Abstract: Sustainable development requires the decoupling of economic growth from environmental impacts and from the use of natural resources. This article gives an overview of existing approaches to using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the service of sustainability: Environmental Informatics, Green IT/ICT, and Sustainable HCI. These approaches are then discussed in the context of the Jevons paradox, an economic argument implying that technological efficiency alone will not produce sustainability. This consideration leads to the conclusion that a combination of efficiency and sufficiency strategies is the most effective way to stimulate innovations which will unleash ICT’s potential to support sustainability.
Abstract: Many studies on Green IT/Green ICT have already been published, focusing on the energy consumption of ICT or the role of ICT as an enabler of energy efficiency. In this paper, we argue that such an approach is too narrow, and that a broader perspective is needed to utilize the potential of ICT to make our lives more sustainable.
