Planet Earth has a problem, a big problem. The planet’s finite resources are overburdened by the unceasing demands of overconsumption. Fortunately, there is an antidote to the problem: sustainable development, a concept that has taken root and is gaining acceptance at all levels, from the international political structure to the corporate world to the grassroots. Thanks to a variety of technological advances affecting everything from power consumption to product identification, information and communications technologies (ICT) could very well play a pivotal role in the ultimate attainment of a sustainable planet. The core goal of sustainable development is to shift the world’s economic mindset from the “take make-waste” philosophy to the so-called triple bottom line–a new paradigm in which value is derived from economic, societal, and environmental benefits working in synergy to achieve balanced growth and prosperity within a renewable framework. ICT contributes to this shift by enabling alternatives to current ways of doing business that allow win-win-win scenarios characterized by healthy economic returns in harmony with concomitant societal and environmental benefits. Whether it’s automating our infrastructural networks or streamlining communications, digitizing electricity or selling functionality, telecommuting or reducing inventories, ICT is the basis for a stunning breadth of new technologies that could lead to more sustainable commerce
