MitViDI

Digitalization is one of the dominating megatrends in our society, which has furthermore escalated due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. The potential effect on the environment is enormous, as it has been estimated that the positive effect that information and communication technology may have on greenhouse gases caused by humans, can be up to 90%. Simultaneously, the ICT-systems are responsible for a significant portion of the generated carbon footprint through their system’s electricity usage and the greenhouse gases emitted during production of the ICT-equipment.

The lack of suitable easy to use measurements or tools, makes it difficult to take the environmental factors into account while planning for public ICT procurements. This hinders the companies from proceeding with green innovation actions, as they do not have a way to highlight the sustainable development goals within ICT procurements. The aim of the MitViDi project is to develop an easy to use grading system, based on existing frameworks to support the public ICT procurements and to build and systematically develop a local Green ICT RDI triple-helix network in Southwest of Finland and in Southeast of Finland, and further build networks on national and international level.

Within the project, the main emphasis is laid on the easy to use of the results, encouraging ICT SMEs and organizations who assess procurements to be utilizing the results of the project. The easy to use factor is achieved by involving all parties in each part of the project, which is divided into four work packages.

In the first work package, the draft for the assessment framework is sketched based on the existing frameworks one the measurements presently used in the ICT SMEs and procurements organisations. In the second work package, the most useful and strong measurements are chosen by measuring the environmental burden for the existing systems within the public sector. Simultaneously, the assessment framework will be wrapped into a web-based tool.

The third work package will investigate how the assessment framework is best utilised in the procurements made in the public sector. One outcome of the work package will be a practical guidebook on how to use the assessment framework. In the fourth work package, a Green ICT-network will be developed to Southwest of Finland and to Southeast of Finland, which will be used as a channel for grounding the results achieved in the MitViDi- project, coordinate the development of coming projects, as well as involving local companies to work with the themes of the project via challenges thrown towards companies and hackathons.

Key partners

• Turku University of Applied Sciences
• LUT University
• Turku Science Park
• TIEKE Finnish Information Society Development Centre

Additional information

• Project home page (in Finnish)

Ask more

Tuomas Mäkilä
Assistant Professor
tuomas.makila@utu.fi
+358 40 541 8955