Action Plan for a
Sustainable Planetin the Digital AgeThis publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit services without special permission fromthe copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. The citation is: Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability(CODES). 2022. Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6573509.
No use of this publication may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing fromthe Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the
reproduction, should be addressed to CODES@UN.ORG
Disclaimers
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on
the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory or city or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its
frontiers or boundaries.
Mention of a commercial company or product in this document does not imply endorsement by the United Nations, collaborating organizationsor the authors and contributors. The use of information from this document for publicity or advertising is not permitted. Trademark names andsymbols are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement on trademark or copyright laws.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. We regret any
errors or omissions that may have been unwittingly made.
© Maps, photos and illustrations as specified.
Acknowledgements
This Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age has been developed through a global consultation and co-design process by the
Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) as a follow-up to the Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
It represents a synthesis of inputs from the contributors listed in the Annex.

Executive Summary
Digitalization – the use and adoption of digital technologies– is driving massive economic, social and environmental
changes. The future of humanity and the health of planet
Earth depend to a large extent on how we undergo this
digital transformation. We have an opportunity to drive thistransformation in a manner that helps build a healthier,safer, cleaner and more equitable future, rather than one
of exacerbated environmental degradation, inequality andsocial division. However, achieving global sustainability is
not an inevitable or an obvious outcome of digitalization.
Indeed, digital technologies, through their energy andmaterial requirements and influence on consumer demands,
have accelerated the exponential rise of the human impact
on the natural environment that now threatens the resilienceof our ecological systems, alongside worsening societal
inequalities and escalating social injustice.1 Digitalization
has the potential to help transform society and businessmodels to a more sustainable and equitable world but only
if there is a conscious and deliberate effort to steer it in that
direction. This Action Plan offers a vision on three systemic
shifts needed to achieve this goal together with a set of 9
Impact Initiatives to spark immediate collective action andmulti-stakeholder collaboration.

01

02

Coalition for Digital
Environmental Sustainability(CODES)
The Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES), is an international multi-stakeholder
alliance created in March 2021 in response to the UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital
Cooperation. CODES’ purpose is to advance digital sustainability, understood as the design,development, deployment and regulation of digital technologies to accelerate environmentally andsocially sustainable development while mitigating risks and unintended consequences.2 CODES is
specifically striving to reorient and prioritize the application of digital technologies to meet the 2030
sustainable development agenda and to achieve the multiple global environmental agreementsthat have been adopted by UN Member States. Digitalization will be crucial in achieving the UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. An assessment in 2020 found 70 per cent of
169 targets base-lining the world’s sustainability goals can be positively influenced using digitaltechnology applications.3,4 This requires facilitating collective action that can lead to systemictransformation and to removal of barriers and perverse incentives that undermine the adoption or
scaling of digital technologies for sustainability.
To date, CODES is the only entity of its scale and credibility to undertake and progress this mandate,and is uniquely positioned to facilitate this work. CODES offers an inclusive trans-national platformbacked by the impartiality of the UN, where key global stakeholders across governments, private
sector, academia, and civil society convene and align to forge the collective action needed to makedigitalization itself sustainable and to harness digital innovations for sustainability.
The founding co-champions of CODES include the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Science Council, the German
Environment Agency, the Kenya Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Future Earth, and Sustainability
in the Digital Age. The co-champions act as the Secretariat for CODES in close coordination andcooperation with the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology.

03

CODES Action Plan
The CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age marks the 50th anniversary of
the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and the establishment of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) set-up to promote global environmental sustainability. The goalof the Action Plan is to offer a vision and set of priorities to advance digital sustainability through aseries of multi-stakeholder Impact Initiatives that require collective action and collaboration.
As a result of a consultative process over the past 12 months, this Action Plan describes 3 systemic
shifts and 6 strategic priorities within each shift that are needed to harness digital transformation
as a positive and exponential force for progressing environmentally and socially sustainable
development (see Figure A). This is followed by a set of 9 global Impact Initiatives as actionable
items with measurable targets that have the potential to trigger systems-level or sector-leveltransformations through multi-stakeholder collaboration at the regional and global scales (see Table).
This Action Plan is meant to inform the emerging set of priorities for the Global Digital Compact
proposed by the UN Secretary-General’s latest report “Our Common Agenda”, which calls for a newlandscape of digital governance and collaboration. It will also contribute to the long term legacy
initiatives of the Stockholm +50 conference. The contents of this Action Plan have also been
designed to inform on-going deliberations in the UN Environment Assembly, the UN Human Rights
Council, the International Telecommunications Union and by the UN Development Programme
linked to digital transformation and the recognized human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment.5
This Action Plan is being published with two supplements. The first supplement “Accelerating
Sustainability Through Digital Transformation - Use Cases and Innovations” includes a number ofuse cases and innovations on digital sustainability on policies, partnerships and applications. The
second supplement “Mapping Global and Regional Stakeholders Working on Digital Sustainability”
includes an ongoing mapping of key international and regional stakeholders against the three shifts
and 6 priorities within each shift. These supplements are living documents that will be continuously
updated on www.sparkblue.org/CODES.
04

Three Systemic Shifts
and Priorities

e
lB
as
ria
Ma
te

ce
Th & Sin ys
kin teg mEnergy &Emissions

cting
Conne tions
rma
Transfoienlita ies
Dig tenc
pe

m
Co

Sc

um

s

Pioneering
Coalitions

Sus
tai
na

gi

ta

ra t e I n n o v a t iondge
Knowle sonComm

Cir Sust
cu ainlaraEc ble
on
om
y

c ele

n for Sus

n
t ai

M

Digital Divide

ts V

iolat

ions

G
Ju reenst , DTr ig
an itasit l,
ionenc s
rna ghve rouGo akth
Bre

a n
et wi
an al T
l
P it
g
Di

Ac

a ti oSustainabConsum le
ption

ry

li z

tion

rma

o
isinf

Righ

ab

ili

Di

&
ms
Nor ards
d
Stan

es
ctiv
e
j
Ob

ty

EnableAlignme
Vision V
Align
alu
es

D
Mult igital
ilate
ralis
m

C

Mi
tig

e Impacts
ativ
eg
eN
alization
at
igit
eD
bl

nt

s
on

n

io

pt

Figure A: Three Shifts and 18 Strategic Priorities to Achieve a Sustainable Planetin the Digital Age. These shifts and priorities were identified by CODES stakeholders
through a 12 month consultation and co-creation process. To catalyze these shifts,
CODES stakeholders recommended nine global Impact Initiatives requiring collective
action and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
05

SHIFT 2

SHIFT 1CODES Impact Initiatives
1. World Commission on
Sustainability in the
Digital Age

Undertake new research and/or leverage existing bodies
of research to provide science-driven recommendations
on accelerating sustainability in the digital age.

2. Clearing House for
Digital Sustainability
Standards

Platform to co-define key standards for digitalsustainability and offer a clearing house, taking into
account the recommendations put forward by the World
Commission and other bodies.

3. Education for
Digital Sustainable
Development

Decentralized approach to develop literacy andeducation programmes on digital sustainability that areneeds based, localized and contextualized.

4. Harmonization of
Digital Companies’
GHG Inventories

New international platform(s) to facilitate
harmonization, interoperability and adoption of
GHG inventories and reporting standards for digitalcompanies, products and services.

5. Sustainable
Procurement
and Green Digital
Infrastructure Pledge

International framework to enable standardization andharmonization of sustainable procurement principles
and green digital infrastructure across governments
and corporations.

6. Digital ProductPassport for Circularity

Initiate the design and development of standards andpilot testing for digital product passports that track aproduct’s climate, environmental, and social impacts
throughout the value chain.

Digital Sustainability
Innovation Hubs andAccelerators

Global network of connected and collaborative
Innovation Hubs to accelerate digital sustainability
innovations and offer real-world laboratories andscaling opportunities for digital sustainability solutions.

8. Data and Assessments
as Digital Public Goods
for Sustainability

Open global standards and governance frameworks forenvironment and climate data, as digital public goods,
to drive sustainability assessments, global stock taking
and decision-making.

9. Decentralized
Financing of
Sustainable Solutions

Decentralized financing and matchmaking forsustainability solutions, including crowdfunding,payment for ecosystem services, sustainability filters,
algorithms, etc.

SHIFT 37.

06

CODES Engagement Pathways
The founding co-champions of CODES collectively initiate and engage in multi-stakeholder
consultations to pool academic, policy and industry-oriented knowledge from across the public
and private entities, civil society and indigenous groups on advancing digital sustainability. CODES
aims to conduct collective intelligence and co-creation processes with stakeholders as the basis forcollective action, with an emphasis on diversity, inclusion and gender balance.
To date, the CODES co-champions have mapped over 240 stakeholders working on digitalsustainability at the global and regions levels and have engaged over 1,000 people from 100
countries working on the digital transformation and sustainability nexus.
CODES stakeholders are invited to join and collaborate with CODES through 3, intersecting
engagement pathways.
•

Catalyser: Stakeholders seeking to engage directly with one or more of the Impact Initiatives thatare proposed in the Action Plan or future iterations.

•

Action Network: Stakeholders contributing to and leveraging the 3 shifts proposed in the Action
Plan to support the progression of digital sustainability.

•

Advocates: Stakeholders seeking to contribute their expertise to the CODES community andbecome an advocate for the CODES vision and values.

Catalyzers of
Impact Initiatives
Implement the Impact
Initiatives of the ActionPlan→ Reporting→ Advisory Board

1

CODES
Community on
SparkBlue
Three engagement
pathways supported bywww.sparkblue.org/
CODES

3

Advocate
Join the CODES
Community of Practice→ Expert contributions
and advocacy

07

2

Action Network
Register as a CODES
Stakeholder to support
digital sustainability→ Contribute to andapply 3 Shifts

08Table of Contents
Executive Summary										011.

2.

Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES)				

03

CODES Action Plan									

04Three Systemic Shifts and Priorities							

05CODES Impact Initiatives								

06CODES Engagement Pathways								

07Overview: A Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age				10What’s at Stake 									

10The Challenge and the Opportunity							

11The Action Plan - Seizing the Opportunity						

13Three Shifts for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age				16Shift 1: Enable Alignment - Aligning vision, values, and objectives 		17

Shift 2: Mitigate Negative Impacts - Ensure sustainable digitalization		20

Shift 3: Accelerate Innovation - Directing innovation efforts toward 		

24

Impact Initiatives for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age			28

Key Messages										

28Impact Initiatives									

29Pathways to engage in the CODES Action Plan					37of the digital age with sustainable development

to mitigate negative environmental and social impacts
digital sustainability
3.

4.

Annexures										38Annex I: Stakeholder Mapping								

39Annex II: Summary of Digital Transformation needs					

49References										56Contributors									Supplemental materials to this Action Plan include:•

Supplement 1: Accelerating Sustainability Through Digital Transformation Use Cases and Innovations.

•

Supplement 2: Mapping Global and Regional Stakeholders Working on
Digital Sustainability
0960

Overview: A Sustainable Planet in
the Digital Age
What’s at Stake
In 2015 the international community set itself 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
which are to serve as a common vision and action agenda for all countries until the year 2030.6 They
are intended to promote human dignity, the protection of the planet, peace and prosperity for all, andto promote global partnerships. However, the SDGs 2020 Progress Report shows that the world is
not on track to achieve these goals by 2030.7 The current trajectory of the triple planetary crises ofclimate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, threatens to take us beyond the limits of the earth’s
capacity to sustain human society at near to present levels of social or individual wellbeing.8 The
resulting environmental crises are already being felt across the world. We now have less than ten
years to achieve the SDGs, and the reality is that we will not achieve these goals by 2030 withoutmajor systems transformation. While we grapple with this understanding, digital technologies andcapabilities are rapidly accelerating, with the potential to either hinder our ability to achieve the SDGs
or facilitate the speed and scale of change needed.
There is a foundational sustainability question about whether humankind is capable of directing
digital change for a civilizational shift towards a renewed humanism. Are we able to realize andsafeguard the idea of human rights, liberal freedoms, science, rule of law, and democracy against
totalitarian temptation, surveillance capitalism and human enhancement? This is an ethicalendeavour that needs broad discourse and public response. What are the implications for emerging
digital governance patterns that could challenge our current system of sovereign nation states? Will
privacy, trust, deliberation and democratic procedures be undermined or are we heading towards
civic empowerment and a transnational ‘Earth system consciousness’? These are big questions, butthey are imprinted in every step we take forward in further developing our digital infrastructure: how
we generate and operate data, how we nudge for sustainable lifestyles, how we build transparent
supply chains with safeguards, how we share knowledge, how we provide access to basic services
and breakthrough technologies, how we strengthen democracy or how we as human beings define
our relationship to nature. The global community needs to invest in inclusive fora and frameworks todeliberate, assess, govern and take collective action on these issues. Scientifically driven and sociallyembedded anticipatory assessment processes and foresight should support this endeavour.
The implications of the digital divide sit at the heart of these fundamental questions. There exist
deep inequalities in the accessibility and availability of digital rights and services and a wide gap
between the digitally connected and unconnected. According to data from the ITU, approximately 4.9
billion people – or 63 per cent of the world’s population – used the Internet in 2021.9 This represents
an increase of 17 per cent since 2019, with 782 million people estimated to have come online duringthat period. Of the 2.9 billion people off-line, 96 per cent live in developing countries. Indeed, the WEF
Global Risks report for 2021 listed “digital power concentration” and “digital inequality” as number
6 and 7 on the critical short-term threat list – both representing a clear and present danger to socialand political stability (see CODES Action Plan Supplement 1, Box 1).10 If digital capacities are to beleveraged for global environmental and social sustainability, the digital divide needs to be closed in asustainable and equitable manner.
10The Challenge and the Opportunity
The UN Secretary Generals’ Roadmap for Digital Cooperation makes a number of key observations
about the challenges and opportunities between digital technology and the evolution of society as
captured by the following sentiment:“

Digital technology is shaping history. But there is also thesense that it is running away with us. Where will it take us? Will our
dignity and rights be enhanced or diminished? Will our societies
become more equal or less equal? Will we become more, or less,secure and safe? The answers to these questions depend on ourability to work together across disciplines and actors, acrossnations and political divides. We have a collective responsibility togive direction to these technologies so that we maximize benefits
and curtail unintended consequences and malicious use.
António Guterres, UN Secretary General”

Photo: Eskinder Debebe / UN Photo

We are witnessing fundamental shifts in how different economic sectors define, create, anddistribute value. Digital capabilities are disrupting most economic sectors including water,
agriculture, energy, transport, cities and buildings (see Supplement 1, Boxes 2-8). New trans-sectoral
and trans-national business models and marketplaces are emerging with often unforeseen or opaquesocial and environmental consequences.11 New dimensions of cost optimizations, operational
efficiencies, and extremely fast and cheap expansions of products and services, incentivized by rapid
growth and profit are accelerating unsustainable lifestyles and values. At least 1.5 billion people
consume products and services through e-commerce platforms,12 and 60 per cent of the global
population is anticipated to engage with social media by mid-2022 - roughly 4.6 billion.13 In 2021,
global media advertising spending grew by almost 22% to reach a high of $710 billion, with digitalformats now representing 62% of total advertising sales.14 The transition to a digital economy under
the current “business as usual” paradigm will increasingly enable and accelerate operating models,values and consumption behaviours that are not in line with the SDGs.
The digital sector itself is energy and materials-intensive. According to some estimates, the shareof the global carbon footprint of digital gadgets, the internet and the systems supporting them is 2.3
per cent, roughly the same as global air travel.15,16 As the world prepares for increasingly decentralizedinternet models like Web 3.0, reliance on energy-intensive technologies like blockchain and AI
computing could also increase. In terms of material demands, globally, the world produces as muchas 50 million tons of electronic e-waste a year, while only 17.4 per cent of this e-waste is recycled.17
In order to meet the high demand for hardware, extraction of rare earth elements and other precious
metals like cobalt and lithium is increasing steadily with important geopolitical implications.
Addressing these challenges is more possible than ever before. We can collectively choose to build
a future in which digital technologies accelerate and scale environmental and social sustainability,
underpin sustainable economies, and empower citizens and local communities. However,accelerating sustainability with digital technologies will not happen without deliberate decisions.
Indeed, if governed effectively and reflexively, the emerging digital products, services, platforms
and business models can help address and unlock many of the systemic level barriers and perverse
incentives that have inhibited sustainable markets, behaviours and lifestyles from scaling.
11The Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) is a multi-stakeholder alliance
formed as a follow-up to the UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. Its
mission is to facilitate the needed cooperation to leverage digital transformation as a positive andexponential force for progressing environmentally and socially sustainable development, while
mitigating risks and unintended consequences. The CODES Action Plan, generated through a
global multi-stakeholder co-creation process with the CODES community over the past 12 months,
calls for 3 systemic shifts and 6 strategic priorities across each shift that are needed to accelerateenvironmentally and socially sustainable development through digital transformation pathways. Thisis followed by a set of 9 global Impact Initiatives as actionable items and measurable targets thatcan be undertaken to consolidate and coordinate existing efforts to catalyse the 3 shifts during the2022-2025 time-frame. These Initiatives have the potential to trigger systems-level or sector-leveltransformations through multi-stakeholder collaboration at the regional and global scales. They will
require a massive, coordinated effort across actor groups, digital value chains, services, platforms
and within business models. Thus redefining the ecological, social and economic objectives that arenecessary for a sustainable planet in the digital age.

