Sustainability in the digital transformation

Sustainability is increasingly emerging as a high priority on the agenda for digital transformation. The ongoing digital transformation has connectivity, communication systems and AI as fundamental drivers as they contribute to the holistic development of individuals, communities, industries, and societies and they play a central role in the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) in the Vision 2030. The UN has further proclaimed access to the Internet as a basic human right and has said that the SDGs cannot be achieved without affordable access to the Internet by everyone.

We view sustainability in a broad context, similar to what the UN has done, including environmental as well as social and economic sustainability. Focus will be on the role of three sets of key enablers in digital transformation addressing the SDGs: a) Privacy, trust, cybersecurity in communication systems enabling social inclusion; b) IoT, Cloud and edge computing as enabler for sustainability in the economy leading to circularity and new business models; and c) Digitalization, ICTs and AI as key enabler of environmental sustainability, including sustainable energy production and consumption.

We welcome papers and presentations that explore the research area related to sustainability in Digital Transformation with respect to:

• The broad social impact in both developed and developing countries
• Environmental impacts
• The economic impact
• The key technologies
• New architectures
• The need for and gaps in regulation
• The requirement of new skills and capabilities
• New standards and interoperability issues
• Innovation and business models