Assessing Indirect Environmental Effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT): A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Indirect environmental effects of information and communication technology (ICT) are those effects of ICT that change patterns of production or consumption in domains other than ICT, or more precisely, the environmental consequences of these changes. Digitalization as the societal process of ICT-driven change has created increasing interest in the indirect environmental effects of this technology. Assessments of indirect effects face various methodological challenges, such as the definition of the system boundary, the definition of a baseline as a reference or the occurrence of rebound effects. Existing studies use various approaches or methods to assess a spectrum of ICT use cases in several application domains. In view of the large number of assessments that have been conducted, the choices made when applying assessment methods, and the variety of ICT use cases in different application domains investigated, we present a systematic literature review of existing assessments of indirect environmental effects of ICT. The review provides a state-of-the-art overview of the methods used in the research field and is intended to support researchers in designing sound assessments which yield significant results. We identified 54 studies in seven main application domains using 15 different assessment approaches. The most common application domains are virtual mobility (e.g., telecommuting), virtual goods (e.g., digital media), and smart transport (e.g., route optimization). Life-cycle assessment, partial footprint, and the "ICT enablement method" are the most common approaches. The major part of the assessments focuses on patterns of production (e.g., production of paper-based books vs. e-books), a smaller part on patterns of consumption (e.g., changes in media consumption). Based on these results, we identify as a research gap the investigation of ICT impacts on consumer behavior, which could, for example, focus on social practices, and account for the dynamic implications of change. Elaborating such an approach could provide valuable insights into ICT's impact on society and the resulting environmental consequences.

Is Sustainable Economic Development Possible Thanks to the Deployment of ICT?

“…In this sense, some academics assume a dual classification to describe the environmental effects of ICT. These effects can be direct and indirect [42,43]. The direct effects, which are also called first-order effects, are related to the demand for materials and energy throughout the life cycle of the ICT product [44].…”

“…The direct effects, which are also called first-order effects, are related to the demand for materials and energy throughout the life cycle of the ICT product [44]. The direct effects refer to the resources used, the emissions caused by the production, and the use and disposal of ICT products [42]. Indirect effects, or second-order effects, reflect the result of applying ICT in other dimensions that involve environmental changes, such as changes in consumption [45,46].…”

The Evolving Role of IT Departments in Digital Transformation

“…"IT" traditionally denotes computer-based technologies for processing information and includes items such as the EE, infrastructure, relevant equipment and other peripherals and accessories, factory and office automation technologies, software and hardware developments, and relevant applications and services [43,44]. To keep pace with aggressive competition in the digital era, ICT plays an irreplaceable role in producing creative IT-generated content and/or innovative ICT-enabled services and knowledge, and sustainable development relies largely on ICT to facilitate or even enable them to affect positive social and environmental change [5,15,16,21,23,[45][46][47]. Both ICT-and non-ICT-oriented organizations are recognizing the potentially significant role of ICT in enabling and supporting sustainability practices [7,48,49].…”

Technology: A Necessary but Not Sufficient Condition for Future Personal Mobility

“…To avoid this situation, the implementation of any novel process of data treatment must be done carefully and step-by-step, and always under a thorough approach. Only in this way will the impacts of ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) on consumer behavior and social practices contribute to a more sustainable mobility [30].…”