Definitions of Key Terms
Digital economy: The global network of economic and social activities that are enabled bydigital technologies, such as the internet, mobile technology and internet of things (IoT).18,19
Digital sector: Combination of manufacturing and service industries whose primary purpose
is to both create and sell digital technology products, services or solutions.20,21
Digitalization: Use of digital technologies to turn products and services into a digital format
to drive efficiency and innovation.22,23
Digital transformation: Systems-level economic, societal and environmental transformations
triggered as a result of digitalization.24
Digital sustainability: The design, development, deployment and regulation of digitaltechnologies to secure sustainable economic, environmental and social development.25,26,27,28
In the CODES Action Plan, this refers to an overarching aim, embodying all 3 shifts of the
Action Plan.
Sustainable digitalization: Digital infrastructures, software and applications that are socially
responsible, ethical and environmentally sustainable throughout their lifecycle.29,30 In the
CODES Action Plan, this refers to shift 2 and the 6 related strategic priorities.
Digitalization for sustainability: Digital innovation that seeks to proactively enable,
accelerate and scale environmentally and socially sustainable development.31,32 In the
CODES Action Plan, this refers to shift 3 and the 6 related strategic priorities.
Corporate digital responsibility: A set of practices and behaviours that help an organizationuse data and digital technologies in ways that are perceived as socially, economically, andenvironmentally responsible.33

12

The Action Plan: Seizing the Opportunity
There appears to be emerging political will to address digital ethics, norms and governance as
expressed in initiatives including, among others, the UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital
Cooperation, 34 Our Common Agenda, 35 and the planned Global Digital Compact. There is now an
opportunity for increased agility in the governance and execution of these initiatives that reflects thepace of change of digital advancements and a deeper sense of urgency to consolidate intersecting
priorities and solicit collective multilateral stakeholder agreements. This must be accompanied
by a set of priorities for advancing environmentally and socially sustainable development within arenewed social contract for the digital age.
The vision for this Action Plan is therefore to establish actionable impact initiatives that will
enable environmental and social sustainability to be firmly encoded in the global digitalization
efforts. The CODES community has collectively identified 3 major shifts that must be addressed forthis vision to be realized. Strategic priorities to catalyse these three shifts are described in detail in
Section 2 of this Action Plan. Important overarching messages and actionable Impact Initiatives toadvance the strategic priorities are summarized in Section 3. The aim is to encourage the expansionof existing efforts, intersecting and coordinating parallel initiatives and catalysing new efforts. This
also includes integration of the shifts and strategic priorities in relevant international processes
such as the UN Environment Assembly, Stockholm +50 and the planned Global Digital Compact(Figure 1). The target audience includes national and local governments, policy makers, internationalorganizations, private sector companies, civil society, academia, and the science community.
The first shift that is needed is to align the visions, values and objectives of digital capabilities
with those of environmentally and socially sustainable development. Greater commitments tosustainability require shifts in values and norms that drive a transition beyond profit towards positivesocial and environmental outcomes. The mindset of maximizing shareholder value must evolve to a
new set of values focusing on transparency, accountability and inclusive stakeholder engagement.
A shared set of sustainability values and standards must be encoded into the design, development
and deployment of digital products, services, platforms and business models. Enabling such a shift
requires connecting communities, building digital competencies, embedding both science and thearts, advancing multilateral action, building pioneering coalitions, and adopting norms and standards.
The second shift is to ensure inherently sustainable digitalization. We must confront the paradoxthat increased reliance on digital technologies comes at an environmental cost. Indeed, digitalizationis encouraging unsustainable consumption, causing environmental impacts across supply chains,
increasing demands on energy and resources, entrenching and exacerbating social divides,
amplifying misinformation, dislocating labour markets, exacerbating inequality within and between
societies, and consolidating the power of the few over the many (see Supplement 1, Box 1)36 This shift
requires a focus on six problem areas entrenched in digitalization: energy and emissions, materials,
consumption behaviours, misinformation, digital divides and rights violations.
The third shift is to direct and incentivize innovations towards digitalization for sustainability.
Digital technology and innovation, if driven inclusively and with intention, can empower government,
businesses, communities and individuals to make decisions and take action that can enable
planetary sustainability and equitable human development. Digital transformations across sectors
and scales must be actively guided through conscious choices and values. Shift 3 requires six
suggested areas of innovation that must be intentionally incentivized to support digitalization
for sustainability. These include building a digital twin of the planet, enabling a circular economy,
supporting sustainable consumption, enabling a knowledge commons, creating networked and agile
13

governance and prioritizing digital technologies that catalyse the transition to a green, just economy
for the whole of society.
The contents of this Action Plan are based on a series of open dialogues and collective intelligenceprocesses undertaken with over 1000 stakeholders. This co-creation process involved structured
round-tables, a global conference, online consultations and collective intelligence exercises, andinternational events, including at the UN General Assembly and the UN Environment Assembly (seeFigure 2). The process captured a diverse range of views, experiences and priorities from stakeholdersin over 100 countries and from across multiple major stakeholder groups. These inputs have beensynthesized by the co-champions of CODES in close collaboration with the Office of the UN Secretary
General’s Envoy on Technology within the framework of the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
As the digital age unfolds, it must become the responsibility of governments at all levels to ensure
the availability of digital infrastructure and to catalyse and incentivize the use of digital products
and services to create social, economic and ecological benefits. Furthermore, governments muststrengthen the standards and open source communities that provide the technologies which enable
those products, services and the digital transformation at large. This must go hand in hand withpaying due attention to trust building, transparency and the protection of human and civil rights
as part of the digital governance framework. Cooperation is needed to ensure uniformity of intent
behind key legislation, regulations and policies given the global reach of digital products, services
and platforms and the existence of international businesses operating in multiple geographies. It isalso equally clear that action cannot be undertaken by governments acting alone. Success depends
on deep collaboration within and between international organizations, the global science community,
arts and open technology communities, all levels of government, civil society, the private sector anddigital-native companies.

2015

Sustainable
Development
Goals (SDGs)

2021

Roadmap for
DigitalCooperation

2022

2022

The Secretary
GeneralCommonAgendaUNEA-5.2
Stockholm+50

2023

Summit of the
Future2024

UNEA-6

Figure 1: International processes that anchor the CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the
Digital Age. Three main international processes served as the catalyzing force for the CODES Action
Plan including the SDGs, the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the Secretary General’s Common
Agenda. The CODES Action Plan has been designed to influence three major processes going
forward including Stockholm +50, the Summit of the Future and Global Digital Compact and the 6th
UN Environment Assembly.
14

First CODES Roundtableto generate feedback for
the Action Plan

CODES
Launch31 MAR
2021

31 MAR
2021

7 MAY
2021

7–21
MAY
2021

Online consultationand feedback process

Debate of the UN General
Assembly on Digital
Cooperation and Connectivity
Online consultationand feedback process
7 FEB
2022

Second CODES
Roundtable togenerate feedback for
the Action Plan

2 MAR
2022

1–13
FEB
2022

30 JUN–1 JUL
2021

Online consultationand feedback processes,
including Stockholm +50
National and Regional
Dialogues

CODES
Conference

2 MAR–20 MAY
2022

2 JUN
2022

Implementationof the Impact
Initiatives

2022
to
2025

CODES
Action Plan
LaunchSide event at the UN
Environment Assembly

Figure 2: Co-creation process behind the Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age.
All CODES products are based on an inclusive multi-stakeholder co-design process involving multiple
touchpoints and opportunities for peer contributions. The Action Plan has been based on a widestakeholder engagement and co-design process that invited over 1,000 people to contribute to theshifts, priorities and impact initiatives over a 12 month period. A range of digital collaboration andcollective intelligence tools were used to support this process including Sparkblue, Google Docs,
Mentimeter and Thought Exchange. The Action Plan also benefited from a series of national andregional consultations that were undertaken as part of the Stockholm +50 preparatory process. The
digital needs that were identified in these processes are summarized in Annex II.

15

Three Shifts for a Sustainable
Planet in the Digital Age
The following sections identify and describe the 3 systemic shifts and 6 strategic priorities withineach shift needed to enable digitalization as a force for good towards accelerating environmentally,socially and economically sustainable development.

e
Ba
s
ial
Ma

ce
Th & Sin ys
kin te
g m

ter

ien

Energy &Emissions

cting
Conne tions
rma
Transfol
ita ies
Dig tenc
e
mp

Co

Sc

um

s

Pioneering
Coalitions

Sus
tai
na

gi

ta

ra t e I n n o v a t iondge
Knowle sonComm

Cir Sust
cu ainlaraEc ble
on
om
y

c ele

n for

a
S ust

n

atio

orm
isinf

M

Digital Divide

Righ

ts V

iolat

ions

G
Ju reenst , DTr ig
an itasit l,
ionenc s
rna ghve rouGo akthBrea n
et Twina l
Pl itag
DiAc

a ti oSustainabConsum le
ption

ry

li z

b
ina

ili

Di

&
ms
Nor ards
d
Stan

tives
jec
b
O

ty

Enable
Ali
gn
m
e
V
i
s
ion V
Align
alu
es

D
Mult igital
ilate
ralis
m

C

Mi
tig

e Impacts
ativ
eg
eN
alization
at
igit
eD
bl

nt

s
on

n

io

pt

Figure 3: Three Shifts and six strategic priorities within each shift to achieve a sustainable planet in
the digital age.

16

Shift 1: Enable Alignment
Aligning vision, values, and objectives of the digitalage with sustainable development
SIX ENABLERS
6 ENABLERS

Multilateral
ActionConnecting
Transformations

DigitalCompetencies

Shift 1
EnableAlignment

Align vision,values, objectives

Science & Systems
Thinking

Pioneering
Coalitions

Norms &
Standards

Figure 4: Shift 1: Enable Alignment - Aligning vision, values, and objectives of the digital age withsustainable development.
The first shift strives to progress the convergence of digitalization and sustainability as thefoundation for accelerating environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development. It
proposes a reorientation of the purpose of digitalization, development of common visions, values andrenewed objectives for sustainable development in the Digital Age.
To drive this first shift, strong coalitions across public and private entities, including members fromacademia and civil society must proactively shape the digital age towards sustainable futures.
CODES stakeholders identified 6 strategic priorities that act as fundamental enablers to achieving
the systems-level change needed for this shift (see Annex 1, Table 1 for initial mapping of global
stakeholders addressing this shift):

ENABLER 1
Connect Communities and Transformations: Connect digital and sustainability
communities to catalyse the twin transformation.
Indigenous and modern understandings of environmental and social sustainability values must be
systematically considered by actors at the forefront of existing and emerging digital technologies,
innovations and governance frameworks (see Supplement 1, Box 9). Similarly, sustainability
commitments and multilateral environmental agreements must consistently consider how they
can be enabled through digital transformation. Strategic dialogue and mutual learning between
the digital and sustainability communities is needed to enable greater cohesiveness of visions andmindsets and can be used as an opportunity to solve systemic barriers to environmental and social

17sustainability. This integrated approach should be consequently implemented in, and incentivized
by, national and international policy agendas and organizations, research and education programs,
technology development and civil society action alike. Silo-thinking and business as usual must end
in order to systematically address digitalization and sustainability as closely interlinked cross-cutting
twin transitions.

ENABLER 2
Develop Digital Competencies: Build interdisciplinary skill sets.
Many of the key actors with the ability to influence the trajectory of digitalization and sustainability
lack a number of essential digital competencies and skills needed to catalyse this shift. On the one
hand, public sector and policy makers need to understand both the environmental opportunities andrisks from digital transformation. They must build up their own digital capacities to understand what
they want to regulate, enable and incentivize. On the other hand, entrepreneurs, computer scientists
as well as hardware and software engineers also need to understand how their products and services
generate different sustainability incentives and impacts in the real world in order to take these into
account in the design process. They must enhance their understanding of today’s sustainability
challenges, especially on decarbonization, dematerialization, detoxification and economic circularity.
This must be centered on a renewed humanism mindset that recognizes empathy, ethics andtraditional indigenous knowledge. Academic curricula, vocational training, professional associations
all need upskilling to reflect digital sustainability needs and outcomes. Moreover, to overcome thedigital divide, digital and sustainability literacy has to be an integrated effort.

ENABLER 3
Harness Science and Systems Thinking: Mobilize science to understand how thesustainability of complex systems can be enhanced through digital transformation.
Understanding the inherent complexity and trade-offs of achieving planetary sustainability is oneof the biggest challenges facing modern science. This entails the earth system as such, including
its variety of complex and interlinked dynamics, as well as our economic and social systems andsectors. The question of how different feedback loops operate to either reinforce or shift systembehaviours is also key. A “systems thinking’’ holistic approach will be needed that focuses on theway that a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within thecontext of larger systems. A science-based understanding of how digital technologies are changing
key economic, social and environmental systems and how they can be aligned towards sustainability
outcomes is needed as part of the new social contract for the digital age (see Supplement 1, Box 10).

ENABLER 4
Advance Digital Multilateralism: Develop new multilateralism for digital sustainability
and a culture of multi-stakeholder collaboration and collective action.
The digital ecosystems of data, analytics and applications are not confined to national boundaries,
nor yet governed by the international community in an effective and inclusive manner. Instead,a handful of companies now have the ability to influence human attitudes and behaviours at aplanetary scale with more money, power and reach than most national governments. For strong
digital innovation ecosystems, we need to promote a culture of open collaboration and co-creation
between governments, the private sector and civil society. This new kind of digital translateralism
and multilateralism, with collaborative policymaking should define, implement and apply international
standards and safeguards for a global, inclusive, and sustainable digital ecosystem. Additionally,
opportunities to incorporate Indigenous and traditional knowledge and expertise should be leveraged
when designing solutions for global sustainability. Finally, while respecting all nations’ sovereignty
18

over their data, we must promote good data governance and stewardship that ensures the timely
availability of relevant data in a user-friendly, accessible, portable, machine-readable and actionable
format.

