Can digital products be a solution to overproduction and environmental pollution? The planned Europe-wide initiative ECoDES wants to save our planet by reducing the consumption and production of physical products while kick-starting the creation of digital goods instead. Green data circles are supposed to help overcome specific challenges.
With the ever-increasing number of produced consumer goods, it is clear that we are heading towards the destruction of the only planet we currently have – overproduction is devouring resources and many of these goods end up in landfills sooner or later. Our best efforts at recycling are no longer enough to protect our environment – we need to do more and consume less.
Well applied digital products can offer a solution to this problem: Unlike physical goods, they usually consume less energy and resources in their production and use – and do not eventually end up as waste in landfills. This way, we can use reserves more sparingly and thus respect the natural limits of our planet.
Digital products for all
Until now, the production of digital products often required extensive IT experience and programming skills, so their distribution was often limited. The ECoDES project, in which the RSA FG is involved, aims to change this: The planned international project, coordinated by the University of Cambridge, aims to reduce the consumption and production of physical products while boosting the production of digital goods. A first more detailed explanation of the concept by the project coordinators is available as a video.
By providing an infrastructure that enables the creation of digital products even without programming skills, ECoDES enables a wider audience to participate in the digital industry. Green data circles are designed to help overcome sector-specific challenges and generate sustainable value from data. In this way, the project empowers, on the one hand, previously excluded actors in society and the economy. The more important impact, however, is the positive impact on our planet and environment. Traditional industries are often associated with pollution and a large carbon footprint. By shifting the economy to digital goods and creating innovative ecological solutions, we can drastically reduce our negative impact on the planet.