Digitalisation

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) sector is responsible for up to 3.9% of the worldwide carbon footprint, which is more than international aviation. 

Unlike most industries, this footprint is growing at an accelerating pace without attracting considerable mainstream attention, in part because digital innovation is believed to yield efficiency gains across other sectors. 

Yet, the production and operation of new digital devices alongside the networks and data centres underlying our digital lives consume enormous amounts of power, drain freshwater resources, and require the extraction of rare earth materials. Less than 20% of the hundreds of megatons of electronic waste is properly recycled, with the remainder releasing harmful pollutants into our ecosystems.

Digital sufficiency is an emerging practice within the field of digital sustainability. It involves the assessment of the environmental footprints of digital technologies throughout their entire lifecycle, as well as the identification of digital users' needs to adapt the design and consumption of these technologies to satisfy these needs while minimizing the associated environmental impact.

Digital sufficiency is inherently interdisciplinary. It encompasses, for instance, the sustainable adaptation of both the design of hardware devices, network infrastructure and software, the transformation of the social, cultural, and business models shaping the way we develop, maintain, and access digital services, as well as the transformation of the legal and governance frameworks that structure digital ecosystems.

Digital sufficiency may include, among many measures, the reduction of production and demand through the extension of the lifetime of existing devices, the fight against various forms of planned, technical, cultural, or environmental obsolescence, the promotion of reparable, efficient, open designs, the sourcing of renewable or reused materials, the design of software reducing data usage...