ENABLER 5
Build Pioneering Coalitions: Foster intersectional innovation ecosystems andsolutions that support agile implementation and collaborative governance.
While new forms of digital multilateralism are needed, this alone is not enough to effectively govern
and steer the pace and direction of digital technologies. Inclusive and mission oriented coalitions
between governments, academia, private sector actors and civil society organizations will beneeded to catalyse transformational investments in digital innovation ecosystems, infrastructureand emerging standards that are premised on planetary sustainability. Committed coalitions with ashared sense of common purpose and practice can serve as testing grounds for better standards
and governance solutions. Agile approaches to define and test reflexive and iterative governanceframeworks for digital technologies must be explored. This should be based on adaptive, forward
looking and innovation-friendly regulation together with tiered and principle-based approaches tocollective governance.37

ENABLER 6
Adopt Norms and Standards: Adopt joint principles, normative frameworks andglobal standards for digital sustainability.
While the pace of digital innovation is dynamic, and although several international standards are
emerging, 38 there are only a few nascent normative and ethical frameworks in place to guide its
direction at the global level. Many of these frameworks lack clear principles and norms linked toenvironmental and social sustainability or climate action. In this context, it is critical to develop a
global set of standards and guidelines for the sustainable production, use and adoption of digitaltechnologies based on specific, measurable, achievable and time-bound indicators. Additionally,
it is critical to set a global standard methodology for assessing and measuring the net impact ofdigital technologies39 on sustainability and climate change. It is noted that standardization in thisdomain has been ongoing for a decade or more, so any effort in this direction should start fromexisting standardization process as well as the emerging field of Corporate Digital Responsibility (seeSupplement 1, Boxes 11 and 12). Efforts in this direction will also need to cover the governance of datathat is being used to fuel digital transformation and has become one of the new factors of production,
alongside land, labour and capital.

19

Shift 2: Mitigate Negative Impacts
Ensure sustainable digitalization to mitigate negativeenvironmental and social impacts
6 PROBLEMS

Figure 5: Shift 2: Mitigate Negative Impacts - Ensure sustainable digitalization to mitigate negativeenvironmental and social impacts
The second shift calls for a commitment to sustainable digitalization to mitigate the negativeenvironmental and social impacts from digital technologies and their supply chains. These include
significant ecological impacts linked to energy and material consumption coupled with social
impacts tied to unsustainable consumption patterns, misinformation, unequal access to digitaltechnologies, discrimination in the provisioning of digital skills and capabilities, or targeted humanrights violations.
CODES stakeholders identified 6 strategic priorities that must be addressed to mitigate thesenegative impacts and to ensure Sustainable Digitalization understood as the digitalization thatis responsible, ethical and sustainable (see Annex 1, Table 2 for an initial mapping of global
stakeholders addressing this shift):

PROBLEM 1
Reduce Energy and Emissions: Reduce energy consumption and related
CO2 emissions.
According to the ITU, ICT’s share of global electricity consumption was projected to reach 3.2 percent in 2020.40 Depending on scope and method of calculation, some estimates suggest that the ICT
sector could be up to 7 per cent of the total global electricity use in 2020.41 Peer-reviewed studies
estimate ICT’s current share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ranging from 1.8%–3.9%
depending on the calculation method.42 The explosion of digital cryptocurrencies is also acceleratingenergy consumption and associated carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of the Bitcoin network,20

annualized from 2017-2022, was a staggering 114 megatons comparable to the carbon footprintof Czech Republic.43 Some strategies to address this have focused on investments in sustainable
decentralized renewable energy infrastructure and green data centers (see Supplement 1, Box 13).
More broadly, common standards are needed to ensure the energy consumption and carbon
emissions of digital platforms be transparently aggregated and calculated to support the calculationof Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for carbon accounting. Enabling policies and incentivization
mechanisms such as sustainable public procurement can thus ensure compliance with such global
standards.

PROBLEM 2
Minimize Material Base: Address material use and waste linked to digitalization.
The fast-evolving digital economy demands an increasing number of elements for ICT devices suchas computers, data centers, mobile phones, batteries, and networks. To meet the growing demand
for green technologies associated with the energy transitions, the extraction of minerals, such asgraphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by 500 per cent by 205044 having a substantial impact
on land, water, air and biodiversity. There are at least twenty-four elements that are considered
important for the digital future, including a range of rare earth elements.45 Each of these generate
different environmental, social and political impacts during their extraction, transformation anddisposal, often depending on the level of national and local governance capacity to monitor
and mitigate those impacts. In 2019 a record 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste was produced
globally.46 The equivalent weight of 125,000 Boeing 747 jumbo jets – more than all of the commercial
aircrafts ever created.47 This makes e-waste the fastest-growing domestic waste stream with only
17.4 per cent of e-waste documented as formally collected and recycled, and only 78 countries
having legislations to manage e-waste.48 Digitalization, thus, must go hand in hand with a circular
economy so that metals and minerals used for digital products can be tracked, traced, recovered andrecirculated. ICT producers must be held accountable through the extended producer responsibility
approach for the environmental impact associated with their products and services and legislation
should enforce stricter sustainability requirements. Minimum standards for the procurement of green
digital infrastructure, digital services and ICT products would also support a circular economy.

PROBLEM 3
Address Consumption Drivers: Restrain persuasive technologies and practices that
accelerate consumption.
Current marketplace and social media business models often permit a one-way flow of user dataand preferences to digital platform companies in an opaque manner. This information is then mined,
transformed into targeted advertisements, and used to accelerate the consumption of products andservices through persuasive digital technologies such as: (1) product customization; (2) influencer
endorsements; (3) personalized advertising; (4) digital nudging; (5) and 24/7 opportunities forpurchasing (see Supplement 1, Box 14). Additionally, digital technologies are optimizing supply
chains and enabling efficiency gains by reducing the time, transaction costs or human capitalneeded for various tasks. This is lowering the costs of production and distribution of goods and asa consequence, creating “rebound effects”,49,50 by placing a downward pressure on the prices ofgoods and services, thereby enabling increased production and consumption. All of these catalysing
factors, from persuasive technologies, efficiency gains, and associated rebound effects, need to beconsidered in any policy actions and economic accounting frameworks that promote sustainability
through digital transformation. Measures at the systems-level, such as carbon prices and trading
schemes, can represent the necessary tools to contain these factors and address indirect reboundeffects. This must also include specific ethical frameworks combined with algorithmic transparency
to govern digital nudging.
21

PROBLEM 4
Mitigate Misinformation: Prevent the amplification of misinformation anddisinformation about sustainability and related themes.
4.6 billion people are now connected and exchanging ideas through social media and chat apps.51
This offers both powerful opportunities for accelerating social change as well as risks from the
spread of misinformation of a magnitude different from anything we have experienced in humanhistory. An MIT study found that false news stories are 70 per cent more likely to be retweeted thantrue news stories are. It also takes true stories about six times as long to reach 1,500 people as it
does for false stories to reach the same number of people.52 The spread of misinformation aboutplanetary sustainability topics such as climate change, biodiversity loss or pollution can undermine
collective action and trust in institutions as well as magnify polarization and mistrust between
divided groups.53 Trusted sources of information must be more systematically identified and madeaccessible, and articles containing misinformation flagged or taken down (see Supplement 1, Box 15).

PROBLEM 5
Close the Digital Divide: Close the digital divide in an environmentally and sociallysustainable manner.
The digital divide is the product of systemic inequities and power imbalances that must be
addressed, amongst other measures, through agile governance frameworks and public investment
in digital infrastructure together with digital literacy building. It goes beyond inequalities in access tothe internet, and includes differential access to the tools, information, technologies, skills, capacities
and agency in driving the direction of digitalization.54 There are also important facets embedded
within this divide that include gender, age, income, language and culture that must be considered.
As such, efforts to usher an access revolution to close the digital divide must include a number ofparallel investments. First, addressing pervasive biases in Science, Technology, Engineering, andMathematics (STEM) that have ripple effects throughout the digital ecosystem (e.g. algorithmic bias,
lack of representation). Second, shifting resources, financial incentives and talent funnels to promote
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in STEM. Third, directing investments towards increasing availability
and affordability of digital infrastructure where access is currently limited. A whole-of-society
approach is necessary in order to leave no one behind.

PROBLEM 6
Prevent Rights Violations: Protect human, civil and environmental rights.
In a digitally connected world, the question of how to respect, protect and implement humanrights and access to environmental justice is becoming paramount. As ever more human beings,
organizational systems and technical devices transition online, realizing human rights in online
settings is becoming an essential consideration in the emerging governance framework. Humanrights such as freedom of expression, privacy, free assembly, child rights, Indigenous land rights, or
the right to a fair trial, are all heavily impacted by new digital technologies. Three important domains
in the digital space need specific attention linked to environmental and social sustainability. First,
human rights abuses linked to land use conflicts in mining minerals needed to power a green digital
future, including cobalt, graphite, copper, and rare earths, particularly in lands inhabited by and/or
managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.55 Second, human rights violations in theform of digital surveillance and digital reprisals against environmental and human rights defenders,
whistle blowers, journalists, and political dissidents. Third, violations of online data privacy byindependent actors, private organizations and state governments. Human rights and access toenvironmental justice need to be safeguarded in the development, implementation, legislation,

22

and governance of digital technologies. They need to be entrenched and realized at every step of
the value-chain of digital technologies.56 Priority needs to be made for a new generation of rights
protection and grievance mechanisms in the digital age, as enabled by digital technology solutions
such as secure multi-party computation as well as personal data control. Finally, children under 18
make up one-third of all internet users,57 and youth (15-24 year olds) are the leading internet usage
cohort. Globally, 71 per cent of youth use the internet, compared with 57 per cent of the other age
groups.58 Considering both human and child rights, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, is thus essential to create an inclusive and right-based digital environment for all. Priority
must also be given to the application of CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance,59 andregulations around data must not just be limited to usage but considered to include (but not belimited to) environmental, social, economic, historical, cultural, and resource data. Such principles
should consider the rights and protection of non-human entities.

23

Shift 3: Accelerate Innovation
Directing innovation efforts toward digitalization
for sustainability
SIX INNOVATIONS
6 INNOVATIONS

Knowledge
Commons

Planetary Digital Twin

Sustainable
Circular Economy

Shift 3
Accelerate
Innovation
Digitalsustainability

Governance
Breakthroughs

Green, Digital, Just
Transition

Sustainable
Consumption

Figure 6: Shift 3: Accelerate Innovation - Transform systems, incentives and business models
through digital innovations for sustainability

The third shift calls for the digital innovation community, including governments, development
partners, private sector, informal economy actors, local communities and academia, to channel large
investments, capacity development and collective efforts toward digitalization for sustainability withintention. The application of digital innovations needs to focus on achieving the implementation of
the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and to progress the different global
environmental commitments adopted through multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
This translates into the commitment to advance a decade of digital innovation for sustainability.
Redirecting the innovative powers of digital technologies towards achieving our sustainability agenda
in time and scale is absolutely key. Shifting the collective effort towards harnessing the potential of
digitalization for systems level transformation is an important strategic priority for positive change
towards a sustainable planet.
CODES stakeholders identified 6 strategic priorities where digital innovations can be proactively used
to implement, accelerate and scale sustainability globally as part of this shift (see Annex 1, Table 3
for an initial mapping of global stakeholders addressing this shift):

24

INNOVATION 1
Build Planetary Digital Twin: Prioritize innovations to measure, monitor and model
the health of the planet’s biosphere and interactions with economic and social
systems.
Digital twins combined with AI have the capability to conduct automated monitoring of risks andthreats to key protected areas (either natural or cultural areas under global protection frameworks),
ecosystem services or endangered species. Digital twins can also assist in understanding
options and trade offs for achieving different SDGs and MEAs. This can benefit not only national
governments, but also private sector companies, research institutions, non-profit organizations, andlocal communities (see Supplement 1, Box 16). However, many efforts continue to be fragmented
and unable to connect in order to monitor planetary health in real time. Major investments areneeded to build interoperable digital twins of the earth and its various subsystems that can allow us
to monitor and model complex relationships among environmental, social, and economic systems
using the best science and data available as well as robust data-protection rules. First, investments
to improve the sensing, connectivity and computational requirements for collecting and processing
the vast volumes of data, especially for real-time data processing scenarios at a planetary scale.
Second, adoption of transparency principles, data standards and safeguards, Open APIs (Application
Programming Interface) and communication protocols that enable safety, privacy, interoperability,transferability, and quality control of key sustainability data across disparate systems. Third,
ways to support, and integrate validated citizen science contributions and observations as well asother open-source tools and algorithms into the digital twin ecosystems. Finally, development ofapplications that enable real-time ingestion and processing of data from the digital twin ecosystem
into governments, science, civil society, and private sector ecosystems and vice-versa to informmeaningful forms of analysis and decision support systems.

INNOVATION 2
Catalyse Sustainable Circular Economy: Prioritize innovations towards an inclusive,
net zero, sustainable circular economy.
Digital transformation is an opportunity to rethink how private sector business models cancontribute to a sustainable circular economy and how companies can achieve full environmental
transparency and accountability across their entire value chain. To achieve circular business models,innovations are needed on multiple fronts. First, the digital transformation process itself should be
used as an opportunity for companies to identify concrete pathways to advance decarbonization,
dematerialization, detoxification and circularity goals across their value chains. This should also
include a transitioning away from the provision of products to offering services as part of circularbusiness models. Second, digital standards and infrastructure are needed for digital productpassports to hold data and relevant sustainability information on their lifecycle. This includes a
product’s origin, composition, environmental and carbon performance, repair and dismantlingpossibilities as well as end of life handling. Third, increased use of eco-labels and provision of
information from digital product passports to consumers to enable product comparability andinform decision-making in turn driving demand for sustainable products. Finally, aligning businessmodels, financial and institutional procurement practices with sustainability goals, with the view totransitioning away from unsustainable products and services towards products and services thatare fully Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) compliant. Ultimately, digital transformation
should drive shifts toward a “beyond growth” paradigm where the application of digital technologies,
in addition to profits, is baselined on social and environmental accountability with the goal ofaccelerating planetary sustainability and respecting planetary boundaries in the context of a circular
economy (see Supplement 1, Box 17).

25

INNOVATION 3
Empower Sustainable Consumption: Prioritize innovations that empower sustainable
lifestyles, behaviours and collaboration.
Digital tools can empower consumers to make and demand sustainable consumption choices andreceive feedback on their behaviours. For example, digital applications embedded in e-commerce
platforms such as product comparability, ethical nudging, gamification, carbon footprint calculators,
positive feedback loops and green activations can support a shift in awareness and enable people tochoose more environmentally sustainable products and services (see Supplement 1, Box 14). Social
media, gaming platforms and fintech can also help amplify proof of environmentally sustainable
lifestyles (see Supplement 1, Boxes 18 and 19). A range of digital marketplaces can also support thecollaborative economy that enables giving, reselling, swapping, sharing and renting products andservices directly between individuals. While strong privacy protection must be obligatory everywhere,
digital innovations must be flexible enough to be adapted to the specific local, socio-economic, andgeographic contexts on the basis of human-centered design and planetary boundaries. Digitalization
also enables mass collaboration and mobilization of citizens through platforms enabling both citizen
science and decentralized financing such as crowd funding. Opportunities to use digital technologies
to empower sustainable lifestyles, behaviours and collaboration should be designed into digitalplatforms by default. They must become essential channels to influence sustainable consumption
drivers at a planetary scale.

INNOVATION 4
Create Knowledge Commons: Prioritize innovations towards a broadly accessible
knowledge commons.
Digital change continuously expands options to co-produce, process and share knowledge. Digital
tools - from data collection and analysis, model building, knowledge aggregation, visualization to
virtuality - can expand scientific methods in all disciplines, facilitate inclusive and cooperative formsof knowledge production (e.g. citizen and open science) and enable knowledge sharing acrossthe globe for educational, scientific or practical purposes (see Supplement 1, Box 20). However,this valuable global public good needs to be actively built, managed and protected to serve as astrong lever for sustainability. It is yet too often challenged by a lack of understanding, accessibility,
infrastructure and supportive framework conditions or by large public-private-imbalances towards
well-resourced private innovation hubs (especially in tech-research and platform solutions). Inclusive
and innovative knowledge commons will require: operationalized FAIR60 and CARE61 principles for
data, public funding and data for open science, research and knowledge, open science standards,
broad investments in digital literacy, education and digital knowledge access around the globe.
Creating a global knowledge commons has vast potentials for sustainable development, theempowerment of marginalized and underrepresented groups, the creation of a global (environmental)
awareness and empathy as well as breakthroughs in sustainability solutions.

