Welcome to the guide: Digitalize for the environment
This is a guide for those working in public administrations at local, regional, national or global levels who are looking for concrete tips on how to use the potential of digitalization to address environmental problems.
It is also a guide for those who work on digital service development, but may not have yet thought about how to help municipalities to solve environmental challenges.
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We encourage any use/dissemination of this guide; So if you think the content of this guide is interesting, you can simply borrow, change or steal it. Help us all by doing it just the way that suits you and your organization the best!
Why is a Guide for Environmental Strategic Digitization Needed?
More than half of the world's population today lives in cities, and according to a 2018 forecast by the UN, this number is expected to increase to nearly 70% by 2050 ( 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects ). Those who work in or with local or regional authorities play a decisive role in reducing society's environmental impact and in contributing to the sustainable cities of the future. One way to solve environmental problems in society is what we call “environmentally strategic digitalization”.
Digitalization is a force that can affect the entire structure of society. It can be a tool for reducing environmental impact and reaching environmental goals locally, nationally and globally.
Digitalization can also support the implementation of environmental measures in other sectors. For example, if digital services make it easier to live without cars, an increased gasoline price would be more acceptable.
But digitalization can also promote unsustainable behavior. For example, e-commerce can induce additional consumption. This means that we need to think one step further when we create digital services to actively prevent unsustainable behavior and negative environmental outcomes.
So far, there is no actionable and credible guidance on how digitalization can contribute to achieving environmental goals. Our experience shows that those who work with environmental and digitalization issues in municipalities, county councils or companies need to find better ways to cooperate and advance this kind of work.
This guide provides information on where and how to look for digital solutions to real-world problems. It also seeks to encourage digital developers to focus on environmental challenges. We hope it will help you to use the potential of digitalization to reduce society's environmental impact.