An Approach to Assess Indirect Environmental Effects of Digitalization Based on a Time-Use Perspective

Abstract

The digital transformation has direct and indirect effects on the environment. Direct effects are caused by the production, use and disposal of information and communication technology (ICT) hardware. Indirect effects include the changes to patterns of production and consumption enabled by ICT in other domains. Studies of indirect environmental effects of ICT often focus on individual applications domains and their use cases, which implies that these studies cannot capture systemic effects of ICT adoption. We argue that interaction among ICT use cases is crucial to explain systemic environmental effects of ICT. In order to capture these interactions, we suggest focusing on ICT impacts on individual lifestyles, in particular time use, because (i) time is a limited resource for everyone, a fact which makes time budget constraints a central link among different activities and (ii) many ICT use cases relax time and space constraints of individuals, thus changing time allocation. With this approach, we take into account that individual lifestyles are a major determinant of the overall environmental impact and that ICT diffusion changes individual time-use patterns and therefore lifestyles. Based on these considerations, we propose a conceptual framework that describes the causal mechanisms between ICT use, time-use patterns and environmental impacts.

Digital transformation—life cycle assessment of digital services, multifunctional devices and cloud computing

“…In order to assess indirect environmental effects, a mixed-method approach (e.g. combining LCA with social science methods) is required (Bieser & Hilty, 2018a).…”

Towards a conceptual framework of direct and indirect environmental effects of co-working

“…Furthermore, the saved travel costs can be used for other purposes (income rebound effects) and thus contribute to an increased use of resources [15]. Finally, co-workers can spend saved commute time on other activities that are associated with environmental impacts (time rebound effects [14]).…”

“…In order to realize these benefits, the choice of location of the CW space is in particular critical [11], [12], [13] However, CW can also increase environmental burdens, for example through required infrastructure to set-up and operate the CW space. It can also lead to rebound effects, if employees spend time and money saved on commuting on other activities, goods and services that are associated with environmental impacts [14]. In order to draw more specific conclusions about whether CW can contribute to an overall reduction in resource consumption, and which factors are particularly relevant, a more precise analysis is necessary [11], [15], [16], [17] One approach that has gained momentum in sustainability research is to test potentially sustainable innovations in living labs [18].…”

Conceptualizing the Digital Sharing Economy in the Context of Sustainability

“…Studies comparing the life-cycle impacts of ICT on greenhouse gas emissions to the greenhouse gas abatement potential (due to enabling impacts) of the most relevant use cases have shown that the life-cycle impacts are usually smaller (e.g., [53,54]).…”