It’s easy to get tunnel vision and focus on a particular one of the possible subjects within digital sustainability – in my case lowering the carbon of websites and reducing data usage. But there is so much more to sustainability in tech.
Economics, doughnut style
In early 2022 I took part in a pilot workshop led by Hannah Smith and Alistair Alexander to explore the Doughnut Economics model in relation to the digital tech sector. It was an eye opener. I learned a great deal in a short amount of time, and really enjoyed discussing these difficult topics with the other attendees.
It was clear that there is a willingness to discuss sustainability more broadly and deeply within the tech sector besides making websites lower-weight and faster.
What we discussed in the workshop
Alongside climate change, the groups discussed topics such as biodiversity loss, the amount of freshwater usage caused by tech, as well as air pollution and land conversion caused by the increase of server farms.
We also discussed broader societal impacts and changes linked to the tech sector. Themes such as social equity, education, gender equality, work culture and personal health, and political voice.
All these things are in some way linked to the tech sector and each other. As I already mentioned, it is so easy to get caught up in just one facet of sustainability – reducing carbon emissions. But what about all these other factors of change that need addressing?
You can read the full story about the workshops, and the learnings from them, over on doingthedoughnut.tech