INNOVATION 5
Support Governance Breakthroughs: Prioritize innovations towards a revolution in
networked, agile and collaborative governance.
Presently, many national laws, regulations and associated governance frameworks that implement
global SDG and MEA commitments are not yet being designed to directly benefit from digitaltechnologies, platforms, applications and SMART systems. Many national legal frameworks arestill using traditional approaches for regulating the physical world while neglecting opportunities toharness digital tools to achieve sustainability outcomes and regulatory compliance.

26

As “whole of government” approaches to digitalization and e-governance are taken forward, arange of innovations are needed to catalyse a series of sustainability governance and rule of law
breakthroughs. First, improving the ability of governance systems and regulations to dynamically
adapt to changing sustainability risks and opportunities using real-time information feedback loops
and AI in an agile and iterative manner (see Supplement 1, Box 21). Second, increased automationof Systems of National Accounts (SNAs)62 used to measure national economic activity withsustainability criteria included (see Supplement 1, Box 22). Third, transparent monitoring, reportingand verification (MRV) of legal compliance and progress towards national climate and sustainability
goals as part of new accountability frameworks. Fourth, decentralized and distributed governancesolutions to trigger and incentivize collective sustainability actions, finance and behaviours at scale
through digital channels (see Supplement 1, Box 23). Finally, new digital mechanisms to support
public participation in decision-making as well as crowdsourcing governance priorities and solutions
from citizens and citizen science. None of this can be effectively done, however, without criticallyassessing how automated processes are designed, where data is sourced, what power dynamics are
driving the governance systems we are seeking to optimize, and who is establishing environmental
governance and sustainability goals. All of these governance innovations must prioritize theinclusion, ownership and agency of currently underrepresented groups, support subsidiarity andself-governance in an increasingly polycentric setting, and thoroughly account for integrated biases.63
They must also help overcome the global-local divide by building inclusive fora connecting local
interests with global decision-making.

INNOVATION 6
Realize Green, Digital, Just Transition: Prioritize innovations that catalyse thetransition to a green, digital and just economy for sustainable development.
Emerging and frontier economies may reap multiple benefits from ‘leapfrogging’ into SMART cities,buildings, transport, agriculture, etc (see Supplement 1, Box 24). In addition, a number of benefits
can be captured by increasing access to energy for rural populations through digitally enabled offgrid solutions and alternative financing mechanisms, enhancing resilience through risk-informed
infrastructure planning and early warning, as well as supporting sustainable small-scale agriculture
and realizing traceability from farm to fork (see Supplement 1, Box 25). Governments and businesses
must prioritize investment into regionally relevant digital innovation that catalyses climate change
mitigation and adaptation, and reduces impact on nature. Such innovation will need to happen witha healthy local digital innovation ecosystem, where local businesses, entrepreneurs and academia
play a key role, and contribute to the co-creation of green digital jobs and livelihoods. Currently,
the majority of digital technology innovation is happening within a few countries; thus, an active,
progressive vision is needed working in parallel to Our Common Agenda to reverse the trends ofinnovation inequality. The global community should actively and comprehensively promote accessto a broad scope of digital innovations for the “whole-of-society”. This is needed to empower local
digital ecosystems to take part in technology development, promote open source or Digital Public
Good approaches and capacity development, build investments and public funding to foster local
digital innovation ecosystems, and establish multi-faceted partnerships. All these approaches mustensure truly inclusive bottom up perspectives that are locally driven and target improving livelihoodsof the most marginalized. Women and youth literacy and capacity to benefit from these digital
innovations will ensure technological uptake that is both sustainable and builds the social and humancapital of those often left behind.

27

Impact Initiatives for a
Sustainable Planet in the
Digital Age
Key Messages
This CODES Action Plan is an initial step forward to address these collective challenges andto catalyse collective action. It has identified 3 Systemic Shifts essential to accelerating
environmentally and socially sustainable development in the Digital Age: 1) Enabling Alignment:
Aligning the digital age with sustainable development; 2) Mitigating Negative Impacts: Ensuring
sustainable digitalization to mitigate negative environmental and social impacts; and 3) Accelerating
Innovation: Directing innovation efforts and incentives toward digitalization for sustainability.
Based on our collaborative work on this Action Plan, the CODES community stresses some emerging
overarching messages that are important to move into action together:•

Scalable Action Now: We now urgently need to catalyse all three shifts in concert and scale ourefforts on our path towards a sustainable planet in the digital age. The world needs significant
intellectual, financial, political and practical involvement as soon and as boldly as possible toprovide the enabling foundations for a sustainable digital age.

•

Strong Movement with Common Commitment: We need awareness, convergence andcooperation of existing initiatives and networks of actors already undertaking ambitious digitalsustainability initiatives in different sectors. This network is already growing quickly, but we needto support, connect and strengthen these aims, ambitions and achievements together.

28

•Diverse Leadership to Harness the Political Window of Opportunity: We need to harness thepolitical leadership of governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society to ensurethat digitalization is used to promote a sustainable planet. Digitalization is not a single sector,
but rather a process, and shaping it sustainably and equitably requires collective action, deep
collaboration, and truly inclusive and globally representative leadership. As the digitalization
process unfolds around the globe, we need to ensure that groups typically underrepresented inboth the digital innovation space and the global environmental governance discourse are involved
in shaping and influencing the outcomes.

•

Integration of digital sustainability needs within key international processes: The vision
outlined in this Action Plan should be systematically reflected within the preparatory process for
the Summit of the Future and within the resulting Global Digital Compact in 2023. Other global
fora and governance frameworks for digital transformation, sustainability, and environmental
management should also engage with the tasks laid out in this Action Plan, including the Rio
Conventions, the International Telecommunications Union and the Internet Governance Forum.

Impact Initiatives
The CODES community has collectively identified 9 Impact Initiatives as a starting point to catalyse
the 3 shifts and progress the 6 strategic priorities within each shift. Engagement with these initiatives
provides numerous benefits and competitive advantages as the “whole-of-society” shifts towards
recognizing the need and importance of growth that is sustainable, just and inclusive, to ensure
long-term development and prosperity. The unique, global and multi-stakeholder alliance acrosspublic and private sectors facilitated through CODES creates a platform that is ideally positioned togalvanize critical progress towards digital sustainability.
The set of Impact Initiatives emerging from this Action Plan are defined according to the following
criteria:•

Multi-stakeholder: Multi-stakeholder in nature, meaning either a consortium of private or public
sector entities, or public-private partnerships with opportunities for engagement by international
actors and civil society•

Catalytic: Aims to catalyse systems-level or sector-level transformations and impact at a global
or regional scale•

Sustained Attention: Initiative requires sustained political attention and financial support (atleast 3-6 years) to trigger systems-level or sector-level transformations•

Leadership: Clearly identified leadership, measurable goals, and multi-stakeholder governance
model

•

Accountable: Progress reported against key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones in aformat and frequency co-designed and determined in consultations with related stakeholders
and CODES co-champions•

Intersecting: Are intersecting in nature and seek to enable approaches, policies, standards,
regulations, infrastructure, and governance frameworks that are necessary to catalyse digitalsustainability.

29

Mi
tig

es
ctiv
e
j
Ob

ty
li z

ab

ili

gi

ta

Ac

In Sus Dig
an no ta it
d va ina al
Ac tio bce n ilitle Hu y
ra b
to s
rs

Sus
tai
na

a ti oc ele

n for Sinusta

ra t e I n n o v a t i

DigitalProduct
Passpo trfor Circula
rity

Enabl
eA
lig
nm
e
V
i
s
i
n
o
g
n Va
Ali
lue
s

nt

ble
ina entsta m
Su cure eenroPr d G lan igita cture
D rut
ras geInf Pledonof D ization
Com igital
GHG panie
s’
Inve
ntor
ies

Di

ion
Educat lita
for Dig leab
Sustain ent
pm
DeveloHarm

rld
Wo ssion ymibilit
Com staina
Su theonin Ageital
Dige Impacts
ativ
eg
eN
alization
at
igit
eD
bl

Cle
a
Ho ring
for useSu
sta Digita
Sta inab l
ndi
ard litys

The 9 Impact Initiatives here are developed to inspire and to provoke further concrete action bydifferent pioneering coalitions. Neither the CODES co-champions nor the whole CODES network
could drive and implement these initiatives alone. We now need even bigger coalitions, we need new
partners, agile pioneers as well as capable established organizations; we need broader collaborationand truly global collective action.

on

Data and
Assessments
as Digital
Public Goods
for Sustainabilityedizlra g ent ncin ablec a in s
De Fin sta ion
Su lutof So

Figure 7: Nine Impact Initiatives of the CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital
Age. All the listed impact initiatives are intersecting in nature and to varying capacities, seek toenable approaches, policies, standards, regulations, infrastructure, and governance frameworks thatare necessary to catalyze digital sustainability.

30

Shift 1: Enable Alignment
Create the enabling conditions to align the vision,values and objectives of the digital age with sustainable
development

Impact Initiative

1.

2.

Suggested
Outcomes

World Commission on Sustainability
in the Digital Age:A science-based, globally
represented commission supportedby the UN, that in analogy to thefamous World Commission on
Environment and Development in the
1980s (‘Brundtland Commission’)
identifies key guidelines andrecommendations for Our Common
Future in the Digital Age. The
commission’s interactive work
programme and outcome can informinstitutional updates within the UN,(inter)national policies, reporting
standards, research agendas, andlegislative frameworks at local,
regional, and global levels.

A science-based reporton “Our Common
Future in the DigitalAge” to streamline
the permanent andclose alignment ofdigital transformation
with sustainable
development in the UN
agenda and beyond.

Clearing House for Digital
Sustainability Standards:
A new, multi-stakeholder andglobally representative platform
to co-define key standards for
digital sustainability and economic
circularity (taking into account therecommendations put forward by theWorld Commission). This clearing
house would create an up-to-date,authoritative overview on global
digital standards, to address key
gaps, and conduct outreach to enableeffective implementation across allconcerned parties.

A global platform to act
as a clearing house andfacilitate the exchangeof digital sustainability
standards and related
legal frameworks with afocus on:Potential
Timeline and
Suggested KPIs

Entities
Active in thisArea (*)

2022
Start the process
to define the scope
and terms ofreference

Digitalizationfor
Sustainability

2023
Establish World
Commission in
the context of
the Global Digital
Compact
2024
Report “OurCommon Futurein the DigitalAge” +UN/UNEA
resolution

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Trustworthiness
InclusivenessSustainability
Interoperability
Safety and security
Data privacy
International
collaboration

31

GPAI
International
Resource Panel
(**)
ISC
ITU
OECD
UBA
World Bank

2022
Clearing houseplatform forexisting standards

IEEE

2023
Consolidate
standards andproceduralcapacity to enable
implementationin specificsustainability
area (e.g. circular
economy)

ITU (**)

2024
Widening to include
other sustainability
areas; including
capacity building
programmes inpartnership withstakeholders

IETF
ISO

OECD

3.

Education for Digital Sustainable
Development:
A new decentralized approach todevelop literacy and education
programmes on digital sustainability
with a focus on understanding andcritically analyzing the benefits
and harms of digitalization. These
must be needs based, localized andcontextualized. The focus must be
on leveraging research and building
skill sets needed to advance digitalsustainability. This also entails theapplied use of data and analytics
as well as the build up of strategic
multilateral partnerships and open
source materials.

A decentralized networkof regional “educationhubs” collaborating
on developing joint
contextualized
curriculum on digitalsustainability
An open source learning
platform to hostconsolidated learning
content from across thedecentralized hubs

2022
Initiation of
education hubs.
Adoption of
curriculum outline
2023
Developmentof open-source
modules2024
Integration acrossrelevant training
and research
programmes

CODATA
Digitalizationfor
Sustainability
EO4GEO
Alliance
Future Earth
(**)
GIZ
ISC
ITU
SDA
UNEP
UNESCOWorld Bank

* Preliminary list based on stakeholder mapping and on initial discussions with partners subject to expansion** Entity has expressed interest in taking on a catalytic leadership role in the impact initiative32

Shift 2: Mitigate Negative Impact
A commitment to sustainable digitalization thatmitigates the negative environmental and social impacts
of digital technologies

Impact Initiative

4.

5.

Suggested
Outcomes

Harmonization of Digitalcompanies’ GHG inventories:
New international platform(s)to facilitate harmonization,interoperability and adoption of
GHG inventories and reporting
standards for digital companies,
products and services. This
must be progressed by aligning
reporting entities and regulatorson adopting these standards
while consolidating underlying
data definitions and validation
rules for similar environmental
sustainability data elements andmetrics.

Creation and rollout of 2-3 global
platforms allowing
corporations tocompare, combine,and share reliablenet zero andsustainability data

Sustainable Procurement andGreen Digital Infrastructure
Pledge:A new international framework
to enable standardization andharmonization of sustainableprocurement principles for digital
infrastructure and services acrossgovernments and corporations.
This must be advanced in parallelwith a new framework for bothpublic and private sectors to
support planning, designing,financing and development ofgreen digital infrastructure.

An internationalframework detailingsustainableprocurement
principles for green
digital infrastructure
and related digital
services

Participation from
70% of fortune
200 and S&P 500
companies

Potential Timeline
and Suggested
KPIs

Entities
Active in thisArea (*)

2022
Setup funding,programme andpartners

Carbon Call (**)
Climateworks
Foundation
Climate Change
AI
Digital With
Purpose (**)
GPAI
ITU
Playing for thePlanetUBA
UN expert groupon net-zeroemissionscommitments of
non-state entities
UNEP
UNFCCC Climate
Champions
UNFCCC Global
Innovation Hub

2023
Co-create focused
products and processes
with clear directionality
on CC mitigation acrossall sectors
2024
Expansion andimplementation

2022
Developmentof sustainableprocurement principles
for digital infrastructureand services
2023
Sustainableprocurement
operational framework& infrastructure
framework
2024
Sustainableprocurement andinfrastructurescompliance andreporting framework

33

Digital Nations (**)
ITU (**)
IFC
EU
OECD
GlobalElectronics
Council / Green
Electronics
Council
Sustainable
DigitalInfrastructure
Alliance (**)
UBA
UNDP
UNEP
World Bank (**)

6.

Digital product passport forcircularity:
Initiate the design anddevelopment of standards andpilot testing for digital productpassports as an enabler of thecircular economy. Digital productpassports should help companies,
consumers and regulators, tokeep track of a product’s climate,environmental, social and otherimpacts throughout the value
chain. The standards must be
sector/industry specific and mustbe accessible in a decentralizedmanner through a unique
identifier, with the vision to enabletransparency and circularity.

Global inclusive
process isestablished toco-develop digitalproduct passport
standards bygovernments,
industry and civilsociety.

2022
Series of global andregional dialogues
conducted on a digitalproduct passport
framework
2023
Initiation of digitalproduct passport
standards in at least
10 product categories
with a high circularity
potential

EuropeanCommission (**)
GS1
ITU (**)
UBA
UNEP

2024
Pilot test digital productpassport standards
for at least 10 productcategories.

* Preliminary list based on stakeholder mapping and on initial discussions with partners subject to expansion** Entity has expressed interest in taking on a catalytic leadership role in the impact initiative34

Shift 3: Accelerate Innovation
Directing efforts and investments toward digital
innovation that accelerates environmental and social
sustainability

Impact Initiative

7.

8.

Suggested
Outcomes

Digital Sustainability Innovation
Hubs and Accelerators:
Launch of a global network ofconnected, and collaborative
Innovation Hubs to accelerate thedevelopment and scale up of digital
tools and just solutions for national
climate mitigation and adaptation
goals and other environmental
commitments. The hubs would
build and scale opportunities forrural and urban climate action witha focus on supporting sustainable
livelihoods, resilience and humanwellbeing. This must be catalysedby international and national funds
and private-public partnerships
which provide the financial backing
and incentives to stimulate green
digital solutions and transformation
innovations of key economic
sectors, including the informal
economy.

Increase public
digital innovation
support withfocus on climate
and nature impact
by 30% by 2025

Data and Assessments as Digital
Public Goods for Sustainability:
Development and launch of open
global standards and governanceframeworks for high value
environment and climate dataneeded as digital public goods todrive sustainability assessments,(planetary) digital twins, global
stocktaking, foresight analysis anddecision-making. This must be
accompanied by the developmentof open interoperable APIs to allow
sharing and quality control of data
between entities.

