Sustainable IT

Sustainable IT, also called responsible digital, is a continuous improvement approach aimed at reducing the environmental, social and economic footprint of information and communication technologies.

It rests on a factual premise: digital technology is not immaterial. It requires mines, factories, water, energy and land, and it produces waste that is difficult to treat.

Four complementary strands

The field is frequently reduced to its environmental component. It has four:

Green IT

reducing the footprint of the information system itself

IT for Green

using digital technology to address environmental problems

Human for IT

making digital technology usable by everyone, whatever their situation

IT for Human

using digital technology to reduce the social impact of other activities

Reducing sustainable IT to Green IT alone is the most common confusion, and the most consequential: it removes accessibility, inclusion and working conditions from the scope.

Where the impact actually sits

Three findings are consistent across studies and run against intuition.

Manufacturing dominates. For most equipment, producing the device accounts for the majority of its lifetime impact, well ahead of the electricity it consumes in use. The main lever is therefore extending useful life, not improving energy efficiency.

User devices dominate over data centres. Public debate focuses on data centres. Studies consistently place users' terminals first, because of their number and the weight of their manufacture.

Impact is multi-criteria. Carbon is one indicator among several. Water, materials and land use follow different logics and do not vary together. A device manufactured with decarbonised electricity still consumes metals whose extraction degrades ecosystems.

Origin of the term

The notion of responsibility is used in the sense given by philosopher Hans Jonas, who reformulated ethics around responsibility towards future generations. Applied to digital technology, it holds that technical progress must be compatible with the durability of the conditions that make it possible.

Practising it

A sustainable IT approach usually proceeds in this order:

1. Measure the existing situation, including manufacturing and the full equipment fleet ;
2. Question needs before optimising means (see Digital sobriety) ;
3. Extend the useful life of equipment, the single most effective lever ;
4. Design new services accordingly (see Ecodesign) ;
5. Include the social dimension: accessibility, inclusion, working conditions ;
6. Verify through an external assessment rather than self-declaration.

Frameworks

RGESN and GR491 provide design criteria. Life cycle assessment, the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064 provide measurement methods. Labels and charters attest to the organisational approach.

See also

• Digital sobriety · Ecodesign · Carbon footprint · Green IT · IT for Green · Human for IT · IT for Human · Digital accessibility · Responsible AI · Low tech