Today marks a very exciting moment for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra’s) e-Sustainability Alliance, as we launch our new blog to support our industry guide which we’ll publish on 24 October. Click here to read our industry guide.
As society’s reliance on information and communication technology (ICT) continues to grow, so too do the economic, environmental and social impacts.
Technology has an ever increasing role to play in addressing challenges such as climate change. But manufacture, use and disposal of technology can also have harmful effects, either on the environment or on the people involved in these processes. Even with the best intentions, we recognise that for many, the pace at which technology changes can make it difficult to always know what the most sustainable products and services are.
Our new best practice guide
We’ve created our best practice guide to respond to technological, environmental and social changes. Our guide and our related work which we’ll be sharing on this blog is underpinned by some core principles, including the United Nations (UN) Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) which incorporates 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. Although organisations like Defra and the UN have a leading role to play in this area, we recognise that true sustainability is only possible through collective responsibility and collaboration.
We’re here to support you
The best practice guide and this blog are therefore aimed at anyone with an interest in the relationship between sustainability and ICT – whether you work in a large multinational organisation or a small business, whether you manufacture, supply or dispose of ICT, or just use it as part of your work.
We hope that the advice we offer in the guide and in the blog posts we publish will help businesses like yours improve the sustainability of ICT operations and activities.
On behalf of the 15 organisations that currently make up the Defra’s e-Sustainability Alliance (DeSA) working group that produced the guide, I’d like to welcome you to what I hope will become a shared endeavour between us all.
We’re also keen to read your examples of best practice so we can all continue to learn from each other. In line with that ethos, we welcome your input and feedback into our work so please do add your comments and questions in the comments section below. If there’s more we can do to help, please let us know.
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