Moreover, there is considerable potential for ICT services to contribute to a more sustainable development[!] in the years to come. We can for example replace materials and transportation needs with computer based services ("Bits instead of atoms"). The presupposition is that consciousness, fundamental conditions and methods which stimulate this kind of development are in existence.

ICT and environmental challenges in general
ICT products and services are electronic products which show considerable variation as regards production conditions, areas of use and environmental impact, and include everything from communications satellites to Tamagotchi. As a result of the considerable spread of ICT services and products in recent years, attention has been focused on several aspects of information and communications technology.

Increased interest has also been shown in the environmental challenges connected with the manufacture, use, re-use[!] and disposal of ICT products, both in Norway and in the rest of the world. As regards knowledge of the environmental impacts of ICT products and services, a certain amount of know-how exists nationally and internationally, but in relation to the majority of ICT services, this is inadequate and too fragmentary to enable any clear conclusion to be drawn. To sum up, the most important environmental impacts with regard to ICT products and services, in all phases of their life-cycle, can be considered to be:

• Consumption of large amounts of raw materials and chemicals in manufacture
  The results are a large demand for raw materials as well as considerable emissions to air, water and soil.
• A strongly growing energy requirement
  Strong growth in the number of products/units reduces the effect of the reduction in the amount of energy used by each unit.
• Inadequate re-use and recycling
  Only a modest proportion of equipment and materials is re-used or recycled.

ICT service	Environmental impact
	Positive environmental impact			Negative environmental impact
	Tran- sport reduc- tion	Raw material reduc- tion	Energy reduc- tion	Inc- reased tran- sport	Inc- reased material consum- ption	Inc- reased energy consum- ption
Telephone calls	x		x		x
Tele- conference	x		x
Teleworking	x?		x?
Telefax	x	x	x
E-mail	x	x	x
Distance learning	x	x	x
-business B2B (Business to business)	x	?	?
E-business B2C (Business to consumer)		?	?	x
Video conference	x		x		x
Telemedicine	x		x		x
Electronic conferences	x		x
Electronic publishing		x	x
"Music, video, print on demand"		x	x
Transport telematics	x		x

ICT and transport reduction
Global statistics show a steep increase in both passenger and goods transport, and particularly in the use of those means of transport which place the greatest demands on resources and the environment (road and air transport).

Transport, both of passengers and goods, involves considerable environmental drawbacks connected with energy consumption, emissions to the air, climate change, raw material consumption, etc. Both the authorities and the business community face considerable challenges as regards reducing the negative effects of increased transport and exploiting the potential of new technology.

Various ICT services can represent a substitute for transport, especially in the major urban areas. ICT supplements and reinforces, rather than replacing physical transport. Some examples are:

• Intelligent transport systems (ITS)
  which can contribute to a reduction in the environmental drawbacks connected with traffic.
• Teleworking, distance learning and video conferences are initiatives which can contribute to a reduction in traffic density, possibly reducing the rush hour problem.
• Investments in electronic infrastructure It is unclear to what degree investments in electronic infrastructure can be an alternative or supplement to investments in physical infrastructure (roads).

In the production pattern of the future, a number of today's products will be replaced by Internet based products or electronic products. For example, a video player can be replaced by video viewed on the Internet.

In the future, value creation will be connected to a higher degree to service and maintenance of the product, and less to its actual manufacture. In addition, the need for new raw materials will be reduced through the increased use of recycled materials and by "tailoring" the product for the individual consumer.

Some examples are:

Other examples

• "from books to bytes" (Internet versions of telephone directories, novels, etc.)
• from CD to MP3 (downloading music from the Internet)
• from photographs to electronic images
• from cheques to smart cards
• marketing by means of electronic images on PC and TV instead of packaging and display.

Case: Non-sustainable material consumption In connection with life-cycle analyses of the manufacture of PCs carried out by Wuppertal Institute in 1997/1998, the consumption of raw materials in the production of 486 PCs (each weighing 22 kg) was studied. The following results were obtained: -The consumption of raw materials per PC was between 16 and 19 tonnes (depending on the degree of utilisation), and the conclusion was that only about 0.1% of the physical mass which is involved in the manufacture of a PC is used in the actual product. A similar study carried out by IBM concluded with a figure of 1.4%. The studies emphasise the following central challenges: The material consumption in the manufacture of PCs The need for ecodesign and incentives which make recycling worthwhile.

ICT products and sustainable development
It is important to emphasise that in spite of the major challenges faced by the ICT industry in the environmental field, the ICT services also have considerable potential to be an important contributor in relation to sustainable development.

Sustainable development is an important, international political objective. The table below shows some of the most important elements in sustainable development and the way in which ICT services can contribute to the achievement of objectives with respect to these elements.

Sustainable development - elements	ICT services
Reduced energy consumption and transport requirements	E-mail Telefax Telephone calls Teleconferences Video conferences Teleworking E-business Telemedicine Telebanking Transport telematics
Reduced material consumption	E-mail "Bits instead of atoms" E-marketing/e-brochures Portable PCs Print, music and video on demand
Reduced emissions to air, water and soil	Environmental monitoring/control Transport telematics
Reduced waste	Electronic process control in industry E-mail
Reduced space requirements (e.g. storage space)	E-business
Strict awareness requirements	ICT based environmental accounting Internet based environmental accounting
Information requirements	Electronic information Internet based annual reports E-marketing/e-brochures
Acquisition of knowledge	Distance learning
Democracy - involvement	Electronic information

ICT services and the potential for environmental improvement?
The International Environmental Institute at Lund University in Sweden has carried out a comparison of some of the most frequently used ICT services in terms of their potential for environmental improvement (Arnfalk, 1998).

The following criteria were used:

• Potential
  The ICT service's potential for affecting the environment, based on possible positive effects.
• Realistic result
  An assessment of the ICT service's actual and probable environmental impact, including both positive and negative environmental aspects as well as any possible hindrances
• Association and measurability
  The positive environmental impact must be directly associated with the service and shall be measurable.

ICT products and services	Potential	Realistic result	Association and measurability	TOTAL
E-business (B2B)	3	2	3	8
Teleworking	3	3	2	8
E-mail	3	2	2.5	7.5
E-learning	2.5	2	2.5	7
Video conferences	3	2	2	7
Telephone conferences	2	2	2	6
E-business (B2C)	1.5	2.5	2	6
Telefax	1.5	2	1.5	5
Telephone calls	1.5	2	1	4.5

Amongst the ICT services which were studied, the results show that teleworking and e-business are considered to have the greatest potential for environmental improvement. The environmental potential of the following additional ICT services has also been assessed:

• Transport telematics
• Telemedicine
• Electronic conferences
• Electronic marketing
• Print, music and video on demand

The environmental potential of these is considered to be lower than for the services encompassed by the table above.

The use of ICT as an environmental tool
A range of ICT services can represent important tools in the work of reducing environmental impact.

For example, environmental monitoring can provide research establishments with increasingly better tools for assessing the environmental situation, whilst public administration acquires knowledge which can form the basis for shaping important fundamental conditions and agencies.

The following environmental tools are of interest:

• environmental monitoring by satellite
• remote control of energy consumption
• route planning/logistics
• correlation of environmental data
• dissemination of information (Internet), etc.

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