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The Environmental Sustainability of Digital Technologies: Stakeholder Practices and Perspectives

Author

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  • Gabrielle Samuel

    (Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s College London, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4BG, UK)

  • Federica Lucivero

    (Ethox Centre and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK)

  • Lucas Somavilla

    (Responsible Technology Institute, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3LN, UK)

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence and associated digital technologies (DTs) have environmental impacts. These include heavy carbon dioxide emissions linked to the energy consumption required to generate and process large amounts of data; extracting minerals for, and manufacturing of, technological components; and e-waste. These environmental impacts are receiving increasing policy and media attention through discourses of environmental sustainability. At the same time, ‘sustainability’ is a complex and nebulous term with a multiplicity of meanings and practices. This paper explores how experts working with DTs understand and utilise the concept of environmental sustainability in their practices. Our research question was how do stakeholders researching, governing or working on the environmental impacts of DTs, utilise environmental sustainability concepts? We applied a combination of bibliometric analysis and 24 interviews with key stakeholders from the digital technology sector. Findings show that, although stakeholders have broad conceptual understandings of the term sustainability and its relation to the environmental impacts of DTs, in practice, environmental sustainability tends to be associated with technology based and carboncentric approaches. While narrowing conceptual understandings of environmental sustainability was viewed to have a practical purpose, it hid broader sustainability concerns. We urge those in the field not to lose sight of the wider ‘ethos of sustainability’.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabrielle Samuel & Federica Lucivero & Lucas Somavilla, 2022. "The Environmental Sustainability of Digital Technologies: Stakeholder Practices and Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3791-:d:777894
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fabio Zagonari, 2020. "Environmental sustainability is not worth pursuing unless it is achieved for ethical reasons," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Eling & Irina Gemmo & Danjela Guxha & Hato Schmeiser, 2024. "Big data, risk classification, and privacy in insurance markets," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 49(1), pages 75-126, March.
    2. Aimee van Wynsberghe & Tijs Vandemeulebroucke & Larissa Bolte & Jamila Nachid, 2022. "Special Issue “Towards the Sustainability of AI; Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to Investigate the Hidden Costs of AI”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-4, December.
    3. Dmitry A. Ruban, 2022. "Analytical Review of Conjugation of the Ethical Bases of Artificial Intelligence Implementation and Ecologization in Corporate Governance," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 21(2), pages 390-418.
    4. Youssef El Archi & Brahim Benbba & Kai Zhu & Zineb El Andaloussi & László Pataki & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2023. "Mapping the Nexus between Sustainability and Digitalization in Tourist Destinations: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Xuwei Wang & Kaiwen Ji & Tongping Xie, 2023. "AI Carbon Footprint Management with Multi-Agent Participation: A Tripartite Evolutionary Game Analysis Based on a Case in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-23, June.
    6. P. V. Thayyib & Rajesh Mamilla & Mohsin Khan & Humaira Fatima & Mohd Asim & Imran Anwar & M. K. Shamsudheen & Mohd Asif Khan, 2023. "State-of-the-Art of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics Reviews in Five Different Domains: A Bibliometric Summary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-38, February.

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