ShapingDIT

The upcoming years till 2030 are setting the course for substantial progress in climate protection, reducing the consumption of resources and preserving biodiversity. At the same time, the digital transformation is changing everyday life, the interactions within society, and the economic value chains by introducing new technologies, applications, and business models. It is opening new doors – however, still being the driver for accelerating unsustainable behaviors and economic activities with tremendous negative environmental impacts. High time to combine both sustainability and the digital transformation and view them as one integrated task, as a "twin transition", as the European Commission demands it.

In this context the project participants want to identify the specific potentials of digitalization to drive the sustainability transformation. Putting the focus on three exemplary areas of Circular Economy, Mobility and Agriculture & Nutrition, the project investigates the potential impact of digital solutions on changing behavioral patterns of stakeholders, incentive systems, market structures and business models as prerequisites for transformative changes towards sustainability and climate protection. Furthermore, it is considered how the digital transformation itself, i.e. its technologies, infrastructures and business models can be designed to minimise its environmental impacts and negative side effects. The analysis is complemented by a series of stakeholder events aiming at deepening the discussion and substantiating the course of action.