Global responsibility: sustainable development in information and communication technology

Companies in the field of electronics and in particular the information and communication technology (ICT) are facing great challenges and opportunities with regards to sustainable development and the ongoing trend towards a global information society. The paper gives a short outlook on future tasks with respect to sustainable development, followed by two examples (EEE Directive and NIK-Roadmap-Project) on how the European and German government plan to promote and imply sustainability aspects into business activities of the ICT industry.