Slide 1

The nature and scope of the technical challenges of ensuring sustainability for the digital
technologies sector.

1. Lack of organizational change management strategy

Organizational change management refers to an organized approach to managing changes in an

organization, in this case, to managing digital transformation. It can be difficult, however, it is crucial.

2. Lack of expertise

When an organization aims digital transformation, the lack of expertise could threaten its journey.
Considering how complex digital transformation strategies are, the right skill and knowledge set are
required to implement the necessary changes.

3. Continuous evolution of customer needs

Customers' expectations and demands have advanced as a result of evolving developments and
improvements in customer service, and this poses a challenge for many organizations. Even when
organizations put years of effort into digital transformation, customers’ needs can change throughout
that time as they are constantly looking for more intuitive and enhanced services.

4. Internal resistance to change

Despite their fascinating ability to adapt to changes, humans by their nature tend to enjoy comfort
and routine as it gives them a sense of security. Changes, especially the big ones, can make people
feel uncomfortable and cause stress for some, impacting their well-being.

5. Security concerns

As organizations adopt remote work, digital processes, and cloud-based technology, they are
exposed to higher levels of risk.

6.Budget constraints

Another challenge of digital transformation is the high costs that come with it. As this is a huge
investment, organizations need to carefully plan the budget and come up with a strategy that will
address and respond to customers’ and organizations’ needs.

Also the following ones can affect digital sector:

• War and Instability.

• Suitability and Availability.

• Governmental Issues.

• Poverty & Unemployment.

• The Global Economy.

• Population Growth.
Slide 2
In contrast of flexible terminology (digitization, Cloud, virtual reality etc.), digital technology has
physical implications so it makes sense that there are consequences for the planet and human
beings.

To measure the environmental impact of digital technology, we need to consider all the effects of a
digital product life cycle: design, extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacture of
components, assembly, transport, energy consumption during its use and finally recycling.

Digital technology is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is going to
reach 8% by 2025 because of 5G.

Slide 3
Sustainability is a movement that we all must be forwarded together. In line with this, an
interdisciplinary approach ensures that partnerships between sectors will be effective. This is
because they will be able to create compromises that can work for all parties without sacrificing their
goals. These collaborations will, in turn, be more fruitful and will be more enduring for the future.

Slide 4
An important issue is to move from focusing on targeting carbon emissions to achieve net zero
carbon by 2050, to working within a fixed carbon budget set for either specific infrastructure sectors
(e.g. roads) or locations such as individual cities.

It’s just a matter of time before civil engineering organisations need to prepare themselves for a
world where basic raw materials may be in short supply

For projects to contribute to delivering the SDGs economic, social and environmental sustainability
must be integrated at the earliest stages of infrastructure planning in a way that considers the
interlinkages between different systems and sectors throughout the entire infrastructure lifecycle

This is perhaps the biggest challenge of all. That is to be accountable today and ask questions to
identify what our contribution is

Slide 5
Political. Access to technology has both positive and negative impacts On the positive side, access to
the internet, mobile phones and social media has made people more informed about current events.
And when asked about the impact of social media on the political process, majorities of the countries
say they have increased the ability for ordinary citizens to take part in the political process.

At the same time, these technologies have made people easier to manipulate with rumours and false
information. And social media have increased the risk that citizens might be manipulated by
domestic politicians.
Economic. Technology can affect growth by increasing productivity and expanding markets for goods
and services. For example, improvements in agricultural technology have led to increased yields per
acre and greater food security.Companies can carry out ethical assessments and identify potential
ethical risks while implementing any new technology. This way they can mitigate risks and address
ethical concerns proactively.

Ethical. There are several ethical concerns that are commonly associated with technological
advancements, including privacy, security, job displacement, environmental impact, and the
potential misuse of technology.