Choosing indicators of relevance for a specific ICT solution or use case is difficult, but any
evaluation needs to include the impact of the ICT solutions’ full life cycle footprint. International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) has published indicators related to ICT and sustainable
development of cities [14]-[16] which is used in the U4SSC project which lists 91 KPIs to assess
the achievement of sustainable development goals [17]. Also, the international standardization
organization ISO has also published city indicators [18]-[19].
However, even when the indicators to evaluate the impact are identified, there are several other
aspects to consider. ITU has published a standard on how to measure the enablement effect of an
ICT solution focusing on changes in greenhouse gas emissions [20]. Despite the narrower focus,
the overall methodology can be applied also in wider sustainability aspects. Hence, to measure
the induced effect there is a need for a clear scope, a reference case (measured baseline),
understanding of contextual changes and the impact of the footprint. Together this form the so-
called net second order effect. From a research and development (R&D) point of view the
indicators cannot be fully measured until after the deployment of the solution. Hence, to quantify
potential impacts of solutions still in a development phase, might not be sufficient as the
uncertainty would be very large. However, it can be valuable to qualitatively investigate
potential impacts and identify possible indicators early in the process to get an idea of future
impact and to enable the establishment of a thorough baseline. By measuring relevant indicators
for several year prior to the implementation of a new ICT solution any natural fluctuations could
be identified which facilitates the interpretation of results measured after the deployment of an
ICT solution. Moreover, by identifying indicators already during the development phase it might
be possible to detect activities or inputs that can influence in a positive direction.
The ultimate goal for the ICT sector from a sustainability perspective is to maximize the positive
and minimize the negative impacts in society including the environmental footprint of the ICT
solution itself. Some negative impacts can be minimized by mitigating the risk of occurrence, but
even when not possible to minimize the effects, at lease the potential negative effects are
acknowledged. There are standards developed by ITU on assessing the GHG emissions both
from ICT solutions (L.1410) [21] and the impact in other sectors (also referred to as the
enablement or induced effect) (L.1480) [20]. So far standards for a wider sustainability scope are
lacking, though the overall methodology presented can likely be applicable also for a wider
sustainability perspective.
The real societal impact from digitalization cannot be assessed until after the deployment of a
solution, though its potential impacts can be estimated already at an early stage. However, the
step from e.g. the SDGs to an R&D project developing technical solutions and specific ICT use
cases is huge. The SDGs can feel too complex and on a too high level and therefore hard to grasp
without thorough background in the sustainability area. Addressing this gap, a framework for a
sustainability assessment of ICT solutions that could be applied at an early stage of the
development was developed. The aim with the framework is to widen the perspective, looking
beyond the intended main gain of a solution and discover areas needing attention by pointing out
potential negative impacts that might be possible to mitigate, fully or somewhat, when giving
them attention already during the R&D phase. Hopefully, the framework provides a
surmountable entrance to applying sustainability-thinking more broadly in digitalization R&D
projects.