A series of highvalue global data
sets needed toenable digitalsustainability
decision-making
are publishedas digital public
goods.

Network of 50
interconnected
regional andnational hubs

Potential
Timeline and
Suggested KPIs
2022
Initial network of
Innovation Hubs andAccelerators created2023
Mapping of digital
innovation funding
opportunities toestablish baseline2024
10% Increasein public digital
innovation support
targeted to climate
and nature impact indeveloping countries

2022
Initiation of a global
dialogue on data
infrastructure andstandards
2023
Prototype platform
and publication ofhigh-value digitalpublic good data sets
2024
Application ofdigital public gooddata to conduct a
global stocktake
on environmental
sustainability

35

Entities Active inthis Area (*)
BMZ/GIZCGIAR ResearchCenters
D4D Hubs (**)
GCF
GEF
GIZ (**)
G-STICI-CoDIITUNew Bauhaus
OECD Public
Innovation
Observatory
SIDA (**)
UNDP (**)
UNEP
UNFCCC Global
Innovation Hub
UNICEF
USAID
World Bank

CoDataData4Development
Data4SDGs
DIAL
Digital Public Good
Alliance
Global Environmental
Outlook (**)
ISC
UBA
UNDP
UNEP
UN High-Level
Committee on
Programmes (HLCP)World BankWorld Environment
Situation Room (**)

9.

Decentralized Financing of
Sustainable Solutions:
Facilitate new transparent
decentralized financing andmatchmaking for sustainability
solutions. These include
crowdfunding, payment forecosystem services, microfinancing,recommendation algorithms andother channels. The goal is toincrease decentralized sourcesof financing for the discovery,
development and adoption of
applied sustainable solutions,products and services in formal andinformal markets.

Digital platforms,
NTFs and fintech
include newalgorithms, filters
and mechanismthat promote
decentralizing
financing forsustainability
solutions thatreach 1 billion
people2022
Build coalition of
fintech, e-commerceand digitalcompanies
2023
Share lessons
learned and identify
successful influencepathways
2024
Continue to scaleinitiatives

Consumers
International / Green
Commerce Initiative
Dialogue on Global
Digital Finance
GovernanceEvery Action Counts
Coalition (**)
Green Digital Finance
Alliance
UNCDF
UNDP

* Preliminary list based on stakeholder mapping and on initial discussions with partners subject to expansion** Entity has expressed interest in taking on a catalytic leadership role in the impact initiative36

Pathways to engage in the CODES Action Plan
The CODES co-champions will initiate and engage in multi-stakeholder processes to pool
excellence and application-oriented knowledge on digital sustainability - the CODES Action Plan is
an indicative example.
The co-champions will act as high-level stewards of the Impact Initiatives highlighted within the
Action Plan. They will convene relevant stakeholder groups to identify leadership organizations toadvance the initiatives and monitor progress. The co-champions will work with stakeholders and the
CODES community to identify, solicit and publicly promote emerging Impact Initiative opportunities
on a rolling basis. CODES co-champions will further promote this Action Plan and will contribute tocatalyse its key messages and Impact Initiatives in four main ways:•

Convene and connect a global community of common purpose to advance these 3 shifts;•

Identify enabling policies and map stakeholders for each strategic priority;•

Suggest impact initiatives as actionable items to concurrently progress strategic priorities;•

Foster and demonstrate political leadership in advocating for, and realizing the Impact Initiatives.

Stakeholders can be public and private entities, including members from academia and civil society.
They are invited to join and collaborate with CODES through 3, intersecting engagement pathways:

Tier 1 Catalyser of Impact Initiatives
Stakeholders that are seeking to act in a leadership and catalysing capacity and/or as supporting
entities to progress the advancement of Impact Initiatives highlighted within or emerging fromthe Action Plan. This will also include a willingness to participate in monitoring and transparent
reporting to measure progress of the Impact Initiatives against key performance indicators. These
accountability measures can be self-governed and/or leverage an adaptive learning framework
to create regular opportunities for constructive reflection and analysis to make progress towards
achieving their missions. The measurement metrics can be co-drafted with the organizations
engaged in the impact initiative. The Catalysers will also have an opportunity to join the CODES
external advisory board to provide ongoing guidance and strategic direction to the co-champions.

Tier 2 Action Network
Stakeholders that are developing or implementing digital transformation and sustainability projects
who are actively participating in the implementation of the 3 shifts outlined in the CODES Action Plan.
This includes being listed as a formal CODES stakeholder in the online network map.

Tier 3 Advocates
Stakeholders that are engaging with the CODES network by sharing best practices and technologicalexpertise as well as acting as advocates to support the CODES Action Plan. They actively promote
the adoption of the shifts and related impact initiatives highlighted within the Action Plan within theirown constituencies and networks. This includes contributing to and receiving the monthly CODES
newsletter and the community of practice on www.sparkblue.org/CODES

37

Annexures
Action Plan for a
Sustainable Planetin the Digital Age
38

Annex I: Stakeholder Mapping
Table 1: Mapping of key Stakeholders and Initiatives Addressing Shift 1

Type of actor /Initiative

Strategic
Priorities

Title

Digital Innovation
and Acceleration
Initiatives or
Funding

•
•
•
•
•
•

Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)
UNDP Accelerator Labs
OECD Mission Oriented Innovation Lab
Digital4Development Hub
United 4 Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC)
BMZ Digital Transformation Centers

•
•
•
•
•
•

4
4
4
4
4
4

Agenda Setting
and Stakeholder
Dialogue•

Secretary General’s Digital Cooperation
Roadmap
Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability(CODES)The Dialogue on Global Digital Finance
Governance

•

1, 4

•

1, 4, 6•4, 6Secretary General’s Data Strategy
Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Data
UN Global Pulse
Digital Public Goods Alliance

•
•

6
6

•
•

4
5, 6

The UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA)The International Telecommunications Union(ITU), Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
UN Environmental Management Group (EMG)
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF): Policy
Network on the Environment
The Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)OECD AI Policy Observatory
European Council Conclusions on Digitalization
for the Benefit of the Environment
Principles for Digital Development
Corporate Digital Responsibility
The International Sustainability Standards Board(ISSB)
Global Agreement on the Ethics of Artificial
Intelligence

•
•

1, 6
1, 6

•
•

1
1, 6

•
•
•

4, 6
4
4

•
•
•

6
6
6

•

6

•
•

Data, Analytics and
Tools

•
•
•
•

Policies, Norms andStandards

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

39

•

•

5, 6

•
•

Open Collaboration for Next Generation Digital
Solutions for MRV
Certified B-Corporation
Science-based Targets Initiative

•
•

6
6

Advocacy•

Digital Goes Green

•

3, 5

Training•

Atingi Digital4Sustainability Learning
Programme
Principles for Digital Development Training
Programme
IEEE’s Course on Digital Transformation: Moving
Toward a Digital SocietyOpen SAP: Sustainability Through Digital
Transformation
ITU and UNDP’s digital capacity database

•

2

•

2

•

2

•

2

•

2

•
•

3
3

•
•

3
3

•

Future Earth | Sustainability in the Digital Age
Digitalization for Sustainability – Science inDialogue (D4S)
International Society for Digital Earth
Research Group on Digitalization andSustainability Transformations, IASS Potsdam
UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook

•

3

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Digital With Purpose Movement
Every Actions Counts Coalition
Green Digital Finance Alliance
Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative
Digital Future Society
Greentech Alliance
The Future Society
UN Innovation Network

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

5, 6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

•
•
•
•
Research andKnowledge••••

Collective Action
Networks andCoalitions

40

Table 2: Mapping of Key Stakeholders and Initiatives Addressing Shift 2

Type of actor /Initiative

Strategic
Priorities

Title

Digital Innovation
and Acceleration
Initiatives or
Funding•

Agenda Setting
and Stakeholder
Dialogue

•

•

•
•

•

ITU’s International Centre of Digital Innovation(I-CoDI)ITU Partner Connect Digital Coalition

•

5

•

5

ITU-T Focus Group on Environmental Efficiency
for Artificial Intelligence and other Emerging
Technologies
UN E-waste coalition
Roundtable on Global Connectivity within
the Secretary General’s Digital Cooperation
Roadmap
Roundtable on Ensuring the Protection of Human
Rights in the Digital Era within the Secretary
General’s Digital Cooperation Roadmap

•

1

•
•

2
5

•

6

•
•
•

1
1
2

•

2

•

1

•

1

•

1, 2

•

1

•

1, 2

•
•

2
1, 2

•

1, 2

•
•

1, 2
1, 2

Data, Analytics and
Tools

•
•
•

CodeCarbon
Carbon Mark
Global E-waste Statistics Partnership

Policies, Norms andStandards•

ITU-T SG5: Environment Climate Change andCircular Economy, standards on:• ITU-T L.1000-series: E-waste and circular
economy• ITU-T L.1200 series: Power feeding andenergy storage• ITU-T L.1300-series Energy efficiency, smart
energy and green data centers• ITU-T L.1400-series: Assessment
methodologies of ICTs and CO2
trajectories (for goods, networks, services,
organizations, cities and sector levels)• ITU-T L.1500 series: Adaptation to climatechange• ITU-T L.1700 series: Low cost sustainableinfrastructure standards
ITU-D E-waste Policy Development
Digital Nations - Sustainable Government
Information Technology
One Planet Programme on Sustainable Public
Procurement (SPP)
EU Green Public Procurement guidebook
OECD green ICT assessments

•
•
•
•
•

41

Policies, Norms andStandards

•
•

•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Advocacy

•
•
•
•
•
•

OECD.AI Policy Observatory (Task Force on AI
Compute & Environment)
OECD Recommendations on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICTs) and theEnvironment
Principles for Green Software Engineering
European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Materials efficiency
European Committee for ElectrotechnicalStandardization (CENELEC) Materials efficiency
European Telecommunications Standardization
Institute (ETSI) Materials Efficiency and Life
Cycle Assessment
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Standard Association (IEEE SA)
Sustainable IT Pledge by the Canadian CIO
Strategy Council
Basel Convention on controlling transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes and theirdisposal
EU Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI
Guidelines for sustainability information on
e-commerce platforms
Global Agreement on the Ethics of Artificial
Intelligence
World Wide Web Foundation REACT policy
framework on Digital Inclusion
Principles for Digital Development
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UNDRIP)
Audit AI
UNICEF Policy Guidance on AI for Children
Responsible Data for Children
OHCHR’s work on privacy in the digital age
GESI Good Practice Guide on Remedy Human
Right Impacts
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
RightsChildren’s Rights and Business Principles
UNICEF: The Case for Better Governance ofChildren’s Data: A Manifesto

•

1

•

1, 2

•
•

1, 2
1, 2

•

2, 2

•

1, 2

•
•

1, 2
1, 2

•

1, 2

•

2

•
•

3, 4
3

•

3, 4

•

5

•
•

5
6

•
•
•
•
•

6
6
6
6
6

•

6

•
•

6
6

Center for Humane Technology
International Campaign for Responsible
Technology
Center for Countering Digital Hate
Alliance for Affordable Internet
Amnesty International
Global Witness••

3, 4, 63, 4, 6

•
•
•
•

4
5
6
6

42

Training•••

Research andKnowledge

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Collective Action
Networks andCoalitions

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Open SAP: Clean-IT: Towards Sustainable Digital
Technologies
Open SAP: Sustainable Software Engineering
Principles for Digital Development

•

1, 2

•
•

1
4

UNFCCC Climate Action Pathways - ICT & Mobile
Digital Goes Green
ICT4S Research Community
Digitalization for Sustainability – Science inDialogue (D4S)
Network for Digital Economy and Environment(nDEE)C-SERVESEFUTURES - Electronics for Sustainable
Societies
PARIS DE
Global E-waste Statistics Partnership | Global
E-waste Monitors | Regional E-waste Monitors
FacProSUM Urban Mine Platformebook Climate
Science Center
Facebook Climate Science Center
Google initiative on verified climate science
Twitter initiative on authoritative climate info
ITU-T Joint Coordination Activity on Accessibilityand Human Factors (JCA-AHF)

•
•
•
•

1
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3•

1, 2, 3

•
•

1, 2
1, 2

•
•

1
2

•

2

•
•
•
•

4
4
4
5, 6

UNFCCC Race to Zero Climate Champions teamExponential Roadmap Initiative
WBCSD Carbon Transparency Partnership
United 4 Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC)
Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance
Playing for the Planet Alliance
Digital With Purpose Movement
Green Software Foundation
Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative
Green 500
Greentech Alliance
ICT Pact
Icebreaker One
Carbon Call
RE100
GSMA
Internet Governance Forum - Policy Network on
Environment
Science-based Targets Network (SBTN)
E-waste Coalition
Circular Electronics Partnership
WEEE Forum
International POPS Elimination Network (IPEN)
Partner Connect Digital Coalition

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1
1, 2
1
1
1, 2
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1
1
1
1, 2, 5
1, 2, 3

•
•
•
•
•
•

1, 2
2
2
2
2
5

43

Collective Action
Networks andCoalitions

•
•
•
•
•

Digital Poverty Alliance
ITU / UNESCO Broadband Commission
Alliance for Affordable Internet
Responsible Business Alliance
Global Electronics Council

•
•
•
•
•

5
5
5
6
1, 2

Table 3: Mapping of Key Stakeholders and Initiatives Addressing Shift 3

Type of actor /Initiative

Strategic
Priorities

Title

Digital Innovation
and Acceleration
Initiatives or
Funding

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

UNDP’s Digital Transformation Initiative
UNEP’s Digital Transformation Programme
GIZ’s Innovation Challenge
Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Digital Public Goods Alliance
United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC)
UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub
SITRA Sustainable Lifestyles

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1, 4, 5, 6
1, 2, 3, 5
2, 3, 5, 6
2, 3, 52, 5, 62, 3, 5, 6
2, 3, 5, 6
3, 5

Agenda Setting
and Stakeholder
Dialogue•

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence(GPAI)
Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability(CODES)•1, 2, 3•2, 3, 5

Data, Analytics and
Tools

•
•

Destination Earth - Digital Twin of the Planet
System for Earth Observation, Data Access,Processing and Analysis (SEPAL)
Big Earth Data Science Engineering Program(CASEarth)
UNEP’s World Environment Situation Room
Various applications of open data cube
technology including Digital Earth Africa, Digital
Earth PacificGroup on Earth Observations (GEO) work on
Digital Earth
Computational Sustainability
International Society for Digital Earth
Sustainability in the Digital Age
Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental
Intelligence
Alan Turing Institute Environment andSustainability Interest Group
UNDP Data Futures Platform, Green Recovery
Data Hub
UN Secretary General’s Future Labs

•
•

1
1

•

1

•
•

1
1

•

1

•
•
•
•

1, 2, 3
1
4, 5, 6
1, 4, 5•

1, 2, 3

•

1, 6

•

1

•

•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

44

•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Global Initiative on AI and Data Commons
Artificial Intelligence for Environment &Sustainability (ARIES) to support the System ofEnvironmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)
Microsoft Planetary Computer
Google Earth Engine
Nvidia Omniverse platform for digital twinningand 3D simulations
Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative
Salesforce Sustainability Cloud
Global Open Science Cloud Initiative
Future of Sustainable Data Alliance (FoSDA)
Global Data Access Framework (GDAF)
United Nations Satellite Centre UNOSAT
Copernicus Open Access Hub
Trase EarthOn Climate Change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Camda Data 2.0 working group
Climate TRACE
Climate Chain Coalition
Climate Change AI
Centre for AI & Climate
Climate Informatics
Icebreaker One
Data Driven Lab
Digital Public Goods Alliance - Climate Change
Adaptation Community of Practice

On Nature and Biodiversity
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Framework on Ecosystem Restoration (FERM)
UN Biodiversity Lab
IPBES
Restor
The Life Map
e-shape
Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenasde la Cuenca Amazonica (COICA)
Indigenia Mundus

