How sustainable is information technology? Trends, challenges, and opportunities

Eric Masanet - Morris E. Fine Junior Professor in Materials and Manufacturing and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University. The growing numbers of information technology (IT) devices--and the environmental impacts associated with their manufacture, use, and disposal--are topics that have received much attention in both the media and research communities. While the environmental footprint of IT devices is indeed significant, each new device generation typically brings substantial operational energy efficiency improvements. Furthermore, a singular focus on their direct impacts ignores the indirect environmental benefits that IT devices might provide by improving societal energy and resource efficiencies. A growing body of research suggests that such benefits might be substantial across the economy through such applications as replacing physical goods with digital services, building controls for energy efficiency, and real-time logistics optimization. This presentation reviewed the life-cycle impacts of IT systems, discussed trends in these impacts as a function of technology progress and growing consumption over time, and highlighted the challenges and opportunities associated with managing and reducing the environmental impacts of IT systems moving forward.Ope