The speed-dating session that kicked off DTD22 brought together the participants in groups of three for three rounds lasting six minutes each. In each round, they were given an ice-breaker question. The idea was to encourage everyone to get to know each other a little better away from the group. Round 1 (warmup): Where would you like to be if you weren’t here right now? What did you have for breakfast today? What was your personal highlight from last week? Or what was the best news you received last week?
Round 2 (introduction to digitalisation): What new discoveries did you make last week in regard to the world of digitalisation?
Round 3 (in-depth discussion): What is your personal relationship with digitalisation and sustainability?
1.2.2 Digitalisation and sustainability
How sustainable is digital transformation really? And how are young people dealing with the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation? Katharina Maier from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and coordinator of the Fridays for Future movement in the United States joined DTD22 from Washington, DC on day 1 to deliver a keynote statement, which opened with a videoclip of the UN Environment Programme ’s Digital Transformation (DT) subprogramme. 1 Sustainability doesn’t just mean eco-friendly; it also means making choices that have a lasting and positive impact on the environment, the climate, and on society and social structures, which in turn enable more and more people to enjoy a good life. Digital transformation does not automatically deliver this kind of sustainability. Neither is it technology that drives and shapes digital transformation – that is done by humans. One of Katharina ’s key messages was that humans need to consider sustainability at every step of the way. According to a UN report, said Katharina, early analyses suggest that the benefits of digital transformation are significant, potentially reducing - carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20%, - the use of natural resources in products by 90%, - and waste and detoxifying supply chains by a factor of 10-100 X.
Digital transformation does not automatically deliver sustainability. Neither is it technology that drives and shapes digital transformation – that is done by humans. And they need to consider sustainability at every step of the way.
We can connect with ever more people, learn more from each other and communicate more with one another. However, achieving global sustainability is not an inevitable outcome of digital transformation. In terms of material demands, the world produces as much as 50 million tons of electronic e-waste a year, of ————————————— 1 https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/technology/what-we-do/digital-transformation (from 1:22) last accessed: 8 September 2022)
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