On Chemicals and Pollution
Policies, Norms andStandards••

1, 2, 3, 5
1, 5

•
•
•

1, 2, 4
1, 2, 4
1, 2, 4

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1
1
1
1
2, 3

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1
1
1
1, 3, 4
1, 3, 41
1, 2, 3
1
1, 4, 5

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1
1, 4
1, 4
1
1
1
4, 6

•

4, 6

•

Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML)

•

1, 5

•

Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Data
Global Environmental Data Strategy requested
by UNEA 4/23
FAIR Principles for Scientific Data
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance

•

1, 2

•

1, 2, 5••

1, 2, 5
1, 2, 5, 6

•
•
•

45

Policies, Norms andStandards

•
•

•
•
•
•

•

•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

First Nations Principles of Ownership, Control,
Access, and Possession (OCAP)
ISC-CODATA’s Decadal Programme ‘Data for
the Planet: making data work for cross-domain
grand challenges’
International Open Data Charter
Data Interoperability Collaborative
GS1 Digital Link
ITU-T Study Group 5: Environment, Climate
Change and Circular Economy• ITU-T L.1000-L.1199 standards: set ofstandards that can form the basis forcircular economy• ITU-T L.1470 series to achieve net zero in the
ICT sector• ITU Sustainability passport for digitalproducts• ITU standards and guidelines on Green
Procurement
ITU-T Study Group 20: Internet of things (IoT)
and smart cities and communities (SC&C)• ITU-T Y.4900 series: Evaluation andassessment of smart cities• ITU-T Y.4903: Key performance indicatorsfor smart sustainable cities to assess theachievement of sustainable development
goals• ITU-T Y.4904: Smart Sustainable cities
maturity model
Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) andInternet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture(FG-AI4A)
Green Fintech Taxonomy
Planet Mark
Guidelines for Sustainability Information on
E-commerce Platforms
Consumers International - Digital Trust
EU Digital Services Act
EU Digital Markets Act
UNEP Finance Initiative
Responsible AI Strategy for the Environment(RAISE)EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting - Directive
2014/95/EU Non-Financial Reporting
EU Proposal for a Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive (CSRD)
UNESCO Recommendations on Open Science
Open Science guidelines46•

1, 2, 5, 6

•

1, 2

•
•
•

1
1
2, 3, 5

•

2

•

2

•

2, 3

•

2

•

2, 3

•

2, 3

•

2, 3

•

3, 6

•
•
•

2, 3
3
3

•
•
•
•
•

3
2, 3, 52, 3, 52, 3, 52, 3, 5•2, 3, 5•2, 3, 5

•
•

4
4

•

•

5

•
•
•

5
4, 5
5

•
•

4, 5
3.5

•
•
•
•

European Financial Reporting Advisory Group(EFRAG)/ Sustainability Reporting Board
Digital Nations - Leading Digital Governments
The GovLab
Open Government Partnership: workstream on
digital governanceOpen North
Principles and Recommendations to alignBigFintech governance with the SDGs
ITU and Digital Impact Alliance GovStackITU GreenGovStack
Digital Investment Toolkit
Gender Equality in Digitalization (UNDP)

•
•
•
•

5, 6
5
6
6

Advocacy•

Digital Goes Green•2, 3, 5Training••

EO4GEO AllianceOpen SAP: Helping Business Thrive in a Circular
EconomyICLEI Europe: AI4 Cities
ITU Centres of Excellence programme

•
•

1
2

•
•

2
4, 6

ICT4S Research Community
UNESCO International Research Centre in
Artificial Intelligence
Digitalization for Sustainability – Science inDialogue (D4S)
International Resource Panel’s workstream on“Sustainable Trade in Resources: Global Material
Flows, Circularity and Trade”
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Alan Turing Institute Environment andSustainability Interest GroupITU E-agriculture
Climate Change AI
ITU-T Study Group 5: Environment, Climate
Change and Circular Economy
International Resource Panel’s workstream on“Sustainable Trade in Resources: Global Material
Flows, Circularity and Trade”
Green Digital Finance Alliance
EU’s Regulations on Sustainable FinanceE-mobility Toolbox
Accelerating Access to Low Carbon Urban
Mobility Solutions (ACCESS) throughDigitalization
UNDP Digital Readiness Assessment
OECD International Programme for Action on
Climate (IPAC)
UNFCCC Resilience Frontiers••

1, 2, 3
4, 6•

1, 2, 3

•

3.2

•
•

2, 3, 42, 4, 6•••3, 4, 62, 3, 4, 5
2, 4, 6

•

2, 5

•
•
•
•

2, 5
2, 5
3, 6
3, 6

•
•

4, 5
2, 5

•

2, 5

•
•
•
•
•

•
•
Research andKnowledge

•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•

•
•
•

47

Research andKnowledge

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
Collective Action
Networks andCoalitions

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

UK Center for Greening Finance and Investment
ITU and UNDP’s Digital Capacity Database
AI CommonsWorld Benchmarking Alliance
EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum
Ubuntoo - Environmental Solutions Platform
The GovLab
Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster
Management (FG-AI4NDM)
Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) andInternet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture(FG-AI4A)
Latin American Institute of Terraforming

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

2, 5
2, 4, 5, 6
5, 6
2, 5
4, 6
4, 6
2, 5
3, 5, 6•3, 5, 6•

6

Working towards a Digital Twin on Earth
Greentech Alliance
European Green Digital Coalition
WEF 2030 Vision
Platform for Accelerating a Circular Economy(PACE)
Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP)
Digital With Purpose
Icebreaker One
Playing for the Planet Alliance
Google Sustainability Choices - Green Apps
Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly Products
Every Action Counts Coalition
United 4 Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC)
ITU and UNICEF Giga Connectivity
Science-based Targets Initiative
Climate Chain Coalition
United Citizens Organization for Action for
Climate Empowerment
High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s
Connectivity Strategy
Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity
Partnership (DCCP)
Technology for Development
Digital Impact Alliance
Digital Poverty Alliance

•
•
•
•
•

1
2, 3, 4, 6
2, 3, 52, 5, 6
2

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

2
2, 3, 52, 3, 5
2, 3
3
3
2, 3
2, 3, 54, 6
2, 3, 5
2, 3
5

•

6

•

6

•
•
•

6
6
6

48

Annex II: Summary of Digital
Transformation needs
Identified by the Stockholm+50 regional andnational consultation process
Stockholm +50 Regional Consultation Outcomes on Digital Transformation
Asia and the PacificRegional Consultation
Date

4-5 April 2022

Shifting Markets andConsumer Behaviours•

Develop key standards and use tracking software to ensure that supply chainsare sustainable, and markets and producers are connected

Towards Sustainable
Food and Agriculture•

Leverage new data technologies, such as machine learning and digital mapping
systems, in order to tackle key environmental issues, including food waste andplastic pollution
Improve infrastructure to reduce food loss, and harness digital technologies for
smarter food production and transport•
Innovation-enabling
Policy- and Regulatory
Framework

•

•
•
•

Accelerating and
Scaling Environmental
Sustainability•

Digital Literacy,
Capacity Building andInclusiveness

•

•

•

•
•
•

Take into account the digital gap persistent in the region and note that
digitalization needs to be carried out with clear rules on ownership and use of
the data and knowledge
Increase digital access, especially among those located in remote and isolated
communities
Develop best practices for using emerging technologies like blockchain for data
logs
Focus on the better or more regulated use of information and communication
technology and digital platforms “at the nexus of sectors,” including water
systems, agriculture, and supply chains
Use “internet of things” and digital dashboards to simultaneously manage
energy- and water-related challenges
Recognize that dependence on digital technologies comes with environmental
and social costs, including those associated with the extraction of minerals andrare earths to produce digital gadgets and infrastructure, and the massive useof energy by blockchains
Increase digital access, especially among those located in remote and isolated
communities
Leverage new data technologies, such as machine learning and digital mapping
systems, in order to tackle key environmental issues, including food waste andplastic pollution
Widen access to digital technologies as a means of complementing
conventional classroom-based learning
Introduce data centers and digital monitoring solutions to raise publicawareness about key health and environmental challenges
Promotion of digitalization in agriculture should take into account those whoare left behind – “the bottom billion” without access to digital infrastructure orbasic services, such as electricity and education

49

Latin America and the Caribbean
Regional Consultation
Date

5-6 April 2022

Shifting Markets andConsumer Behaviours•

Electronic waste problems must be addressed using circular economy
principles

Innovation-enabling
Policy- and Regulatory
Framework•

Analysis and regulate the risks that digital technology can pose by facilitating
environmentally harmful development and financing
Introduce technology that bridges gaps between people and sectors and helps
communities
All types of technology, including local and traditional science and technology,
must be used
Implement better resource management through the deployment of technology•••

Digital Literacy,
Capacity Building andInclusiveness•••Support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using more formal
business practices such as digitalization and banking. Technology thatprovides sustainable benefits for communities
Recognition of technology and knowledge that can help people live
harmoniously with nature, and active listening to Indigenous Peoples
To address limited space and human capacity to face challenges and thegap between proposed solutions for issues such as climate change, and theavailability of technology needed to tackle these

AfricaRegional Consultation
Date
Innovation-enabling
Policy- and Regulatory
Framework

Accelerating and
Scaling Environmental
Sustainability

12-13 April 2022•••

Spur enterprise by supporting rural communities access to digitalization andinformation technologies leveraging mobile tech platforms;
Use digitalization to innovate advancements in key growth sectors e.g.,
agriculture, manufacturing, and construction to protect ecosystems andsupport livelihoods
Leverage digitalization to establish robust participatory monitoring andevaluation of sustainable development interventions

Europe and North America
Regional Consultation
Date

5 May 2022

Shifting Markets andConsumer Behaviours•

A globally fair and sustainable product liability insurance regime to acceleratedissemination of relevant technologies

Innovation-enabling
Policy- and Regulatory
Framework•

Introduce better holistic scientific assessments, integrating both social andnatural sciences, for planetary boundaries to better inform global governance;
Deploy green digital solutions
Funding and awards to promote and enhance innovation and innovative
solutions

Accelerating and
Scaling Environmental
Sustainability
Digital Literacy,
Capacity Building andInclusiveness•••Use technology for the protection of the environment•

Promote the use of innovation and technology, including to increasetransparency, traceability, and accountability along supply chains in order tosupport better engagement of stakeholders
Capacity and technology must be aligned with local needs and priorities, notdonor countries’ priorities•

50

West Asia
Regional ConsultationDate

11-12 May 2022

Shifting Markets andConsumer Behaviours•

Step up climate and environmental protection ambition by accelerating action,such as by measuring, reporting, and verifying the objectives of the projectto map 1000+ green buildings, neighbourhoods, and cities with technology
promoting the “green buildings” concept

Towards Sustainable
Food and Agriculture•

Invest in access to energy-efficient and climate-smart technologies for small
producers in agri-food value chains
Promote recycling and digital transformation initiatives

Innovation-enabling
Policy- and Regulatory
Framework•

Accelerating and
Scaling Environmental
Sustainability

•

•

•

Promote e-recycling, which “makes business sense,” and can lead to theformation of new enterprises
Harness innovations and technologies, including digital technologies fortransparency and disclosure
To scale up digitization to accelerate implementation of the environmental
dimension of sustainable development in the context of the Decade of Action

Preliminary Synthesis on Digital Needs Emerging from
National Consultation Processes
Methodology
UNDP provided direct support on the Stockholm +50 national consultation processes in 57 countries,
out of which, 33 countries have submitted a preliminary draft consultation report by 23 May prior
to Stockholm +50 meeting through UNDP country offices. The report template asked for broad
challenges, opportunities, pathways and solutions for Green Recovery and transition into a green andinclusive future without any specific question on digitalization needs to avoid preempting solutions.
This paper was prepared by UNDP as annex to the CODES Action Plan, and a final synthesis reportwill be prepared post-Stockholm +50 with a full analysis on digitalization needs.

Initial Findings•

Over 90% (30 countries) had one or more direct mention of digital technology and data needs,
often across multiple sections of the draft report.

•

Digital was rarely mentioned in the context of a challenge. Rather, it frequently appeared inquestions asking for opportunities and solutions for scale up.

•

Countries noted how lack of digital access and e-literacy amplified inequality and vulnerability
during the Covid-19 pandemic.

•

The most frequently mentioned digital need is digital / data management systems to monitor
key environmental indicators including MRV systems. There is an overarching need to upgrade
or modernize the existing systems as new data sources and more advanced analytics become
available.

51•Countries note that data-driven studies and data disaggregation are key for policy making
processes to ensure vulnerable or marginalized populations inclusivity.

•

Many countries list digital technology needs coupled with needs for data and digital capacity
development, not only in the public sector but also within communities and youth for ownership.
Digital and data skills also frequently appeared in green jobs opportunities.

•

Digital and transparency were key recommendations for improving sustainable supply chains(food, fashion, etc.). Other sectors with strong digital needs are agriculture and energy.

•Countries such as Mauritius and Rwanda, which are known for whole-of-society digitaltransformation efforts, have aligned policy recommendations, solutions and investment needsaround digital technology for nature and climate. Countries may benefit from approaching digitaltransformation with a whole-of-society and foresight lens to get the most of its benefits.

•

Only one country mentioned e-waste as an issue for international cooperation. The potential
negative environmental impact of digital technologies may require further awareness raising.

Country needs (opportunities, solutions, recommendations) on digitalfor nature and climate
Sustainable digital economy and green jobs•

Youth to drive the digital economy with understanding of nature and environmental challenges,
with market-ready IT skills. (Mauritius)•

Transforming the productive matrix of the country, from an extractive model to a model withmore value (more sustainable, inclusive, diverse, digitalized, e.g.). (Chili)•

It is important to readjust economic policies towards “greener and more digital” economies andnot to come back to pre-pandemic levels. (Kazakhstan)

Environmental data monitoring systems•

Publicize relevant, timely and disaggregated data for evidence-based decision making, analysis
and monitoring and evaluation as well as inclusive hearing and evaluation systems for public
feedback on environmental legislation, planning, policies and projects. Leverage AI and digital
tools to support actions against climate change and biodiversity conservation. (China)•

Baseline data development and administration allow to make visible the state or resources andtheir management, subsequently enhancing a more informed decision making with accurate dataconsidering natural resource regeneration. (Mexico)•

Strengthening land cadaster to generate data must aid decision makers. (Liberia)•

This requires better data and information management ahead of time. (Viet Nam)•

Enhance the management of environmental and climate data and/or information of the country.
(Somalia)•

Government should develop a single database platform for monitoring and effective monitoring
purposes. In order to ensure observation, control and management of the condition and changes
in the environment and its resources, a system of state environmental monitoring should be
implemented. (Upgrade current system). (Kyrgyzstan)•

The establishment of a centralized transparency mechanism based on measurable monitoring
indicators. (Algeria)•

MRV system based on user friendly IT system. (Ethiopia)

52

Advanced analytics, modeling and forecasting for decision making•

The importation of essential equipment, such as supercomputers, which are essential formodeling the impacts of various environmental crises (climate change, loss of biologicaldiversity, desertification, water stress, land degradation, etc.). The importance of equitable
access to technical tools (software, applications, etc.), which are essential for the achievement of
the environmental dimension of sustainable development. This concerns, for example, software
for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, modelling tools, super calculators, systematic
observation tools, etc. (Algeria)•

Data analytics and GIS to improve our capacity to analyze and project climate trends.
(Philippines)•

Leverage Technology & Data Collection tools to adopt data-driven approaches and inform
Covid-19 containment strategies and economic recovery. (Rwanda)

Digital application in key sectors•

Digital transformation is a key enabler. (Sri Lanka)•

Application of appropriate digital technology in key livelihood sectors including agriculture andtourism. (Thailand)•

SMART transport alternatives. (Philippines)•

Develop the E-commerce (food, clothing, materials, etc.) and digital marketing. (Cote d ‘Ivoire)•

