The main project objective was to reduce the environmental and social footprint of information and communication technologies used by companies in partner countries, by improving the effectiveness and sustainability of their ICTs’ implementation strategies. To do this, the project aimed to achieve the following concrete objectives: - To improve awareness of companies on the benefits of sustainable use of ICTs - To improve knowledge, skills and competencies of managers, workers and companies on how to implement ICTs in a more sustainable and effective way.
ICT is currently one of the fastest growing greenhouse gas-emitting and energy management sectors (EC, Rolling Plan for ICT standardisation, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of our societies and further highlighted the importance of digital technologies for Europe’s future economic growth. In the last six years, the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI 2021) has grown at a stable rate of around 6% annually. The integration of digital technology in companies has grown by 42% (EC, Single Market Annual Report 2021). Such a massive Digital Transition, strongly supported by European Commission Policy for the next years (EC Europe Fit for the Digital Age 2020, EC, Communication on the 2030 Digital compass, 2021), may collide with the European Green Deal (EC 2020), which, in line with the Paris Agreement, plans to reduce greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions by at least 55% in 2030. The project wanted to address the need of knowledge skills and competencies needed to implement ICT sustainability strategies in companies.