Why this challenge?

Digital technologies are everywhere around us: smartphones, computers, big data, communication networks, digital documents, video calls, artificial intelligence. We use them without asking: what do they cost the planet? And we often assume, that doing things “digitally” is more environmentally friendly. Indeed, keeping an electronic document instead of printing it on paper saves trees. And doing a business call via zoom instead of flying reduces carbon emissions. This does not mean that digital technologies do not have an environmental footprint. Our digital lives really cost the earth and impact both human and non-human life. Making smartphones require extensive mining for rare metals. Their production is done by underpaid works, and often in extremely poor conditions. Phones, computers, and other electronics create a huge amount of toxic e-waste. And all the information created by computers, the internet, and artificial intelligence, use a tremendous amount of electricity. Photos, emails, and other data, do not live on a “cloud”, but is stored in data centres, that contribute massively to carbon and heat emissions. What’s worse, these environmental harms are affecting people differently. While most consumption of digital technologies and communication is taking place in the “Global North”, mining and toxic e-waste are located in the “Global South”. And those working on assemblage, service and disposal of digital technologies, in both locations, are strongly affected by poverty, racism and other forms of injustice.

Themes and Teams

We are working across politics, sociology, fashion, SODA, natural sciences, business school, engineering, computing, and operations and events management. 

Each team will examine perceptions of, and attitudes towards environmental harms of digital technologies among one of the following groups:

• students and young people
• policy makers
• industry and supply chain
• textiles and fashion
• SMEs including business managers and technologists

Key Dates

• March – April : registration and completing  the preparatory research intensives (see below)
• May – June: meeting the team and carrying out research 
• June 10^th: presenting initial findings at the Digital society and the Environment workshop
• June 13-17: preparing project report, getting ready for “Imagining Alternatives –A Hackathon about Sustainable and Just Digital Futures”
• June 21^st : Hackathon
• June 30^th Grand Challenge ends.