Digitalization of various systems (such as supply chains). (Georgia)•

Driving the adoption of ICT for all businesses and citizens by scaling up existing e-government
and private sector digitization efforts including E-Commerce Platforms and Digital Payments.
Improve public transportation systems including increased number and efficiency of buses,
linkage with payment system and better IT platform (application) for fleet management.
(Rwanda)•Emergence of new business opportunities: mobile vending, online businesses, etc. The recovery
practices could be scaled up through development of ICT infrastructure. (Sri Lanka)•

Vulgarization of agro-technology (digital innovation for agriculture). (Cote d ‘Ivoire)•Transition agriculture and waste management to a digital inclusivity and decentralized strategy.
(Liberia)•

Accelerate transition to sustainable energy practices and digital transformation. (Mauritius)

Digital media, communication and engagement for a just transition•

Promote the role of digital media in disseminating and promoting biodiversity conservation andclimate change concepts. (China)•

At the ages of digitalization, children and students would be more aware of environmental
changes in the nature and how it is important to conserve the environment and biodiversity for
future generations. (Kazakhstan)•

Vulgarise opportunities for benefit of all, using digital platforms and mass media to eliminate
communication barriers. (Mauritius)•

The development of digital media to increase the active involvement of the population in public
policy and practical measures for disseminating information were also highlighted. (Ecuador)

53

Inclusivity of marginalized or vulnerable populations•

Generate public policies that have a focus on the whole of society, and are governed by the dataand information available. A good example of this is the UNDP study “A green recovery from
Covid19 in Costa Rica”, which shows how the implementation of the National Decarbonization
Plan is a great opportunity to reduce the inequality gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study shows that with greater investments in decarbonization, people with medium and low
job qualifications, as well as women, are the most benefited. (Costa Rica)•

Transition to youth, digital inclusivity and decentralization of NRM activities to facilitate
ownership. (Liberia)•

Assessments, evaluations, studies, and other data collection efforts will be required to reportgender and social inclusion progress to inform gender policy and planning. (Papua New Guinea)•

Empower the youth, the women, the marginalized and the general public to be more involved
through citizen science; Digitalization of G2P interventions. (Philippines)•

Improve internet access for all, especially in rural areas. (Cote d ‘ Ivoire)

Digital and transparency of supply chain•

Digital transformation. (Sri Lanka)•

Local industries should decarbonise their supply chains and use ICT to modernize theiroperations, supported by IT skills development, capacity building, technology diffusion to create
more decent work and quality jobs while digital networks and access continue to be upgraded.
(Mauritius)•

Reduce the cost of the digital divide and promote access to affordable clean energy. (Mali)•

In order to achieve and create a better performing industry and supply chain, it is important toadopt visibility and traceability of the supply chain. (Kazakhstan)•

The digitalization of supply chain systems. (Georgia)•

Digital technology should be deployed to manage carbon emissions across the supply chain.
(China)Capacity needs•

Access to the latest technologies should be ensured through the sharing of best practices, butalso through open access mechanisms the benefit of developing countries. (Algeria)•Strengthen capacity through communication and training, including the establishment of data
coordination and monitoring, for more evidence-based informed decisions. (China)•

Governments, educational institutions, and industry need to start implementing policies andprogrammes that increase the level of digital competence in countries. Core to developing suchpolicies and programmes is the identification of national skills supply, skills demand, and skills
gaps, which is required to develop targeted and effective action. Angola needs to first solve
the basic problems of internet access and connectivity to then start implement more complex
technologies. (Angola)•

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are identified as being necessary to reducetransaction costs, both physical (e.g., transportation) and non-physical (information asymmetries,
decision-making, etc.). (Argentina)•

Low access to the internet and digitalization which also affect their life conditions. Access to
education and digital information, especially to women and people in rural areas are needed to be
improved for future generations. (Kazakhstan)54

•

Information, communication and digital technologies in the field of environment and climatechange. (Mali)•

Lack of data is a significant country-wide problem that hinders data-driven decision making
for sustainable development. Therefore, an effective information management system is an
essential technological capacity needed to strengthen all dimensions of SD. / Capacity.
(Sri Lanka)•

Capacity building of environmental and climate activists on digital technology are needed. In
addition, Somalia needs technologies to measure air, water, soil and marine pollution, state of art
technologies to support multi-hazards early warning system. (Somalia)•

Assistive technology and devices are not available locally / in communities that hinder PWD
capacity to engage in the implementation of initiatives. Need to develop incentives for
manufacturers of these technology and make these devices more affordable for PWDs. Justtransition could also focus on increasing skills of the communities, esp indigenous peoples (e.g.
digital inclusion). (Philippines)

E-waste and negative impact of digital•

Disposal of used e-material and e-wastes. (Mauritius)

55

References
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Future Earth. Sustainability in the Digital Age. https://futureearth.org/initiatives/other-initiatives/
sustainability-in-the-digital-age/ (Accessed: 14 February 2022).
Mondejar, M. E., Avtar, R., Diaz, H., Dubey, R. K., Esteban, J., Gómez-Morales, A., Hallam, B.,
Mbungu, N. T., Okolo, C. C., Prasad, K. A., She, Q., & Garcia-Segura, S. (2021). Digitalization toachieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet. The Science of thetotal environment, 794, 148539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539.
PwC (2020). Over two-thirds of Sustainable Development Goals could be bolstered by emerging
tech, including AI and blockchain. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2020/
blockchain-sdgs-wef.html (Accessed: 14 February 2022).
Other assessments have come to similar conclusions for example, the GESI Digital With
Purpose Report (2019) found that 103 of the 169 SDG targets are directly influenced by sevendigital technologies: digital access, faster internet, cloud, the internet of things (IoT), cognitive,
digital reality, and blockchain. See also https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0048969721036111; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14108-y; https://eo4society.
esa.int/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EO_Compendium-for-SDGs.pdf.
General Assembly resolution 48/13, The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment, A/HRC/RES/48/13 (8 October 2021), available from undocs.org/A/HRC/RES/48/13.
UN General Assembly (2015). Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. A/RES/70/1.
United Nations (2020). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020. https://unstats.un.org/
sdgs/report/2020/
United Nations Environmental Programme (2021). Making Peace With Nature: A scientificblueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. https://www.unep.org/
resources/making-peace-nature
International Telecommunication Union (2021). Facts and Figures Report 2021. https://www.itu.
int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2021/
World Economic Forum (2021). The Global Risks Report 2021. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/
WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf
United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Capital Development Fund (2021).
Towards an Inclusive, SDG-Aligned Governance of BigFintech. https://sdgfinance.undp.org/digitalfinance/towards-inclusive#summary
United Nations Capital Development Fund (2021). Estimates of Global E-Commerce 2019 And
Preliminary Assessment of Covid-19 Impact on Online Retail 2020. https://unctad.org/system/
files/official-document/tn_unctad_ict4d18_en.pdf
Kepios Analysis (2021). Digital 2022 April Global Statshot Report. https://datareportal.com/
reports/digital-2022-april-global-statshot
Magna (2021). Global Advertising Market Reaches New Heights and Exceeds Pre-Covid Levels.
https://magnaglobal.com/global-advertising-market-reaches-new-heights-and-exceeds-precovid-levels/ (Accessed: 17 May 2022).
GeSI (2015). #SMARTer2030 report: ICT Solutions for 21st Century Challenges. https://
smarter2030.gesi.org/downloads/Full_report.pdf
Graver, B., Zhang, K. and Dan Rutherford (2018). CO2 Emissions from Commercial Aviation, 2018.
The International Council on Clean Transportation. https://theicct.org/publication/co2-emissionsfrom-commercial-aviation-2018/
56

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.
30.

31.

32.
33.

34.

35.

36.

Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., and G. Bel (2020) The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities,
flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/
Rotterdam.
Deloitte (2021). What is digital economy? Unicorns, transformation and the internet of things.
https://www2.deloitte.com/mt/en/pages/technology/articles/mt-what-is-digital-economy.html.
(Accessed: 17 May 2022).
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2021). Digital Economy Report 2021:
Cross-border data flows and development: For whom the data flow. Overview. https://unctad.org/
system/files/official-document/der2021_overview_en_0.pdf.
Digital Tech ITP. Defining the Digital Sector. https://digitaltechitp.nz/defining-the-digital-sector/(Accessed: 17 May 2022).
Government of Canada (2021). Digital Technologies/ICT. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/digitaltechnologies-ict/enOECD (2019). Going Digital: Shaping Policies, Improving Lives, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.
org/10.1787/9789264312012-en.
Based on the definition provided in: Gather. Information Technology Glossary: Digitalisation.
https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/digitalization (Accessed: 17 May2022).
OECD (2019). Going Digital: Shaping Policies, Improving Lives, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.
org/10.1787/9789264312012-en.
Mondejar, M. E., Avtar, R., Diaz, H., Dubey, R. K., Esteban, J., Gómez-Morales, A., Hallam, B.,
Mbungu, N. T., Okolo, C. C., Prasad, K. A., She, Q., & S. Garcia-Segura (2021). Digitalization toachieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet. The Science of thetotal environment, 794, 148539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539.
Ashutosh Gupta (2021). What is Digital Sustainability and How Does It Drive SDG Goals? Gartner.
https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-is-digital-sustainability-and-how-does-it-drive-esggoals.
Wut, T.M., Lee, D., Ip, W.M., & S.W. Lee (2021). Digital Sustainability in the Organization: Scale
Development and Validation. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3530. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su13063530.
KPMG (2021). Digitalization can give direction to your sustainability transformation. https://home.
kpmg/be/en/home/insights/2021/07/sus-digitalization-can-give-direction-to-your-sustainabilitytransformation.html (Accessed: 17 May 2022).
Based on the definition provided in: https://www.sdp.digital/ (Accessed: 17 May 2022).
Dominik Piétron, Philipp Staab, Florian Hofmann (2022). Sustainable digital market design: a databased approach to the Circular Economy. ECDF Working Paper Series #001, Policy Paper for the
D4S-Network, 28th January 2022, Berlin. http://dx.doi. org/10.14279/depositonce-15014.
Based on the definition provided in: https://arbor.bfh.ch/16649/1/IGF%202021%20PNE%20
Output%20Document.pdf (Accessed: 17 May 2022).
Based on materials on https://digitalization-for-sustainability.com/ (Accessed: 17 May 2022).
Corporate Digital Responsibility (2021).The International CDR Manifesto. https://
corporatedigitalresponsibility.net/.
United Nations (2020). Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. Report of the Secretary-General.
https://www.un.org/en/content/digital-cooperation-roadmap/assets/pdf/Roadmap_for_Digital_
Cooperation_EN.pdf.
United Nations (2021). Our Common Agenda. Report of the Secretary-General. https://www.
un.org/en/content/common-agenda-report/assets/pdf/Common_Agenda_Report_English.pdf.
German Advisory Council on Global Change (2019). Towards Our Common Digital Future. Flagship
Report. https://issuu.com/wbgu/docs/wbgu_hg2019_en?fr=sM2QyYzU1OTI4OA.
57

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Capital Development Fund (2021).
Principles and Recommendations to align BigFintech governance with the SDGs. https://
sdgfinance.undp.org/digital-finance/principles.
ITU. Study Group 5 at a glance. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/about/groups/Pages/sg05.aspx(Accessed:18 May 2022)
Stuermer, M., Abu-Tayeh, G. & T. Myrach (2017). Digital sustainability: basic conditions forsustainable digital artifacts and their ecosystems. Sustain Sci 12, 247–262. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s11625-016-0412-2
ITU-T (2020). Recommendation L.1470. Greenhouse gas emissions trajectories for the informationand communication technology sector compatible with the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-L.1470-202001-I/en.
Andrae, A.S.G. (2020). New perspectives on internet electricity use in 2030. https://pisrt.org/
psrpress/j/easl/2020/2/3/new-perspectives-on-internet-electricity-use-in-2030.pdf.
Freitag, C., Berners-Lee, M., Widdicks, K., Knowles, B., Blair, G., & A. Friday (2021). The real climate
and transformative impact of ICT: A critique of estimates, trends, and regulations. Patterns. 2.
100340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2021.100340.
Digiconomist (2020). Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index. https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energyconsumption/ (Accessed: 15 February 2022).
World Bank (2020). Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy
Transition. http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-ActionThe-Mineral-Intensity-of-the-Clean-Energy-Transition.pdf.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2020). Digital economy growth andmineral resources: implications for developing countries. https://unctad.org/system/files/officialdocument/tn_unctad_ict4d16_en.pdf.
Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., and G. Bel (2020) The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities,
flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/
Rotterdam.
World Economic Forum (2019). A New Circular Vision for Electronics, Time for a Global Reboot.
https://www.weforum.org/reports/a-new-circular-vision-for-electronics-time-for-a-global-reboot
Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., and G. Bel (2020) The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities,
flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/
Rotterdam.
Kunkel, S., & D. Tyfield (2021). Digitalisation, sustainable industrialisation and digital rebound –Asking the right questions for a strategic research agenda. Energy Research & Social Science,
Volume 82, 2021, 102295, ISSN 2214-6296, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102295.
Coroama, V., & F. Mattern (2019). Digital Rebound - Why Digitalization Will not Redeem us
our Environmental Sins. In “Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on ICT for
Sustainability(ICT4S 2019) (Editor Wolff, Annika). CEUR Workshop Proceedings Volume 2382.
http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2382/.
Kepios Analysis (2021). Digital 20222021 AprilOctober Global Statshot Report. https://
datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-april-global-statshot. https://datareportal.com/reports/
digital-2021-october-global-statshot.

58

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.
60.

61.

62.

63.

Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., and S. Aral (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science359(6380), 1146–1151 (2018)
Stop Funding Heat (2021). In Denial - Facebook’s growing friendship with climate misinformation
report. https://stopfundingheat.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/in-denial-v2.pdf.
Gigler, B-S. (2011). Informational Capabilities : The Missing Link for the Impact of ICT on
Development. E-Transform knowledge platform working paper; no. 1. World Bank, Washington, DC.
© World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/19011 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO
Church, C., and A. Crawford(2018). Green Conflict Minerals: The fuels of conflict in the transition toa low-carbon economy. International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Here due diligence requirements as outlined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the EU Directive on human rights
due diligence, among others, can be instructive.
Livingstone, S., Carr, J. and J. Byrne. (2016). One inThree: Internet Governance and Children’s
Rights. Innocenti Discussion Paper No.2016-01, UNICEF Office of Research, Florence.
International Telecommunication Union (2021). Facts and Figures Report 2021. https://www.itu.
int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2021/.
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. https://www.gida-global.org/care.
FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability,
Reusability). https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/.
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (Collective benefit, Authority to control,
Responsibility and Ethics). https://www.gida-global.org/care.
The SNA provides an overview of economic processes, recording how production is distributed
among consumers, businesses, government and foreign nations. It shows how income originating
in production, modified by taxes and transfers, flows to these groups and how they allocate theseflows to consumption, saving and investment. Consequently, the national accounts are one of thebuilding blocks of macroeconomic statistics forming a basis for economic analysis and policy
formulation.
Kloppenburg, S., Gupta, A., Kruk, S. R. L., Makris, S., Bergsvik, R., Korenhof, P., Solman, H., &Toonen, H. M. (2022). Scrutinizing environmental governance in a Digital age: New ways ofseeing, participating, and intervening. One Earth, 5(3), 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
oneear.2022.02.004.

59

Contributors
This Action Plan was co-created by anincredible network of passionate people wanting
to collaborate to shape a sustainable and green
digital future. While the Action Plan co-creation
process was opened to 1,000 stakeholders fromthe CODES community, the following individuals
deserve specific acknowledgement for theircontributions, engagement and commitment tocollective action.

Never doubt that a small“
group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing thatever has.

