Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are contributing both to environmental problems and to their solution. Will ICT producers, users and recyclers be the major polluters of tomorrow, or will 'Green IT' and a dematerialized information society save the climate? This book provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between ICT and sustainable development, culminating in 15 recommendations - to producers, users and political decision makers - which show the way to a sustainable information society. Keywords: Information Technology, Environment, Sustainable Development, Environmental Informatics, Green IT, Green Computing, Data Centers, Energy Efficiency, Resource Productivity, Dematerialization, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), E-waste, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Recycling, Technological Complexity, Critical Information Infrastructure, Open Standards, Rebound Effect.

This book presents new concepts as well as practical applications and experiences in the field of information technology for environmental engineering. The book has three main focus areas: firstly, it shows how information technologies can be employed to support natural resource management and conservation, environmental engineering, scientific simulation and integrated assessment studies. Secondly, it demonstrates the application of computing in the everyday practices of environmental engineers, natural scientists, economists and social scientists. And thirdly, it demonstrates how the complexity of natural phenomena can be approached using interdisciplinary methods, where computer science offers the infrastructure needed for environmental data collection and management, scientific simulations, decision support documentation and reporting.The book collects selected papers presented at the 7th International Symposium on Environmental Engineering, held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in July 2015. It discusses recent success stories in eco-informatics, promising ideas and new challenges from the interdisciplinary viewpoints of computer scientists, environmental engineers, economists and social scientists, demonstrating new paradigms for problem-solving and decision-making.

Information technologies have evolved to an enabling science for natural resource management and conservation, environmental engineering, scientific simulation and integrated assessment studies. Computing plays a significant role in the every day practices of environmental engineers, natural scientists, economists, and social scientists. The complexity of natural phenomena requires interdisciplinary approaches, where computing science offers the infrastructure for environmental data collection and management, scientific simulations, decision support, documentation and reporting. Ecology, environmental engineering and natural resource management comprise an excellent real-world testbed for IT system demonstration, while presenting new challenges for computer science. Complexity, uncertainty and scaling issues of natural systems constitute a demanding application domain for modelling, simulation and scientific workflows, data management and reporting, decision support and intelligent systems, distributed computing environments, geographical information systems, heterogeneous systems integration, software engineering, accounting systems, control systems, as well as sustainable manufacturing and reverse logistics. This books offers a collection of papers presented at the 6th International Conference on Environmental Engineering, held in July 2013, in Lüneburg, Germany. Recent success stories in ecoinformatics, promising ideas and new challenges are discussed among computer scientists, environmental engineers, industrial engineers, economists and social scientists, demonstrating new paradigms for problem solving and decision making.

This book addresses several aspects of environmental sustainability awareness and priorization, explores ways to use resources and processes more responsibly, and describes the strategies, models and tools required to overcome various challenges. Sustainable and green IT are used to minimize the current ICT recycling problems which are harming our planet. The book discusses the new green information technologies as alternatives to conventional ICT, which have significantly harmed nature, and examines how to make recent technologies such as cloud computing; social networking; smart technology; blockchains, IoT (internet-of-things); and big data sustainable. Exploring sustainability awareness and importance among individuals and organizations in the developed and developing countries, most of the contributions conclude that sustainability should be considered a duty in order to change mindsets, attitudes and actions so as to preserve our planet. Furthermore, it examines the green information technology strategies and models.

This book represents an important voice in the discourse on the adoption of emerging ICT for sustainability. It focuses on how emerging ICT acts as a crucial enabler of sustainability, offering new forward-looking approaches to this field. The book explores how emerging ICT adoption drives sustainability efforts in business and public organizations, promoting ecological, economic, social, cultural, and political sustainability. The book's theoretical discussions, conceptual approaches, empirical studies, diverse perspectives, and views make it a valuable and comprehensive reference work. Appealing to both researchers and practitioners, this book provides significant areas for research and practice related to the contribution of emerging ICT adoption to sustainability. It also suggests vital considerations for programming and building sustainable development-driven emerging ICT adoption. Readers will find answers to important contemporary questions, such as: • What are the concepts, frameworks, models, and approaches to enhance sustainable development through the adoption of emerging ICT? • How does the adoption of emerging ICT influence sustainability? • How can emerging ICT be adopted to enhance sustainability? • What are the current practices and successful cases of emerging ICT adoption for sustainability? • What factors influence emerging ICT adoption to enhance sustainability?

Disruptive Business Strategies (DBS) that have reshaped many industries. Uber's use of new technologies allowed it to create a new business model for urban transportation, while Airbnb used online technologies to create a new market for short-term rentals. Both new technologies and new business strategies are changing our world.

Fostering Sustainable Development in the Age of Technologies highlights the interplay between various disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous robots, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, and Digital Twins, and holistic sustainable development.

This book presents case studies to analyse the relationship between sustainability – environmental, social, institutional and economic – and digital innovation. The respective contributions offer a contextualisation of the main present and future trends concerning these two elements, and present analyses from economic, technical, managerial, and social perspectives alike. The individual sections of the book focus on interactions between sustainability and digital innovation in existing organisations and highlight the new opportunities, challenges and threats that may emerge as a result. The contributions are mainly based on case studies and research conducted in Europe and Africa, with a few focusing on Southeast Asia and Central America, and were prepared by experts in the fields of Information Systems, Computer Science, Social Development, and Economics.

At a critical point in human history, this book presents proven ways to gain the skills needed to develop sustainable IT practices and set yourself apart as a progressive technology leader Key Features Execute a sustainable IT strategy with proven methods and real-world use cases Progress as a sustainable IT advocate and set yourself apart from other senior IT leaders Increase your chances of receiving executive buy-in on your sustainable IT strategy Book DescriptionWe are at a critical point in human history. Humanity is under threat, but all is not lost. We can take action! But how? Sustainable IT Playbook for Technology Leaders will show you how. It will walk you through the construction and implementation of a sustainable IT strategy and enable you to do your bit for the future of mankind. The book is split into three parts. Part I details the “why” and the clear and present danger that humanity faces today: the climate crisis. How did we get here, what are the immediate threats, what are the planetary boundaries that we need to peel back to safe levels, and what impact does IT have on society at large? Part II will focus on the "what.” It examines the nitty-gritty details of what we can do to unlock significant returns on sustainable investments toward a more sustainable future. Part III, the final part of the book, focuses on the “how.” How do you turn your ideas into action? What do you need to do to establish your baseline and your direction of travel towards your objective? This part provides tangible case studies and explains how you can start your journey today to begin delivering global and impactful objectives. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to plan, implement, and communicate a sustainable IT strategy and set yourself apart as a progressive technology leader.What you will learn Discover why IT is a major contributor to carbon emissions Explore the principles and key methods of sustainable IT practices Build a robust, sustainable IT strategy based on proven methods Optimize and rationalize your code to consume fewer resources Understand your energy consumption patterns Apply a circular approach to the IT hardware life cycle Establish your sustainable IT baseline Inspire and engage employees, customers, and stakeholders Who this book is for This book is for executive IT leaders such as CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs dedicated to influencing, inspiring, and engaging businesses, organizations, and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint through sustainable IT practices.

"This book provides relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area of information technology as it relates to sustainable economic development and the development of knowledge societies"--Provided by publisher.