Rethinking the Role of ICT for Sustainable Development: From Incremental Improvements Towards Sustainable Societal Transformation

This chapter provides an overview of past, present and future perspectives on the relationship between ICT and sustainable development in research, with a focus on perspectives adopted within WG 9.9. While early research concentrated on the adverse effects of ICT on the environment, including energy usage, hazardous chemicals in production, and electronic waste, the discourse has evolved to emphasize the potential of ICT to promote sustainable development and offer economic, social, and environmental benefits. WG 9.9 emphasizes that ICT can indeed offer sustainability-related benefits, such as dematerialization and optimization. However, technology, including ICT, is currently not geared towards sustainability, and incremental improvements are not sufficient to promote sustainable futures. Instead, a narrow and individualistic focus risks reinforcing an unsustainable status quo. Researchers interested in ICT and sustainable development should take a more critical stance and promote radical societal transformations towards sustainable futures. Among other things, this includes questioning growth, both in terms of technology and the economy, adhering to planetary boundaries, energy and resource limits, and promoting sustainable practices, rather than imposing behavioral changes.