Author: Rohracher, Harald

Source: International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, Volume 6, Number 6, 30 December 2006 , pp. 539-552(14)

Publisher: Inderscience Publishers

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the sustainability of residential buildings. While ICT can contribute to improving building energy efficiency (e.g., energy management systems) there are also plausible scenarios of an increasing energy demand triggered by ICT use. The main argument of this paper is that harnessing the sustainability potentials of ICT in buildings is largely a matter of social and institutional embedding and is not determined by the characteristics of this technology. The paper argues that the strategic management of technological change towards sustainability means providing sufficient scope for a co-evolution of configurations of technology, services and patterns of usage by allowing users and designers to interact at the early stage of product development. Examples for the organisation of such a process are drawn from a research project in Austria.

Keywords: ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALS; Environment and Sustainable Development

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJETM.2006.011896

Affiliations: 1: IFZ Inter-University Research Centre for Technology Work and Culture, Schlogelgasse 2, A-8010 Graz, Austria

Publication date: 2006-12-30

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• The objectives of the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management are to establish an effective channel of communication between policy-makers, government agencies, academics and research institutions, and professionals working in the field, and to provide a forum for them to disseminate information and to learn from each other's work. The international dimension is emphasised in order to overcome cultural and national barriers and to meet the needs of accelerating technological change and changes in the global economy.
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