Understanding Higher  Order  Impacts  of  Green  ICT Albert

Abstract — ICT is known to have three orders of impact: direct, indirect and systemic. The first is often regarded as 'part of the problem', the latter two can also be 'part of the solution ' to reduce the global environmental impact of human activities. A number of studies show that the impact of ICT itself is roughly 2%, whereas smart use of ICT can reduce the impact of other sectors by up to 16%. However, ICT research and practice seems to be mostly focused on the direct impacts. This paper tries to move away from this focus, explores the higher order impacts and presents a conceptual framework for individuals and organizations to make the higher order impacts more tangible. Index Terms — Green ICT, Environmental impact of ICT