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Department of Informatics Informatics and Sustainability Research

Research of the ISR group

The ISR group combines methods from informatics, environmental science, social sciences, and technology assessment to explore how digital technologies can be designed and applied to make targeted contributions to Sustainable Development. This interdisciplinary research field is also known as "ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S)" or "sustainable digitalisation" and is getting increasing media attention. Our scientific contribution to the development of this field is documented by the published results. For a general introduction to the topic, you may watch the videos of this ICT4S summer school.

Our projects are structured in four thematic clusters:

Pathways to a Sustainable Digital Society

The digital transformation is changing our patterns of production and consumption. How can we assess these changes with regard to sustainable production and consumption? And how can we support the societal discourse on opportunities and risks of digital technologies?

Project Links

SKY The Sky Is the Limit? Ethical Acceptability of Autonomous Systems in Switzerland, 2023-2024 

Contact: Ning Wang

Project page

 

Pathways to Sufficiency (with Hamasil Stiftung and ZKSD Zurich Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development), 2022–2024

Contact: Jeannette Behringer

Project page 

The Digital Sharing Economy and Sustainability, 2018–2023

Project page

Article

D4S Digitalisation for Sustainability (with TU Berlin et al., Bosch Foundation), 2020–2022

D4S Expert Panel

Project page 

Final report 

Auswirkungen digitaler Produkte auf den Klimaschutz (with SWICO, Swisscleantech), 2022

Final report

Next generation mobile networks – Problem or solution for climate protection? (with Empa, Swisscom, Swisscleantech), 2020

Final report
Final article

Newspaper article

Wenn Algorithmen für uns entscheiden: die Herausforderungen der künstlichen Intelligenz (with Markus Christen, Clemens Mader, Empa, et al.; TA-SWISS), 2018–2020

Final report

Using a Time Use Approach to Understand the Impact of Digitalization on the Energy Intensity of Lifestyles, 2016–2020

Article

Final PhD thesis

Opportunities and Risks of Digitalization for Climate Protection in Switzerland (with WWF, Swisscom), 2017

Final report

Modelling and Simulation for Sustainability

Computer-based modelling and simulation methods have been used for decades to improve the understanding of complex systems, from early socio-economic "System Dynamics" models to models of social metabolism (Material-Flow Analysis, MFA) and Agent-Based Models (ABM). How can we apply and improve these methods to support education, systems thinking and decision-making for sustainability? 

Project Links

Agent-Based Modelling of the Diffusion of Food-Safety Related Information Among Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania (ZKSD Zurich Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development), 2022–2024

Contact: Matthias Huss

Project page 

News

Post-fossil Cities: Developing a simulation game to find pathways to the post-fossil Swiss city (SNF NRP 73, with Empa, NTNU Trondheim, UCS Zurich), 2018–2022

Project page

Project page (SNF)

Article

An Agent-based Model of Wood Markets in Switzerland (SNF NRP 66, with Stefan Holm, Empa and WSL), 2012–2018

 

Main article

Final PhD thesis

DPMFA: Dynamic Probabilistic Material Flow Modelling (with Nikolaus Bornhöft, Empa), 2012–2017

Main article

Final PhD thesis

Article (2021)

Computational frameworks to increase effectiveness and efficiency of data collection in Life Cycle Assessment (with Jürgen Reinhard, Empa), 2012-2017

Final PhD thesis

Exploring the Effects of ICT on Environmental Sustainability: From Life Cycle Assessment to Complex Systems Modeling (with Mohammad Achachlouei, KTH Stockholm), 2011-2015

 

Main article

Final PhD thesis

Supporting Sustainable Development with Data and Tools


Data and software tools supporting discourse and decision-making provide great opportunities for sustainable development. How can we exploit big data, machine learning and interactive tools for sustainable development?

Project Links

LOTA: Landscape of Opinions for Technology Assessment – A method and a software tool to support participatory Technology Assessment processes (with Clemens Mader, Empa, and David Pinezich), 2019–2023

Contact: Lorenz Hilty

Journal article

Application in TA-SWISS project

SafeConsume: Change consumer behavior to reduce exposure to hazards and decrease risk through effective and convenient tools and products, information strategies, education, and inclusive food safety policy (EU Horizon 2020, with 32 partners in 14 countries), 2018–2022

Project page

Food Price Volatility: Political Causes, Effects on Hunger and Poverty, Sustainable Solutions (SNIS, with CCRS, ETHZ, Helvetas, University of Berne, UN-FAO, DEZA), 2016

Project page

Journal article

Media article

 

The Footprint of Digital Technologies


Digital technologies have made enormous progress in energy efficiency and miniaturization. Because the ICT sector has been growing even faster than the resource efficiency of its technology, the overall footprint of data centers, network infrastructure and end-user devices is still increasing in term of energy, material resources and CO2 emissions. How can we measure and reduce the footprint of ICT?

Project Links

LIFESAVING: Extending the lifespan of mobile devices (NRP 73, with ZHAW)01.06.2019–31.08.2022

Project page

Article

Final article

Sources of Variation in the Life Cycle Assessment of Smartphones and Tablets (with Louis-Philippe Clément and Quentin Jacquemotte, University of Namur), 2018–2020

Final article

Newspaper article (Le Monde 2023)

Sustainable Software Design: Developing Criteria for Resource-efficient Software (with Leuphana University of Lüneburg, University of Applied Sciences Trier, German Environment Agency), 2013–2018

Article
Press release

Final report 

Critical Metals in Electronic Equipment: A methodology to model end-user stocks and flows (with Esther Thiébaud, Empa and TU Clausthal), 2012–2017

Article

Final PhD thesis

Green Software: Optimizing software development and deployment for resource conservation (with Empa, IZT Berlin, Borderstep Institute, German Environment Agency), 2012-2015 

Final report

Measuring the Energy Consumption of the Internet (with Empa, SWITCH, Cisco), 2009–2013

Main article

Methods article

Weiterführende Informationen