scientific research.¹⁶⁸^,¹⁶⁹ Through the rapid pace of digital transformations, new possibilities for ICT innovations emerge.¹⁷⁰^,¹⁷¹ This, in turn, drives sustainable development.¹⁷²

4.1.2 Barriers

As the positive impacts of ICT on the environment can be drivers of sustainability, its negative impacts on the environment are classified as a barrier to sustainability in its corporate function. The direct, indirect, and systemic impacts of ICT bear challenges for the promotion of sustainability in ICT.¹⁷³16. Moreover, only a small share of ICT equipment is being recycled by companies,as the current recycling activities cannot keep pace with the global amount and growth of e-waste.¹⁷⁴^,¹⁷⁵ Negative impacts on the environment, such as carbon emissions from the use of electricity from fossil energy or water usage, hinder ICT from being entirely sustainable.¹⁷⁶

Society increasingly consumes ICT products, leading to an increase in resource consumption in this sector, which is associated with the widespread global economic development being witnessed.¹⁷⁷ Modern societies have become strongly dependent on electrical and electronic equipment due to several factors, such as growing urbanization and mobility, industrialization, and digital transformation.¹⁷⁸ ICT as a sector responds to such an increased market demand with an increased production of ICT goods, despite its negative impacts on the environment and society.¹⁷⁹^,¹⁸⁰ Organizations, companies, and governments increasingly invest in digital technologies and the latest software, which leads to a higher carbon footprint as well.¹⁸¹ Hence, the increase in the consumption of ICT appears to be a barrier within the function-internal category.

4.2 Drivers and barriers in the firm environment

Drivers and barriers in the firm’s environment represent factors that influence the sustainability of a company’s ICT landscape externally. This implies that this category of drivers and barriers addresses the political, economic, social, technological, and ecological spheres.

4.2.1 Drivers

The rapid growth of technology and the internet is classified as an external driver for sustainable ICT11. Digitalization is a megatrend that affects the economy, society, and policy-making in a transformational way.¹⁸² Due to the pace at which digital transformation occurs, there is a growing need to adopt sustainability in businesses.¹⁸³ Additionally, there has been anincrease in the awareness of environmental issuesthat facilitate a public dialog about its importance.¹⁸⁴ This leads to high stakeholder pressure being put on companies to implement sustainability in various corporate functions.¹⁸⁵^,¹⁸⁶ Customers, suppliers, competitors, and other relevant stakeholders increasingly demand sustainable business practices that can stimulate companies to use digital tools for sustainability goals.¹⁸⁷

Additionally, regulations and standards for the ICT sector drive the implementation of sustainable ICT measures, as this obliges companies to comply with such regulations.¹⁸⁸ The number of countries that adopted national e-waste policies, regulations, or legislation has increased from 61 to 78 since 2014.¹⁸⁹ The European Green Deal, for example, emphasizes the importance of energy efficiency and digitalization in the context of sustainable development.¹⁹⁰^,¹⁹¹ Furthermore, the European Commission agreed to accelerate the transformation of the ICT sector toward sustainability, among other aspects, by signing a declaration on the green and digital transformation of the EU in March 2021.¹⁹² Another relevant regulation is set by the Basel Convention, Controlling Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal,which addresses e-waste, among other topics.¹⁹³^,¹⁹⁴

4.2.2 Barriers

Although several regulations and standards regarding sustainable ICT exist, there is still a state of insufficiency and monodisciplinarity concerning the standards of sustainable ICT.¹⁹⁵ Not all aspects of ICT and its impacts on the environment and society are met by a standard that regulates it.¹⁹⁶ The body of standards in this field appears to be complex and very interconnected.¹⁹⁷ Companies are challenged to find ways to implement sustainable ICT, as existing standards and regulations cannot provide sufficient orientation for the implementation process, classifying this lack of sufficient standards as an external barrier.¹⁹⁸

Another external barrier is the rapid growth of technology and the internet. The further development and change of ICT technology hasresulted in constant new ICT software and hardware, pressuring companies to adjust to a changing environment.¹⁹⁹^,²⁰⁰ The constant adaptation to the latest technologies may result in better corporate performance and to innovations, which may improve productivity, leading to a competitive advantage for companies that keep pace with the rapid change of the ICT sector.²⁰¹ Nevertheless, as companies attempt to gain or sustain a competitive advantage by replacing functioningtechnologieswith the latest ICT software and equipment, resource consumption is fostered and more e-waste is generated, which leads to negative impacts on the environment.

4.3 Firm-internal drivers and barriers

Drivers and barriers to sustainable ICT can originate from inside the company as well. Firm-internal drivers and barriers refer to factors that hinder or drive a company from the inside to implement sustainable ICT.

