2014/03/11 by Reza Farrahi Moghaddam, Moghaddam, Reza Farrahi, Fereydoun Farrahi Moghaddam +9
Business, Management and Accounting · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #Environmental Impact and Sustainability #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Green IT and Sustainability #Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC) #Recycling and Waste Management Techniques #Sustainable Supply Chain Management
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1403.2798
openalex publication_date 2014/03/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this work, three of many ICT-specific challenges of LCA are discussed.\nFirst, the inconsistency versus uncertainty is reviewed with regard to the\nmeta-technological nature of ICT. As an example, the semiconductor technologies\nare used to highlight the complexities especially with respect to energy and\nwater consumption. The need for specific representations and metric to\nseparately assess products and technologies is discussed. It is highlighted\nthat applying product-oriented approaches would result in abandoning or\ndisfavoring of new technologies that could otherwise help toward a better\nworld. Second, several believed-untouchable hot spots are highlighted to\nemphasize on their importance and footprint. The list includes, but not limited\nto, i) User Computer-Interfaces (UCIs), especially screens and displays, ii)\nNetwork-Computer Interlaces (NCIs), such as electronic and optical ports, and\niii) electricity power interfaces. In addition, considering cross-regional\nsocial and economic impacts, and also taking into account the marketing nature\nof the need for many ICT's product and services in both forms of hardware and\nsoftware, the complexity of End of Life (EoL) stage of ICT products,\ntechnologies, and services is explored. Finally, the impact of smart management\nand intelligence, and in general software, in ICT solutions and products is\nhighlighted. In particular, it is observed that, even using the same\ntechnology, the significance of software could be highly variable depending on\nthe level of intelligence and awareness deployed. With examples from an\ninterconnected network of data centers managed using Dynamic Voltage and\nFrequency Scaling (DVFS) technology and smart cooling systems, it is shown that\nthe unadjusted assessments could be highly uncertain, and even inconsistent, in\ncalculating the management component's significance on the ICT impacts.\n