”Margaret Mead

CODES Action Plan Coordination TeamDavid Jensen, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Shivam Kishore, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Reina Otsuka, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Marcel Dorsch, Umweltbundesamt/German Environment Agency (UBA)
Nilufar Sabet-Kassouf, Future Earth and Sustainability in the Digital Age
Megha Sud, International Science Council (ISC)

CODES Secretariat Contributors
Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Dirk Messner, President, Umweltbundesamt/German Environment Agency (UBA)
Philip Thigo, Senior Advisor, Innovations and Open Government - Presidency - Kenya
Éliane Ubalijoro, Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and Global Hub Director, Canada,
Future EarthDavid Jensen, Digital transformation coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Reina Otsuka, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Marcel Dorsch, Umweltbundesamt/German Environment Agency (UBA)
Megha Sud, International Science Council (ISC)
Shivam Kishore, Digital Transformation Advisor, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Nilufar Sabet-Kassouf, Future Earth & Sustainability in the Digital Age
Nilushi Kumarasinghe, Future Earth and Sustainability in the Digital Age
Geoffrey Boulton, International Science Council (ISC) and University of Edinburgh
Heide Hackmann, CEO, International Science Council (ISC)
Ben Larroquette, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Christian Löwe, Umweltbundesamt/German Environment Agency (UBA)
Catherine P. McMullen, independent expert
Dirk Osiek, Umweltbundesamt/German Environment Agency (UBA)
Stephanie d’Arc Taylor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Jason Jabbour, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Polina Koroleva, Digital Transformation Junior Professional Officer, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
60

Technical Contributors
Adriana Miranda Castillo, Techno Psychology, Humane Technology & Lean Agile Transformation CoachAfi Edoh, Student, Dakar Institute of Technology (DIT)
Aiaze Mitha, Digital Finance and SDG Expert, Environmental Digital Innovations Expert, Emerging
Markets Fintech Entrepreneur
Aidin Niamir, Scientist, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute, Germany
Alan Kaydul, Technical Advisor, Digitalization Division, Swiss Foreign Ministry of Federal Affairs
Alexandrine Fayet Boggiano, Programme Manager, Operations Digital Transformation (ICRC)
Alison B. Lowndes, Senior Scientist, Global AI, NVIDIA
Almut Nagel, Green Digital Transformation Policy Advisor, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Amanda Miner, Geospatial Innovation Expert, GIS Services Manager, Envicom Corporation
Amy Luers, Global Lead, Sustainability Science, Microsoft
Anders Sul Thuesen Schmidt, Head of Corporate Citizenship & Responsible Business DK, Accenture
Andrea Hinwood, Chief Scientist, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Andre Uhl, Chair, IEEE Earth Lab
Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer, Planet
Andy Middleton, Chief Exploration Officer, TYF Group, a Certified B Corporation
Ashbindu Singh, Environmental Pulse Institute
Asim Hussain, Chairperson, Green Software Foundation
Athur Mabiso, Senior Economist, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Babatunde Abidoye, Global Policy Advisor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Bahtiyar Kurt, Regional Technical Support Specialist, Energy, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)
Benjamin Larroquette, Regional Technical Advisor for CCA, Nature, Climate and Energy team, United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Bjorn-Soren Gigler, PhD, Head of Data Economy and Blockchain Programs, GIZ and Adjunct Professor,
Georgetown University
Brennan Van Dyke, Chief, Capacity Development and Innovation Branch, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Btissam Benkerroum, Economist, African Development Bank
Carly Gilbert Patrick, Team Leader, Active Mobility, Digitalization & Mode Integration, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
Carolin Frankenhauser, Digital Analyst, Chief Digital Office, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)
Cheikh Tidjane N’dongo, Acting Head of Food Security Unit, African Union Development Agency (AUDANEPAD)
Chibulu Luo, Programme Manager, Energy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Christian Jølck, Co-founder and Partner, 2150, Climate Tech Investor
Christina Bowen, Co-founder, product research and public engagement, Socialroots
Cristina Bueti, Counsellor, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Cyril Caminade, Research Associate, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
Dagim Terefe, Freelance journalist
Dario Piselli, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Dave Thau, Data and Technology Global Lead Scientist, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)David Rolnick, Assistant Professor, McGill University and Co-Founder, Climate Change AI
Dr. Indranil Nath, Chartered Fellow, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
Dr. Karen Bakker, Author, Professor & Researcher of Environmental Governance & Innovation, Universityof British Columbia
Dr. Odilia Coi, Director of Innovation, MKAI, Author on Digital Trust, Guest Lecturer, University of Cagliari61Dr. Shivam Gupta, Bonn Alliance for Sustainability Research, University of Bonn, Germany
Edward Darling, The Life Map, Redlist Revival
Enrico Panai, Data and AI Ethicist
Eric Hansel, Founder, Esgdao and The Scubaverse
Ervin Pfeifer, International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO
Eun Joo Lee, Business Analyst, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Felipe Gusmao, Professor, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Felix Creutzig, Groupleader MCC, Berlin; Chair Sustainability Economics of Human Settlements, TU
BerlinFemi David Ogunnigbo, Field Operations Officer/Environmental Consultant, Going Green International
Consults Limited
Ferdinando Villa, Ikerbasque Research Professor, Basque Centre for Climate Change
Flurina Wäspi, Institute for Public Sector Transformation, University of BernFrancesco Gaetani, Regional Science Policy Coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)
Franco Donati, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Environmental Science (CML), Department ofIndustrial Ecology, Leiden University and Member of Science for Democracy
Gandhar Desai, Analyst, Sustainable and Digital Agriculture, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)
Gavin Starks, CEO, Icebreaker One
Georg Kell, Chairman of the Board at Arabesque, Founding Director of the United Nations Global
Compact
Gertjan van Stam, Independent Consultant
Graham Gannon, Head of Engineering, Global Sales/Marketing Platforms, Google
Guillaume Soto-Gomez, IT Consultant for NGO, Shauri-CC / Well Grounded
Hannah Kromminga, GIFTD, Greentech AllianceHannah Mueller, Sustainable Digital Development, GIZ
Héctor Tuy, Organismo Indígena Naleb’, Guatemala
Himanshu Shekhar, United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNUEHS), Bonn, Germany
Ilias Iakovidis, Green Digital Advisor, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Isabelle Albert, Author Tech IT Green, COO Satgana Climate VB & fund
Jacob Baraza, Expert in Water Governance, Transboundary Water Conflicts and Cooperation
Jake Reynolds, Executive Director, Sustainable Economy, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability
LeadershipJames Castillo, Filmmaker, Flowerman productions
Jan Kennis, Digital For Development Lead Expert, Enabel
Jasmin Nussbaumer, Institute for Public Sector Transformation, University of Bern
Jean-Noé Landry, Obama Scholar, Obama Foundation and Columbia University in New York City andFormer Executive Director, Open North
Jim Fruchterman, Founder/CEO Tech Matters, responsible for the Terraso Integrated LandscapeManagement Platform of the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People Initiative
Johannes Leon Kirnberger, AI & Sustainability Consultant at OECD.AI and Research Associate, Global
Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)
Karine Perset, Head, OECD.AI Policy Observatory and Network of Experts
Karl Burkart, Co-Founder and Deputy Director, One Earth
Katherine A. Foster, Open Earth Foundation and Social Alpha Foundation
Kathryn Sforcina, Global Head of Strategy at IV.AI
Kathleen Buckingham, Director, Sustainability, Tentree & Veritree62

Katie Gibson, Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, CIO Strategy Council, Canada
Kavinda Gunasekara, Associate Director, Geoinformatics Center at Asian Institute of Technology
Kay Poh Gek Vasey, CEO, MeshMinds
Kenyatta Mirindi, Digital Business Analyst
Laure Berti-Equille, Researcher, Institute of Research for Development, France
Laurent Durieux, SDG Coordinator, Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
Leah Bunce Karrer, Senior Environmental Officer, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Ligia Noronha, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Loïc Modoux, Political Advisor, Digitalization Division, Swiss Foreign Ministry of Federal Affairs
Lubomila Jordanova, CEO & Co-Founder Plan A & Co-Founder Greentech Alliance
Ludgarde Coppens, Head of the SDG and Environment Statistics Unit, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Ludmilla Diniz, Energy and Climate Technical Specialist, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)
Luis Neves, CEO, Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GESI)
Luisa Teixeira, Project Manager, Vizzuality
Maria de la O Laura del Carmen Cuevas Cancino Esteva, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
María Emilia Burgos, International Policy Analyst & Program manager for SDGs (The Kootneeti)
Marianne Haahr, Executive Director Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA)Marija Pujo Tadic, International Institute for Climate Action (IICA) - founder & president - Croatia/EU
Markus Böhm, Digital transformation, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment
Marta Ottogalli, Knowledge Manager Consultant, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Martin Smith, Project Director, The Carbon Mark
Mateo Dugand, EMEA Sustainability Regional Lead, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Mateo Salomon, Global Energy & Finance Advisor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Matt Greenspan, Telecommunications Management Group (TMG)
Matthias Stürmer, Professor, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Head of the Institute for Public
Sector Transformation of BFH and Head of the Research Center for Digital Sustainability, University ofBern
Max Schulz, Executive Chairman, Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance
Mélisande Teng, PhD Student, Mila
Michael J. Oghia, Independent, ICT sustainability advocate
Michael Stanley-Jones, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Miroslav Polzer, CEO, International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches
to Global Challenges IAAI GloCha & Founder, United Citizens Organization for Action for Climate
Empowerment
Mónica Miguel-Lago, European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC)
Neil Davis, Software Engineer, Microsoft
Nicolas Miailhe, Co-Founder & President, The Future Society
Nigel P. Melville, Program Director, Design Science, Associate Professor of Information Systems,
Nikola Nikačević, Professor, University of Belgrade and Founder of Eon+ (Digital ESIA - Envigo)
Paz Peña O, Coordinator, Latin American Institute of Terraforming
Pernilla Bergmark, Principal Researcher ICT Sustainability Impacts, Ericsson
Pierre Boileau, Head of the Global Environment Outlook, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)
Pilar Fajarnes, Chief, Digital Economy Policy Research Section, United Nations Conference on Tradeand Development (UNCTAD)
Pooja Munsi, Head of Web, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Priya L. Donti, Ph.D. Candidate, Carnegie Mellon University and Co-Founder, Climate Change AI

63

Priynka Sharma, Assistant Lecturer, University of the South PacificRajiv Garg, Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN)
Rebaone Ferguson, Human Rights Officer, Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR)
Régia Estevam Alves, Specialist Researcher in Land Degradation, YouthMappers Regional Ambassador
Reyna Ubeda, Project Officer, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Rianne C ten Veen, Independent Interdisciplinary Consultant
Richard Matthew, Associate Dean of Research and International Programs and Professor of Urban
Planning and Public Policy in the School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
Richard T. Jordan, Royal Academy of Science Intl. Trust, Chief of UN Operations
Rob Price, Co-founder of Corporate Digital Responsibility
Robert Amahirwe, BI and Data Analyst, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Rosie McDonald, E-waste Data Associate Officer, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Ross School of Business, College of Engineering, University of Michigan
Ryan Boudinot, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Machines & Dreamland
Rudradeb Mitra, CEO, Omdena
Sally M Solaymantash, Technology Consultant
Samuel Adunreke, Executive Director, Innovea Development Foundation
Sara Di Lonardo, Researcher, Italian National Research Council-Research Institute on Terrestrial
Ecosystems (CNR-IRET)
Sary Qasim, MENA Region Lead, Government Blockchain Association GBASatya Das, Digital Economist
Severin Sindizera, Global Coordinator, Indigenous Peoples Global Forum for Sustainable Development,
IPGFforSD
Sherwood Moore, Communication and Community Engagement at ICANN, Linux Hyperledger Climate
Action and Accounting Special Interest Group Co-chair
Simon Gardner, Head of Digital Environment, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Somya Joshi, Head of Division, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Sreekanth Venkataraman, Independent Digital Expert
Stefanie Kunkel, Research Group “Digitalization and Sustainability Transformations” at the Institute forAdvanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany
Stefano Balbi, Researcher, Basque Centre for Climate Change
Stephanie Race, Founder & CEO, Earth Labs Group
Steve Vosloo, Digital Learning, Innovation and Policy Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF)
Steven Stone, Deputy Director, Economy Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Terry Gunning, Senior Managing Partner, Technology, DXC
Theresa Schwarz, UN Global Pulse, Finland
Tim Frick, Advocate for the Responsible, Equitable, and Sustainable Use of Design and Technology,
Certified B Corp Owner
Tim Scott, Policy Advisor, Environment, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Tom Baumann, Co-Founder and CEO of ClimateCHECK, Co-Chair of Climate Chain Coalition
Vanessa Gray, Head of the Division for Environment and Emergency Telecommunications, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Vasudev Bhandarkar, CEO ScoreData Corporation
Vlad Coroama, Lecturer in Smart Energy and Digitalization & Sustainability, ETH Zurich
Yaxuan Chen, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Zeinab El Maadawi, Professor, Cairo University and Digital Learning Expert at UN

64

CODES Communication Products
Alison Meston, International Science Council
Andrew Raven, Writer, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Beverley McDonald, Report and Graphic Design, Communication Division, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Daniel Cooney, Director, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)David Cole, Head of Social Media, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)
Dylan Lowthian, Head of Media, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Fan Zhang, Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology
Josie Raine, Communication Specialist, Nature Climate and Energy Team, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
Katie Elles, Head Writer, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, Communication Division, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Kelvin Memia, Web Developer and Digital Marketing support, Communication Division, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)Maria Vittoria Galassi, Digital Transformation Account Manager, Communication Division, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
Martin Ittershagen, German Environmental Agency
Mia Dee Foster, Senior Multimedia Producer, Communication Division, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Miranda Grant, Head of Multimedia, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)
Moses Osani, Public Information Officer, Communication Division, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Nancy Groves, Chief of Digital Strategy, Communication Division, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Neha Sud, Chief of Content, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Patrick Kihara, Writer, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Pooja Munshi, Head of Web, Communication Division, Digital Transformation Taskforce, United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
Rachelle Fox, Future Earth & Sustainability in the Digital Age
Sahya Haria, Social Media, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Tal Harris, Media Engagement, Communication Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

65

Digitalization is one of the most important drivers of economic, social and environmental transformation. It
has given rise to powerful general-purpose technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computingthat offer revolutionary scale and potential. Digital transformation is globally pervasive, increasing
productivity, disrupting pre-existing business models and leading to diverse innovations with profound
implications for the human future. This transformation has enormous potential to support progress towards
sustainability however in its current form, it continues to enable and/or encourage unsustainable practices
that are degrading natural systems, entrenching inequality and undermining human wellbeing.
There is an urgent need to reverse these negative trends and to utilize the potential of digital transformation
as a vital tool in developing globally sustainable economic and social behaviours. We need to move thefocus away from the pursuit of short-term, unsustainable gains towards the achievement of long-termvalues-driven sustainable outcomes. Three systemic shifts are needed to harness digital transformation as
a positive and exponential force for progressing environmentally and socially sustainable development.
•

Shift 1 Enable Alignment: Create the enabling conditions to align the vision, values and objectives ofthe digital age with sustainable development;•

Shift 2 Mitigate Negative Impacts: A commitment to “sustainable digitalization” that mitigates thenegative environmental and social impacts of digital technologies;•

Shift 3 Accelerate Innovation: Advancing investments in “digitalization for sustainability” to accelerate
the development and deployment of sustainability-driven digital innovation.

Within each shift, this Action Plan identifies six strategic priorities that must be addressed during the 20222025 timeline together with 9 global Impact Initiatives to catalyse systemic transformations. The Coalition
for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES) will contribute the implementation of this Action Plan infour ways:•

Convene and connect a global community of common purpose to advance these 3 shifts;•

Identify enabling policies and map stakeholders for each strategic priority;•

Suggest Impact Initiatives as actionable items to concurrently progress strategic priorities;•

Foster and demonstrate political leadership in advocating for and realizing the Impact Initiatives.

All stakeholders are invited to engage in the CODES Action Plan in one or more of the following channels:•

Catalyser: Stakeholders seeking to engage directly with one or more of the Impact Initiatives that areproposed in the Action Plan.

•

Action Network: Stakeholders contributing to and leveraging the 3 shifts proposed in the Action Plan tosupport the progression of digital sustainability.

•

Advocates: Stakeholders seeking to contribute their expertise to the CODES community and become an
advocate for the CODES vision and values.

More information is available on
the CODES Community Page on
www.sparkblue.org/CODES