Derivation of Indicators for the Environmental Impact of the Information and Communication Technology

Abstract

The paper reviews the existing quantitative studies that try to forecast the impact of the information and communication technology on the environment, mainly in terms of reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption. This impact cannot be measured using basic environmental indicators because it would be difficult to understand the specific contribution of information and communication technology and the role played by the rebound effect. The paper analyses the works that have proposed specific indicators to measure the impact of the information and communication technology on the environment. Then, it describes the procedure adopted to derive a new set of indi cators that focus specifically on the impact due to the behaviours of the families and t o the way and the extent in which this behaviour is modified by the diffusion of the information and communication technology.