Topic: Digitizing Carbon Footprints Management

Managing greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources has been a critical concern since the beginning of the industrial revolution. To harness emissions from various business and societal activities, carbon footprint management - in the broadest sense - needs to be carefully managed.

Carbon footprints are metrics required for various performance measurement systems - these systems can be at the individual, household, organizational, supply chain, regional, national, and even global levels. To effectively manage carbon footprint metrics and measures, some powerful systems are required. These systems may be effectively managed through various digital and digital-based technologies.

Evolving digitalization technologies can be viewed as multistakeholder technologies that can effectively get access to and provide access for many actors in our society and business systems. Appropriate design, implementation, and operations of these technologies means better planning, monitoring, collaboration, information sharing, and hopefully, improvement in carbon emissions and footprint management.

Nevertheless, the inappropriate use and application of these technologies may increase the carbon footprint of users, provide inaccurate information leading to greenwashing, or even limit the inclusivity of actions and disadvantage some groups. Thus, careful investigation and research is needed for the appropriate and optimal use of digitalization for carbon footprint management. This Special Issue calls for papers to help researchers, practitioners, and learners understand the complexities and nuances of this topic.

Proposed topics include, but are not limited to:
● The design of carbon footprint management systems for organizations, supply chains, and industries;
● Standards and considerations for data management and technology for carbon footprints;
● The design and use of multistakeholder digital technology, including blockchain technology, the internet of things, cloud computing, global positioning systems, and artificial intelligence, to address various carbon footprint management concerns;
● Using digital technology under various regulatory and institutional schemes for effective carbon footprint management;
● How to achieve net-zero or carbon neutrality for organizations, supply chains, and even broader entities such as cities and industries using digital technologies;
● The linkage of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics to carbon emissions and footprints through the use of digital technologies;
● The dark side of digital technologies from social, environmental, and economic perspectives when considering their use in carbon footprint management;
● Building education, knowledge, and expertise - the role of society in harnessing technology for social good and linkages to carbon performance management;
● Analytical models to aid digital technologies support smarter footprint decisions;
● Practical case studies to inform scientists, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in any of these topical areas.

● Explore the role of carbon management software in reducing the carbon footprint in the digital age;

● Sustainable telemedicine program and its carbon footprint reduction;

● Sustainable transformation of companies based on Industry 4.0 and its actions on carbon footprint reduction;

● Product low‐carbon design, manufacturing, logistics, recycling, and carbon footprint modeling;

● The use of blockchain in the energy sector, future energy infrastructure, energy platform and energy storage, and related credits for reducing carbon footprints;

● The pros and cons of digital pollution and its impact on carbon footprint reduction;

● Sustainable supply chain management: monitoring the product for its carbon footprint;

● Digitization of maritime transportation and its carbon footprint monitoring;

● Energy management for Green-IoT and the tremendous rise in IoT networks’ carbon footprint;

● Intelligent green buildings and carbon footprint tracking.

● etc.

About Prof. Joseph Sarkis
Clarivate's global most highly cited researchers in Engineering field for seven years from 2016-2022.
International program coordinator for the Greening of Industry Networks; Co-Chair of the Circular Economy Working Group of the Future Earth Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production Knowledge Action Network (KAN).

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29 Feb 2024