The role of technology in environmental sustainability

Toward a Zero Carbon Future

There is growing evidence of the urgency of taking action to address environmental and climate problems with the goal of moving toward a Zero Carbon future in which we become capable of conducting any activity without emitting greenhouse gases.

To achieve environmental sustainability, we must also take into account the role of technology and digital innovation.

We need to make sure that these two factors evolve in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Environment, Society and Economy

There are three main aspects to consider when we talk about sustainability: the environment, society, and the economy.

These are elements that cannot be dissociated but treated as a single entity in order to comprehensively address the issue of sustainability.

According to research data from the Digital Sustainability Foundation, Italians place environmental protection at the top of their priority list, followed by the well-being of society and finally the importance of an economic model of development. The environmental sphere therefore is the one most felt by the Italian population.

Air pollution and climate change

Confirming the importance given to the environment and associated problems, the data also show a high level of attention to the issues of pollution and climate change. Indeed, by reducing air pollution we can also protect the climate.

Environmental experts from the UN, the European Environmental Agency (EEA), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the European Commission reiterate that air pollution and climate change are closely linked. Changes in weather conditions, due to climate change, can form and promote the presence of pollutants in the atmosphere, which in turn, interact with greenhouse gases, enhancing their effects.

Digital as a tool to foster sustainability

If the research data highlight Italians’ attention to environmental sustainability, we need to ask what Italians’ perception of digital is, including as a useful tool to protect the environment in support of sustainable development.

Digital is not only a tool that can enable actions aimed at environmental sustainability, but it is also a tool that itself has its own carbon footprint to consider.

Research data from the Digital Sustainability Foundation show a lack of awareness among Italians about the real energy impact of digital.

On the one hand, people need to be made more aware of the actual carbon footprint of digital in order to make the use of these tools more conscious. On the other hand, the enormous opportunities that digital itself can enable should obviously not be underestimated, but society already has a lot of awareness on this aspect.

The advantages that technology offers us must therefore be increasingly supportive of environmental sustainability by making available to citizens the tools through which they can make their own contribution.