4.3.1 Drivers

Companies face increasing reliance on electronic data. Particularly, the latest software and hardware to carry out business processes and sustain their productivity and efficiency drive the adaptation of the company’s own ICT department to the latest trends²⁰²^,²⁰³ In compliance with the barrier to growing consumption in the category of function-internal factors, there is consequently a resulting increase in the carbon footprint.²⁰⁴

Another driver is increased awareness of sustainability. It is increasingly being understood that there is a need to adapt to climate change and its consequences not only among stakeholders but also within companies themselves. Thus, companies are asked to prioritize sustainability and implement it in every department and corporate function.²⁰⁵^,²⁰⁶ This awareness, together with the recognition of the potential of sustainable ICT for corporate activities, drives its implementation internally.²⁰⁷^,²⁰⁸ A powerful firm-internal driver is the cost and energy savings enjoyed by companies through sustainable ICT. Not only have rating systems, such as the ESG scores, brand images, or customer satisfaction, improved after implementing sustainable ICT, but also benefits have been bestowed on companies associated with cost and energy reductions, leading to an overall increase in corporate sustainability performance.²⁰⁹^,²¹⁰ There are several use cases for sustainable ICT that enable such improvements. Examples of this are energy-efficient hardware and software, such as cloud computing, server virtualization, network management, the procurement of energy-efficient data centers or utilization – that is, using AI or ML to optimize workflows.²¹¹ In addition, sensitizing user behavior and cost savings through tax savings because green practices drive sustainable ICT.²¹²

4.3.2 Barriers

Although awareness of sustainability is generally increasing, there is also a lack of recognition of the environmental impacts of ICT3,10. According to a study with a sample of 1000 organizations by the Capgemini Research Institute (2021),²¹³ not even half of the executives stated that they were aware of their own company’s ICT footprint.²¹⁴ This perception varies across different sectors. While the consumer products and banking sectors have the highest level of awareness regarding their ICT’s footprint, the industrial manufacturing sector shows low awareness of the same. This lack of awareness functions as an internal barrier, as it reduces the perceived necessity to adapt their ICT function to sustainabilityandcompaniesfail to prioritize the implementation of sustainable ICT.²¹⁵^,²¹⁶^,²¹⁷

Furthermore, sustainable ICT is often disconnected from the wider sustainability strategy.²¹⁸ According to a survey by the Capgemini Research Institute (2021), half of the surveyed 1000 organizations stated that they had developed an enterprise-wide strategy, but only 18% defined a comprehensive one.²¹⁹ Moreover, only a small share of the assessed organizations in this study had a governance body in place to oversee the implementation of sustainable ICT, and only 34% stated that sustainable ICT is integrated in the board-level agenda.²²⁰ In order to set and meet strategic goals for a sustainable ICT landscape, the establishment of governance for sustainability within the company is essential.²²¹ Through an efficient and comprehensive ICT governance system, it can be controlled, coordinated, and directed in the present and future.²²² Hence, to shift to sustainable ICT, it is essential to set up adequate governance systems, without which it would be an internal barrier.²²³^,²²⁴

The last and main internal barrier refers to thechallenges that occur during the implementation of sustainable ICT. This barrier includes aspects such as the lack of expertise needed for implementation and the perception that implementation might threaten the continuity of the business.²²⁵ Companies are challenged by their knowledge deficit in sustainable ICT and struggle to identify the correct use fields to invest in.²²⁶ Furthermore, organizations often perceive the shift to sustainable ICT as a disruption to current business processes and security.²²⁷ Apart from these aspects, another major drawback for companies is the costs associated with setting up sustainable ICT infrastructure.²²⁸^,²²⁹

4.3.3 Overcoming firm-internal barriers

Several organizations steered their ICT function toward sustainability while overcoming external and internal barriers. Microsoft, for instance, set the corporation-wide sustainability goal to become carbon neutral by 2030 and connected its overall sustainability measures with sustainable ICT through investments in ICT.²³⁰ The company intends to develop a Planetary Computer, which supports scientists by monitoring, modeling, and managing the Earth’s natural resources and the data associated with it. Furthermore, Microsoft intends to use renewable energy for 70% of its massive data centers by 2023.²³¹^,²³² Google prioritized the shift toward sustainable ICT as well by becoming climate neutral in 2007 and intends to operate its data centers on carbon-free energy by 2030.²³³ By identifying and prioritizing the key hotspots internally, setting efficient targets and having a sustainability strategy that includes the ICT department’s assistance contribute to overcoming internal barriers – for example, the disconnection of their ICT from the company-wide CSR strategy, lack of awareness about the overall environmental impact, or even low prioritization of sustainable ICT.²³⁴^,²³⁵

External and internal barriers can be overcome through an appropriate ICT governance system.²³⁶ The Hewlett Packard Enterprise established an ICT governance system that intends to steer the business through crisis and changes in the environment systematically and with a long-term perspective.²³⁷ Apart from addressing the pressure on companies to adapt to constant changes in the ICT sector, the company also tackles the lack of orientation due to insufficient sustainability regulations and standards with this measure.

Lastly, challenges that occur within the implementation of sustainable ICT can be overcome by following a clear implementation guideline, which can be derived from the sustainable ICT strategy. The lack of expertise concerning implementation can be solved by employee training or new ICT staff. The implementation of a guideline reduces the risk of disrupting the continuity of business. To provide an example of this, Cisco’s sustainable IT strategy includes an integrated greenhouse gas reduction roadmap.²³⁸ Furthermore, the barrier concerning high implementation costs might be overcome by using energy-efficient technology and hardware designed sustainably. Thereby, a company can build its return on investment after setting up a sustainable ICT infrastructure with resulting cost savings.²³⁹ As a matter of fact, Apple’s assembly sites for their products are awarded the Zero Waste to Landfill certification and achieved a 70% decrease in their average product energy use. Samsung attempts to switch from disposable manufacturing and packaging material to recycled and sustainably sourced package material.²⁴⁰

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