Digitalisation and Sustainability Transformations

Thirty years after the invention of the World Wide Web, digitalisation has become ubiquitous. But along with their many benefits, digital technologies also present a variety of challenges and risks for both people and the environment. Although these risks are receiving growing attention from policymakers, citizens, and researchers, certain aspects remain underrepresented - for example, the environmental risks of digitalisation and the effects of changing supply chains.

Against this background, the research group "Digitalisation and Sustainability Transformations" studies the impact of digitalisation on industry and the economy as well as how digitalisation can support the socio-ecological transformation of the economy. Focal points of the research include the challenges and opportunities offered by the digitalisation of corporate sustainability management as well as the global impacts of the digital transformation on economic, environmental and social developments. Specific issues include the influence of digitally interconnected technologies on resource consumption in manufacturing and the transparent recording of companies' environmental impact. The overarching goal is to gain insight into the conditions under which global digitalisation can be carried out in a socio-ecologically just way.

The research group works on the digital and socio-ecological transformation as an interdisciplinary team, incorporating technological, economic, social and ecological perspectives. These are complemented by transdisciplinary methods for also including practitioners' knowledge. In addition to publications, the group generates potential courses of action for policymakers, business, and civil society, and carries out expert workshops and discussion events.