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About Us
What is SustainIT?
Our work areas and Previous projects
Our services
What is SustainIT?
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential
to deliver significant social and environmental benefits to individuals,
communities and organisations. SustainIT, an initiative of leading
charity UK CEED, focuses on the relationship between and sustainable
development and seeks to demonstrate how the technologies can
be used to realise these benefits.
SustainIT undertakes the following activities with public, private
and voluntary sector partners in the UK and across Europe:
- Quantitative and qualitative research
- Demonstration projects
- Policy advice and guidance
- Award programmes and good practice
dissemination
- Development of on line tools and guidance materials
- Debate and engagement activities
Current programme partners include the EU Commission, East of
England Development Agency, East Midlands Regional Assembly, BT,
Brother,
Vodafone, Sony, Hewlett Packard
Click here to contact us.
Our work areas and Previous projects
SustainIT has a broad programme of research, policy development
and engagement activities. Our key areas of work include:
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Assessing the economic, social and environmental implications
of ICT-enabled remote and flexible working (e-work) |
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Evaluating the social and environmental benefits of core
ICT technologies, such as broadband , wireless networks and
mobile telephony |
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Assessing the waste management options for ICT equipment
(WEEE) |
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Promoting ICT good practice through case study dissemination,
our Ewell-Being Awards programme, and events |
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Developing online tools for assessing sustainable development
performance and encouraging engagement in policy making processes |
SustainIT’s broad range of expertise is reflected in its
diverse project portfolio, which includes:
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E-work - SustainIT devised and
co-ordinated Sustel, a major EU project on Teleworking. The
project has conducted 30 case studies and 6 surveys in 5 different
countries and generated new information about teleworking’s
economic, environmental and social impacts. It has also developed
on-line materials for organisational decision-makers. Visit www.sustel.org for
further information.
SustainIT has also recently completed a feasibility study on
neighbourhood-based Ework Centres – a new breed of telework
centre that offer a new, flexible and affordable alternative
to existing remote and mobile working facilities. Such centres
would complement the existing provision and open up remote working
opportunities to those that are, for whatever reason, unable
to work from home, or travel long distances to work. The final
report is available here. |
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Conferencing – SustainIT
has conducted a large-scale survey of the business, transport
and other impacts of audio and video-conferencing within BT,
which is one of the UK’s largest users of the technology.
The final report is available here. |
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Community Broadband – SustainIT’s
project looked at 23 community organisation that have upgraded
their Internet access from dial-up modem access to ADSL (broadband).
The final report Connected Communities – Can they help
to reduce the digital divide? looks at how these organisations
and their users are utilising broadband and the extent to which
it enabled people to get online and gain benefits from its
use . Read or download it here. |
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eWell-Being Awards – Our
annual Award programme which recognises organisations using
ICT to deliver economic, environmental and social benefits.
The 2004 programme is now open for applications. Click here for more information. |
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Smart services – a report
on the eco-efficiency benefits of providing detailed and precise
information through ICT to users in the agriculture, energy
and transport sectors. This builds on an earlier European Union
project involving Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish
organisations to ascertain the characteristics of, and potential
for, ‘dematerialised’ services. Read or download
it here. |
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Online Sustainability Toolkits – SustainIT,
in conjunction with UK CEED, is currently developing interactive
online sustainability assessment toolkits. The aim of the toolkits
is to assist policy makers and project planners to highlight
the economic, environmental and social impacts of new policies
and development proposals, by assessing them against certain
sustainability criteria. As well as providing an assessment
of the current situation, the toolkits also provide guidance
materials and information on how the proposals can be improved.
Two toolkits are currently being piloted:
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Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) – a
detailed pilot project in partnership with Hewlett Packard
and the European Recycling Platform to assess cost effective,
practicable collection and reprocessing options for end of
life electronic equipment. The project aims to inform the implementation
of the WEEE Directive. The final report will be available shortly. |
Our services
Through our well-researched reports and publications, assessment
tools, engagement activities, and our strong networks, we aim
to play a key role in assisting organisations realise the economic,
environmental and social benefits of their ICT deployment.
SustainIT has an excellent reputation for delivering innovative
and high quality research, project work and subsequent policy
recommendations, all of which are based on strong empirical evidence.
If your organisation
seeks to assess, or improve, the sustainability impact of your
technology, or use of ICT, then we can help by:
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Evaluating your use of ICT against sustainability measures |
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Sharing best practice examples from other organisations |
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Recommending ways of improving deployment to benefit your
organisation and/or the wider community |
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Providing evaluation, guidance materials |
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Providing strategic advice, guidance |
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Delivering training |
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Running strategy and implementation events |
For more information on how SustainIT can assist you to realise
the benefits of ICT, contact Richard Craven, SustainIT Project Manager,
on +44 (0)1733 312286 or email r.craven@ukceed.org.
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