Many companies from the ICT sector have started to
emphasize green technological progress in various forms,
e.g., Google is a company that proudly emphasizes that its
electricity is increasingly based on renewables and the same
can be said about Deutsche Telekom AG whose network
operations fully rely on renewable energy since 2009; various industry initiatives, as well as governments in various
countries, have emphasized the opportunities of green ICT
programs. Since the ICT sector keeps expanding in most
countries of the world economy and since ICT is an enabling
technology that has had an impact in all sectors, it is quite
interesting to take a closer look at the potential that ICT
holds for achieving green economic long-term growth and
global sustainability, respectively. Moreover, various studies
have shown that ICT has considerably contributed to economic growth (Oliner and Sichel 2000; Audretsch and Welfens
2002; Khan and Santos 2007).
ICT accounts for a rising share of investment and research and development (R&D) in OECD countries and is
thus of particular relevance for growth, employment, structural change and economic competitiveness. ICT expanded
strongly in the 1990s when it became a major driver of
growth in the US, the EU and Asia. ICT essentially consists
of three pillars (EITO 2002, p. 454)
& Information technology, including IT services
& Telecommunications equipment
& Telecommunications services