A Structural Analysis of the User Behavior Dynamics for Environmentally Sustainable ICT

The sector of information and communication technology (ICT) can contribute to the fulfillment of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the introduction of sustainability strategies. For environmental sustainability, such strategies need to contain efficiency, sufficiency, and consistency measures. Based on a critical review of the literature and systems thinking, a structural analysis of ICT is performed and various sustainability measures of all three categories are proposed. Thereby, it is focused on user devices and their ecosystems. By describing ICT as a complex system, key mechanisms and dynamics behind the use of ICT and the corresponding use of energy and resources are analyzed. The system contains data centers, communication networks, smartphone hardware, apps, and the behavior of users as subsystems, between which various Morinian interactions are present. Energy and non-energy resources can be seen as inputs of the system, while electronic waste (e-waste) is an output. Based on the system description, various measures for technical, operational, regulatory, and transparency improvements are proposed to enhance the environmental sustainability of ICT. The measures are classified according to their underlying leverage points to evaluate their possible effectiveness. Recommendations for future research are provided.